California Air Tools Compressor?

[Alan H.]

What makes them quieter , insulation, thicker castings, thicker tank , a muffler?.

Here is a brief description by an outfit that sells compressors (drive type, pump type, isolation). I think they left out "intake noise" suppression. My son did some work using a Helmholtz suppressor on a single cylinder pump and it was quite remarkable what he was able to achieve.

What type is your 80gal. compressor? If it is a belt drive piston compressor it is probably running at max rpm to get max cfm. I put a bigger pulley on my motor to slow it down and it is much quitter than it was . No problems talking to someone standing next to it.

I have a Kobalt that came with an Atlas Kopco two cylinder cast iron pump on it and yes, it is spinning fast. Some of the services I use it on are a bead blast cabinet, impact air tools, and a plasma cutter, all of which make the capacity it produces quite handy. One thing that could help it would be intake noise suppression and a better belt but it is going to be noisy just due to its speed and design. I also considered put it in an enclosure but was concerned about the cooling. It moves a lot of air over the pump and after-cooler when it runs.

All I found on amazon.ca were 1HP models. Because we are in Canada, we don't qualify for free shipping on amazon.com. It's something that we've learned to live with in Canada. People mistakenly think Canadians are most characteristic for our apologies... Really it's our complacency that defines us! (or at least a bunch of us)

Thanks for the explanation - I did not realize that Amazon Prime was not an advantage in Canada. Guessing the postal and package delivery infrastructure is a bit of a challenge in most areas.

 

[Alan H.]

Discovered another option that seems to merit some investigation - Rolair.

BTW, these "quiet compressors" seem to be catching on now with offerings out there by Husky, Campbell Hausfeld, Eagle, and others. Did a patent expire? Looks like the California Air Tools use aluminum tanks on their hot dog units and create a bit of a weight advantage vs. their competitors.

The Rolair JC10Plus claims to be a contractor model and has essentially the same performance specs as the California Air Tools model 4610ALFC that I am considering and started this tread with. The Rolair has less bling and comes at a more attractive price - likely in part due to its smaller single steel tank vs. the aluminum tanks of the CAT.

While the pumps/drive appear similar for the two, they do appear to be different . Here's a side by side of the two:

Rolair JC10 Plus:



CAT 4610ALFC

 

[Dabbler]

The Rolair Jc10 is a 1HP model, and I was hoping for a 2HP model. I'm going to talk to the Home Depot manager again. there seems something wrong with his story...

 

[Cheeseking]

What type is your 80gal. compressor? If it is a belt drive piston compressor it is probably running at max rpm to get max cfm. I put a bigger pulley on my motor to slow it down and it is much quitter than it was . No problems talking to someone standing next to it.

You mean bigger pulley on the pump I think? We have one at work like that the pump pulley is like 15" diameter and yeah its alot quieter

 

[Alan H.]

The Rolair Jc10 is a 1HP model, and I was hoping for a 2HP model. I'm going to talk to the Home Depot manager again. there seems something wrong with his story...

Yes, I am comparing 1 hp models (industrial/commercial pumps). This 1 hp pump/driver is the one they call "industrial" and claim 4000 hours operating life vs. their others at 3000 hours.

May not matter to you but it appears CAT does not sell a 2 hp with a 4000 hour industrial pump.

I just noticed that they sell two voltages on the 2 hp. 110v at 14 amps and 220V at 7 amps. It may be wise to go with thew 220V model if 2 hp is what you are after. I also take note that the decibel rating on the 2 hp goes up to 70. That is still quiet but is noticeably louder than their other pumps.

Good luck with your run at Home Depot.

 

[kd4gij]

You mean bigger pulley on the pump I think? We have one at work like that the pump pulley is like 15" diameter and yeah its alot quieter

Acutely I went to a smaller pulley on the motor. I guess it was late when I typed that.

 

[Alan H.]

I spoke to both California Air Tools and Rolair by phone.

Rolair sources their entire unit from China as an in the box unit ready to go. The gent I spoke to could not give me a life expectancy nor much other definitive information. The conversation was a bit disappointing. Perhaps a bad luck of the draw when I called??

California Air Tools (CAT) was quite informative and conversational. Their pumps and motors come from China. They assemble their compressor units from pieces and parts acquired from different sources in their San Diego facility. For example, some of their tanks come from Mexico. Their on/off control switches are Condor (a name I am familiar with). They say there is a difference between the more expensive industrial motor/pump units they offer. For example the industrial version does have enhancements like a different Teflon for the rings but they were a bit reluctant to discuss too much more on the differences since they feel that's proprietary. They did seem to be very careful not to be misleading in any of their answers and came across as honest and straightforward. They seemed naturally concerned about managing customers expectations in terms of flow rate capacities. They avoided generalities and fluff which I appreciated. They were quite candid.

After my conversations with these two suppliers, I see CAT as the supplier for a 1 HP unit if I chose to go that direction. While they have numerous offerings in the 1 HP class, I see the 4610ALFC or the 6010LFC as the units that would serve my needs. I lean more toward the one 4610ALFC because of smaller footprint and a small weight advantage. Here's what they look like.

4610ALFC:



6010FLC:

 

[ddickey]

What did you end up buying Alan H?

 

[Alan H.]

Ordered the 4610ALFC via a Zoro flash sale. This is the one with the two aluminum tanks, their better grade motor/pumps, small footprint, and light weight for portability.

Got a great price, downside is it doesn't ship for 5 to 10 business days (i.e. drop ship from Mfg.). Based on my experience, Zoro's performance on drop shipping tends to be under performing! I therefore generally avoid it unless there is an incentive to go that route. This was an instance where it was worth it.

 

[Alan H.]

Here's the CAT compressor I bought feeding the big tank as a receiver. I likely will not use it this way but it really is quiet and brought the big tank up to pressure.

I will likely move it back near the mill, lathe, and fog buster as I intended when I bought it.