California Air Tools CAT-4610AC Ultra Quiet & Oil-Free 1.0 hp 4.6 gallon Aluminum Twin Tank Electric Portable Air Compressor, Silver

Great compressor. Not too loo.

Wow just wow. If you have ever had a run of the mill air compressor and are tired of the loud and obnoxious sound that it produces then this is the best thing you'll ever buy. I have had a 30 gallon oil-less 2.6hp craftsman and it was loud as could be, in the 95 to100db range and if you used it for any extended amount of time it was unbearable in the garage. I got a 5hp 80 gal oiled and it was better but it was still loud and the sound was much lower toned so it was more tolerable. But when i needed a smaller one and stated doing research and California Air Tools kept popping up as the one to go with due to its quietness compared to all the others. I have a friend with a porter cable 6gal for $99 and it seems to be the one that everyone buys, it is loud @85-90db but face it most compressors are and that is what is to be expected. I almost pulled the trigger until i saw this one as an amazon open box for $120 and thought id give it a try. I will tell you that i would happily pay the full price of $200 if i would have been able to hear it run before. It is as quiet as they say. You can have a conversation right next to it while talking at a normal level. The build quality is far above most compressors i the sub $300 category.

First impressions are that it exceeds the advertised specs- and more importantly why I bought it. The unit came securely packaged and double boxed. I mention this as a Hitachi that I had gotten from Amazon a number of years back. Amazon being Amazon handled that situation well, but it was a relief having this one pink and perfect. The Porter Cable 6 gallon that this replaced , served me reasonably well. Though the first one on that and its replacement developed leaks within a month. Should this one do the same, I will update my review. I still have the old Hitachi- and it doesn't leak a bit.To start with, the noise from every other small compressor I've had is simply rude compared to this little gem. Not only does it run quietly, it performs well. The old PC was starting to draw more amps as it aged. This runs off a nice 5500 watt inverter, but when the 8.5 AMP cold start draw eventually turns into 12 and change, it is time to take the stress off. This one currently pulls 7.4 amps all day long. I opted for the aluminum tank as I am one of THOSE who doesn't drain his tanks as often as I should. I don't spray with it , so I'll be doing well to drain this once a week. You know what the other steel tanks looked like when they were drained. Rust. This is actually close in size to the PC as well. It nestles in the same frame as that one. Bonus.Update June 2022She's still running as new after much use.

It’s quiet, lightweight, and meets all of my needs in my home garage / workshop environment where I use it frequently.I have it on a custom-made stand with a 3/8” 100ft retractable air reel mounted underneath it. The hose reel connects into one of the compressor air outputs – and I have a coiled air compressor hose connected into the second output for quickly grabbing and using air around my adjacent work benches. (See Compressor Set-Up pic).I had no hesitation buying this 4610AC as a direct replacement for my original 4610A.It’s marginally more expensive to buy the “A” (Aluminum air tanks) than the “S” (Steel air tanks) but the weight difference makes it more than worthwhile to do so.I will use the frame and air tanks from my original 4610A to add a further 4.6 gallons of air capacity to my set-up as and when needed. I attach a couple of pics showing how this arrangement can work. Those additional bare air tanks can be used in several additive and optional ways in future when a larger reserve air volume is needed. The two bare tanks can even be charged and then easily transported indoors for the odd occasion when I just need a small volume of air to blow something out in the house.Highly recommend this compressor – you shouldn’t be disappointed!

Our previous air compressor (still works, darn it!) I tested at 95 decibels, and it really is uncomfortable to the ears, and is loud enough to be damaging to the ears.This little beauty is very well sound-isolated, with not only rubber feet, but rubber buffers between the motor and the frame for maximum, vibration free noise dampening. When I first turned it on, I couldn't believe how quiet it was. As advertised, it tripped my free i-phone decibel app at right around 60 decibels. It was quieter than medium loud speech. It's possible to work beside it for hours without annoyance.An annoyance we've had is that it might trip a ground-fault outlet when the unit starts up. Other than that, it works like a charm, and it's nice to have two air outlets, just in case you ever want to run two tools at once.The only other problem we had was with quality control on the leads to the starting capacitor. We went to start it about 3-4 days after purchase and got big sparks and a tripped breaker. After removing the capacitor cover, we found that the wire nuts used were very small and both had fallen off, and the leads had shorted, thus tripping the breaker. We installed new, slightly larger and better wire nuts and haven't had a problem since.Great product. Highly recommend.year later follow up: Still love this machine and it's been used steadily almost every day. Buying another one!