CALIFORNIA AIR TOOLS CAT-1P1060SP GAL 56DB Air Compressor

It is a very quiet air compressor with the necessary power for your home needs.

I was eagerly awaiting this compressor. And I didn’t have to wait long. My pancake compressor which was bought used, but hardly used began to have regulator issues. Not to mention it was so loud! I decided to go with this due to all of the good reviews. It is a very attractive addition to my shop, and is so easy to use. The one gallon tank is the only thing that I may rethink. But it is also the reason that I don’t hesitate to fire it up any time I need it. Plus it fills quickly and quietly! The air release valve is smartly placed right up front compared to underneath the unit with an annoying screw valve. I have used it a few times with a brad nailer, and it works great. Just don’t expect it to be rapid fire due to the one gallon tank.

This is a great little air compressor. Its not too heavy, its fairly quiet, the controls are easy, I just wish the tank was bigger, and thats on me. I mainly use this little compressor to blow out pedestal fan , dust screens and clean out the dust bunnies in computer cases and it just doesnt hold enough air, which means the compressor is constantly running and Im constantly waiting for it to come back up to pressure. Youll get a good 10-15 secs of good sustained pressure before it needs to reload and I really need upwards of a minute to be effective.

I love this little compressor. Its well designed (its biggest feature) and so quiet I hardly hear it, with ear protection of course. As I grow older, weight makes a difference and I have basically scrapped my old big unit as this one does all I need a compressor to do. Controls are easy to work, pressure display is easy to read, hose connections are handy, on-off switch and drain cog are easy to use.

I needed a lighter weight compressor to replace my 20 yr old twin tank Craftsman. This is both small and lightweight - so easy to carry - and as quiet as other reviewers have stated. Using it inside the house - brad nailers and finish nailers - and it has performed flawlessly. Runs up to pressure quickly and recovery is fast as well. Perfect for what I use it for but obviously not suitable for framing or roofing nailers, or other high CFM draw air tools.

California Air Tools charges more than competitors for the same tank capacity / air output and in trade, you get a noticeably quieter device. Not zero noise quiet, but more than quiet enough. The downside to this specific affordable CAT unit is that the tank is just 1 gallon and after only a few seconds with a air gun (blow dust off), the compressor is already back on and recharging. So this is okay for a brad nail or stapler, or for a low-volume air gun. But it is not intended for production work with, say, a framing nailer, and no way is it powerful enough to do spray painting. I got the unit reviewed here, the CAT-1P1060SP unit (left in my photo) over the similar-specs CAT-1P1060S (right in photo) because theres a cage around the compressor (except, oops, when you attach the muffler to the back, that sticks out) and because theres a panel with two gauges, pressure regulator, and quick coupler. The unit I got is about $10-$15 more than its workalike, but I plan to haul up to our summer cabin and back and wanted one with more protection when its banged around in transit. The only thing I dont like is the power on-off lever which, I wonder, how durable it will be. You can buy, separately, a 5- or 10-gallon auxiliary tank for ~$50 (5-gal steel) to $125 (10-gallon aluminum) from CAT. That would solve your problem of air supply running out, but so would spending $200 for a CAT compressor with more capacity. 4-5 years ago I bought a 2-hp, 10-gallon CAT air compressor that is also quiet and CAT calls it ultra-quiet but its still noisier that the 1-gallon unit I just got. I know I paid $50-$100 more than for a cheaper, noiser compressor, and Im glad I spent the extra money. My experience with CAT service / support is mixed. It hasnt needed any service. But the first compressor came with the rear supports / vibration-damping lags out of alignment and missing parts. A year later (seriously) CAT sent me a completely different quote replacement part unrelated to what was wrong, and in the meantime Id been to Home Depot and bought a bunch of big flat washers to use as leveling shims. If you need ultra, ultra quiet, there is a thousand-dollar CAT compressor with 1 hp motor and 8-gallon tank in a noise-containment cabinet.

It’s compact, quiet, simple to operate, and does probably more than most people need, just in case you want more for a special job. A very distinguishing friend of mine recommended California Air Tools pumps because he knows I hate junk, and I’m very pleased. I’m pretty sure others will be too, unless you need higher pressure or capacity, and that’s something you can find with a bigger model from California. They’re really good products.

Unit arrived with a screw and washer missing on one of the feet.

Love it, I spent so much time looking for a small air compressor/tire inflator, and I did not want to get one that would take a long time to fill up my truck tires. I have a bad back and i cannot stay in a kneeling positions for very long. I wanted one that would plug into an electrical outlet as well, so the smaller mobile tire inflators had some that could be plugged into a wall outlet but then did not have the battery clamps, i did not want to use the cig lighter port (while traveling), to me that is not a smart thing to do. So, i finally decided on this and could not be happier; I inflated my tire from 35 to 37lbs in about 5 seconds. This thing was super easy to setup and so dang quiet, it did not bother my sensitive ears one bit. I set it up in less than 10 minutes (bought quick connect 1/4 hose and tire gauge with a quick connected already installed on it. I will be back if i have any problems with it.

I got tied of pulling out 150: of hose Everytime I needed air in barn..nothing major but waste of time....I did some looking around and found this unit......very quiet, vibration free and adequate tank for its size....your not going to run a service shop with this but for small jobs, nailers, tires I even did tractor tire, just took two or three cycles refilling holding tank....I installed on small shelf up.on wall....comes with small but very nice accessories kit..... worth the money