Many years ago, as a young and foolish new homeowner with a new nail gun, I bought an inexpensive 2-gallon air compressor at a big box store1. It worked fine as far as driving nails, filling tires and the like, but it was louder than any of the much larger machinery I used at work. My best guess is that it was around 120 dB at the end of its life with me, and it always gave me a headache, despite my zealous commitment to ear protection.
I kept that thing for a decade. It was so loud that I would shut the cats in my attic before running it in the basement, three floors below. And I had to go outside when it was loading just to escape some of the noise. As I got ready to renovate my kitchen last fall, I knew it was time for me and that compressor to part ways.
I started researching “quiet air compressors,” and settled on a California Air Tools 8010A – an oil-free, ultra-quiet, 8-gallon compressor that has a 1-horsepower (hp) motor, 2.2 cubic feet per minute (CFM) at 90 pounds per square inch (psi) and a max psi of 120 – more than enough air and oomph for my modest home-shop needs. It is also billed as “lightweight” and has wheels to make it easy to move around, though at 49 pounds, it’s a bit difficult for me to move up and down my winding stairs.2
It has a single “push-to-connect” female push connector that is moderately stiff. It’s not easy to use, but it’s not a struggle (more on that below).
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