Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

Toolboxes? I thought we were talking about air compressors!
 

basspirate

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Apr 26, 2009
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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

a few things. i would stay away from the oil-less. their loud, they break a lot and they dont do good with sanders or grinders. if you have a lot of nailing or painting then their ok. get a belt driven piston model. they are quieter and last longer. home depot or sears sells them pretty cheap. check craigslist. i got a 200 gal curtis with a true 5 hp motor for $400. i do a lot of auto body work so it made sense but there is cheaper and smaller out there.
what i mean by true 5 hp is the motor puts out a constant 5 hp. it's the size of a case of 24 bottles of beer. it can only be run on 220 and i had to wire it up on a 50 amp breaker. most motors are rated by max hp which is what the motor will generate if the shaft is suddenly locked right before the motor will burn out. so an advertised max 5 hp motor may actually be 1- 1 1/2 hp. notice most max 5 hp motors are the size of a 3 liter bottle of soda and can be run on 120. i believe the only company whose motors advertise the true horsepower is baldor.
 

TilliamWe

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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

HP isn't nearly as important of a stat as the makers would have you believe. It's all about the CFM. For example, I looked at my Central Pnuematic again yesterday. It's a 4hp 10 gallon compressor. So only one hp less than what you're describing, yet it only puts out 5.6cfm at 90psi. I say "only" because that's not enough to run an air ratchet or an impact gun as I stated previously. But as it plugs into a regular wall socket, I can pick it up and carry by hand, (when the terrain is too rough to roll it on its wheels), it's never used a drop of oil in the 5 years I've owned it, and it only cost $120, I'll take that every day!
 

dockwrecker

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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

My wife bought me the yelow Dewalt/Emglo 15 gal upright that you see at Desperate Depot and Lowe's. It's a 1.8 hp oilless with 5.4 scfm @ 90lbs. It does everything but keep up with a DA sander or air die grinder. Paints fine, impacts work just fine, even the air chisel. But it won't keep up with a DA grinder. Nope. But for a portable, I haven't seen much else out there that will either. 379.00 plus tax...
 

bruceb58

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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

Instead of looking at HP, look at the current draw. 745 Watts equals 1 HP. Since an electric motor is 100% efficient(some power goes to heat) the number of watts to create 1HP is even more. That's why you need a 220V motor to get 5HP. A 110V motor would need to be pulling 40A to get 5HP which is not going to happen.
 

lowkee

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Dec 13, 2008
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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

I'm just about to buy a new compressor as well. My 5HP oilless isn't cutting the mustard anymore and that 5HP 60Gal behemoth at HF looks mighty tempting.

As a tip to water, buy a copy of boating magazine, as they always have a 20% off coupon in the back of them. Worth $160 for the 5HP model.

I figured I would follow up on my reply, as I just bought the 5HP 60Gal model from harbor freight yesterday. I did use the 20% coupon and they accepted it no problem, so that gives a great savings.

While strapping into the truck a guy pulled up and stated he had the same compressor and was on his 4th one in a year. I'm not sure what model he thought I had, but he warned me to get the extended warranty for it and I, never one to buy warranties, went back in and bought a 1 year extended for $80. All in all, it ended up being 10% off with a "free" warranty, so I wasn't too concerned about the expense.

Here's hoping that guy either didn't recognize the compressor model or he got a lemon. I have to run a 220 line to hook it up, but I'll be sure to update this thread with my experiences with it (I'm really excited!).

Also, be sure to remember, HD and Lowes accept competitor coupons, so if you buy a compressor from them, you can still use the 20% off HF coupon (when buying tools).
 

marlboro180

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Jun 23, 2009
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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

Exciting for you! Dont forget to put an hour meter on it so we can all see how long it lasts!:p:D
 

robert graham

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Apr 16, 2009
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Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

I've run the Harbor Freight 3 gallon compressors for several years, and they are mostly cheap junk, diposable, and hard to beat for $100, for casual shop use. The valves on my first one screwed up, turned it into an anchor, went and got another one, just depends on what you want, need, can afford, willing to pay!
 

McGR

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 19, 2004
Messages
654
Re: Anyone have experience with Harbor Freight air compressors?

I have a HF 2.5hp compressor that I bought from their catalog approximately 18 years ago. It's still running great, I've never had a problem with it. Maybe they have a different compressor supplier these days? The one I have was made in Italy, which always struck me as a little odd. Nonetheless, it's a good compressor.
 
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