Review of Craftsman 33 gal. Air Compressor, 1.6 hp, Horizontal Tank, 150 Max PSI (store, reviews)
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Craftsman 33 gal. Air Compressor, 1.6 hp, Horizontal Tank, 150 Max PSI
Rating: 4 out of 5
Currently 4.0/5.0
This 33 gallon air compressor from Craftsman has worked perfectly for its intended use since I purchased it over three years ago. With regular use for simple auto work like bolting on tires and removing them on the weekends, and storing it in my garage, it has worked every weekend I've powered it up since 2007. It's been maintenance free, somewhat quiet, and adequate for my home mechanic uses in every manner.
This horizontal air compressor is, first of all, maintenance free. All oil is inside, and since it's a sealed system there's no oil to change or add. And at 78 decibels it does run pretty loud, but it meets ISO quiet standards per ISO3744 for quiet. In short it's not so loud that it's annoying outside, but when it's filling you don't want it next to your head. Since it works well, I don't complain much about the noise, but if you live in an area such as a townhouse complex where your neighbors are likely to complain, you may not want to use this compressor.
One of my favorite things about this machine is that since it's a horizontal setup, you can stow it away on a large garage shelf. With a vertical compressor, sometimes they're harder to store. Not so with this machine. You can tuck it away under most shelves in the garage, and it stays out of the way of the cars and kids until you need to use it. Also, with its shorter cord you don't have to wind up the cord around it. You can just use your extension cord to take it wherever you need it.
In short this compressor is great if you're doing regular automotive work on the weekends. It's easy to use, easy to store away (even though it's 33 gallons), and has almost no maintenance required because of the sealed oil system. It's been quiet enough for my neighborhood - no one has complained. Because this has lasted me three years, almost 150 weekends of use, I figure that at $279 it costs me less than two dollars every time I use it. Now that's a real value! Thank you Craftsman!