Review on Portable And Powerful: Campbell Hausfeld 6 Gallon Quiet Air Compressor For DIY And Professionals by Star Bell

Well, my old unit was the compressor from hell. It was so loud when it recharged that It would scare me and I would drop my air tool, draw back and was ready to punch the closest person standing next to me, but not with this CH unit as it is so much quieter. My wife’s sewing machine is louder. My old unit when turned on would walk around on the floor in circles like a dog getting ready to do his business - but not so with this CH compressor as it has very little vibration, about as much as my electric mouse sander. When I first started it I thought something was wrong with it as it wasn’t very loud and didn’t walk the floor but that wasn’t the case. It’s a solid built unit with tight motor mounts and clean smooth welds. It’s a crap shoot whenever you buy something like this as to how well it will survive the shipping? I expected the box to be messed up, and it was. It looked like it was on the loosing end of a prize fight, the box had rips and holes through it and some of the corners were crushed. I was concerned I was sent a return, but it wasn’t, I got a new one. I took photos of the box and contents in case I found something broken or missing. Other than some blue paint that rubbed off the handle and tank onto the inside cardboard protectors (during shipping) - I had the instructions, air filter and there was no broken or missing parts or dents. The tank had several very light rust spots the size of a pea and one spot the size of a quarter. It just took a rag to wipe the rust film off to bare steel and I dabbed some rust reformer on those spots. The tank was "Not Primed” - they just painted over bare steel, really CH? I checked all fittings by hand (didn’t use a wrench) and they were all tight. I screwed the filter on hand tight until snug and it stays put. The coupler is steel - not brass and it has (4) bearings in it verses 3 and holds onto the hose plug securely. Whoever designed the brass pressure relief valve to butt up towards the motor where you can’t reach it by hand needs to go to an anger management class! You can see what I mean by looking at their photo showing the top of the compressor. I had to put a V notch in an old flathead screwdriver to reach through to open it. Since I use the unit for home use I just use the air gun to mostly empty the tank then finish emptying with the drain valve thus avoiding using the pressure valve altogether. The regulator knob is large and turns nicely however, setting the regulated pressure above 90 and expecting the unit to recharge at 95, 100 + just forget about it as it only recharges when it goes down to 90 or below. It takes 2 min and 40 sec to fill an empty tank. When regulator is set to 90 I’m getting about 15 sec of air through the air gun before the unit recharges, and that takes about 40 sec. When set at 40 I’m getting about 45 sec of air before it rechargers and like above, it takes the same 40 sec to recharge. Although I expected to tape a few leaks here or there I found none, no bubbles! The unit fills to 125, I had the regulator set at 90, left it alone for 36 hours and the needles never budged, nice. Remember to install the filter, prime the unit first for 30 minutes, open drain valve, turn regulator down to zero then switch it on. I put an old coffee can lid under the drain valve to catch any water and some came out. After the initial priming I found a light gray dust covering my workbench and tools, appears something blew out the motor/tank that was trapped inside during manufacturing? Whatever that is you shouldn’t breath it in. During the break-in I didn’t see or smell anything burning. This gray dust was gone after the unit was primed. Also keep the area around the unit clear of junk and well ventilated and keep it away from fuel vapors as the motor puts out a little heat and keep the power cord away from touching the motor. It only took 4 days to receive this unit after I ordered it. The model # and serial # are on a label on the tank, mine didn’t rub off during shipping. It turns out my unit is 13 months old from the date manufactured to the date I ordered it, ordered on March 2022 and it was made on Feb 2021. I’m OK with that since the unit works as it should. Before I put this unit to work I did the following: I put furniture sliders under the legs so I can slide/push it around instead of lifting it as it does have weight to it and "it still doesn’t walk”! If I need to move it around the house I would use a hand truck or garden cart but for the most part it stays stationary in the garage. For added insurance I used Loctite (Blue) on both ends of the 4 motor mount bolts and put a dab around the main pipe nipple going into the tank located under the switch/regulator because my old compressor pipe nipple became loose from pulling on the air hose over the years. I have also used this unit with my Aircat 1150 1/2” impact gun to remove a rusted mower blade nut although i don’t see where this compressor has enough air to power an air sander/grinder etc. Important- you only have 30 days to put this compressor through its paces so don’t wait or you won’t be able to ship it back if you find a problem/missing parts so - Save The Box! I was fortunate that I only had a few paint issues. I use this compressor a few times a week, it’s not designed for a lot of automotive work requiring sustained air pressure, I use it to air up my truck tires and use light duty air tools. I like this compressor and it’s much quieter! I haven’t had a compulsion to want to punch any ghost’s near me when it starts up. I’ll give it a solid 4 stars overall and 5 stars for noise reduction/low vibration! I paid "More” for this compressor over the cheaper more repair prone pancake units I reviewed and I expect CH to preform as advertised. So far it’s been worth the investment! If I run into problems I will update this review otherwise until then consider no news is good news.