California Air Tools 20040C Powerful 4.0 HP Ultra Quiet and Oil-Free Air Compressor, 20 Gallon Tank, 75 dB Noise Level, White, 220v 60hz

This was a great purchase. Very quiet, recovers fast. I added an extra 20 gallon air tank with no issues. I highly recommend this unit. I use it for hobby automotive and light carpentry

I've had two of the 4-horsepower units for about 3 months. Working fine so far. I only gave them 2 stars for the reasons I've detailed below. The "ultra quiet" advertising annoys me. Yes, they are quieter than a traditional compressor. The 8-cylinder design changes the heavy "feel it in your stomach" pounding of a conventional compressor into more of a purr, which is not only quieter, but also less intrusive. But you still have to wear hearing protection. My family appreciates the lower level of sound coming from my shop, but you can't hold a conversation around these. In my opinion they don't deserve the "ultra" claim--yes they are better, but not ultra better. The manual tank drain is annoying. First, the handle on the drain valve is microscopic. You're reaching down under the tank, blind, trying to get your hands on a little piece of plastic. Second, when you activate it, the blast of air from the tank comes right by your fingers. Getting hit with that kind of air blast is dangerous. This is just poor design. I addressed this by taking a piece of wooden closet rod about a foot long and cutting a notch in the end, such that it fits easily over the little plastic handle on the drain valve. With this, I don't have to reach under the tank, and my hand is a foot away from the air/water blast. The pressure regulator knob takes a crazy number of turns to adjust. From full off to full on means twisting the knob 32 times. And there's no shutoff valve, so if you want to reduce the output to zero you have to untwist the knob 32 times, and then to get pressure back takes another 32. And then take a nap to rest your hand. On the plus side..... The packaging is outstanding. They arrive on a sturdy standard size 40" by 48" pallet. That's covered by a super-heavy cardboard box that leaves at least 6" of air space around the compressor, so even if the trucking company bashes the box, there's a chance the compressor won't be impacted. In my case, the cardboard was in great shape, and so was the compressor. Depending on where you live, of course, you may get a different trucking company. The compressor works: it compresses air. I don't know about the 10 CFM claim, but it certainly charges up the tank in short order. Bottom line: Less noisy than conventional compressors. Moves plenty of air. Is corded, so it's not permanently tethered to one place. Has a nice look to it. Not having to change the oil is a blessing. Would benefit from having a shut-off valve. Would benefit from having a different pressure regulator.

The noise level is something else. This replaced a large standard style compressor that I wore hearing protection for when working in the shop if it was running. Now you can have a normal conversation. Tank is small but the system is basically designed to run on demand, I've never run out of air operating my vapor blaster or anything else. BUT it's like the outsourced the painting of the tank to children. I've only had this for a year, it lives in a heated & cooled garage and the paint is just flaking off every weld on the tank and getting rust. I'm going to have to remove the motors, strip it and repaint it to avoid it turning into a pile of rust.

This order was mishandled from the start. I ordered this compressor to have a low power/low noise air supply for LVLP finishing. The compressor arrived and would not start. After providing the serial number and QR code associated with my particular machine, the customer service representative repeatedly assured me that the compressor had been checked and was running at the warehouse. Upon closer inspection, I found a set of wires hanging out near where the start capacitors should be. They never installed the start capacitors! Not sure how they had the machine running at the warehouse without the pats required to start the compressor. The customer service rep said he had to send an entire new unit (from California, I'm East Coast). I lost a ton of money on two jobs and put out sub-par finishes that will ultimately reflect poorly on my brand. Returning the other compressor was a nightmare. It sat on a pallet taking up space in my shop for nearly 6 weeks because California Air Tools couldn't coordinate with the freight company for a pick up. I was told that it was being picked up on a Friday from 11-3. I received a phone call from the freight company during that window to schedule a pick up. As it turns out, CAT emailed the freight company 30 minutes before to schedule the pick up. Not how that works. Within a week the welds on the exterior of the machine had started to rust. The machine, after light use, has started to get noticeably louder. So very disappointing! I was told I would receive a free air hose to compensate me for the inconveniences. I never received it and when I asked when the air hose would arrive they acted like they had never offered. In Summary - Compressor arrived missing parts - Customer service lied about working status of machine - Customer service was unable to efficiently handle return/replacement logistics - Compressor started to develop rust within a week - Customer service did not make good on compensation offer This company has a lot to figure out. I cannot endorse this product nor the way in which the customer experience was handled.

You can stand right next to this thing and still have a conversation with out raising your voice.

The compressor was great the first 4 months or so and just went downhill from there. I have had this compressor for just over a year and has gotten noisier as time passes. The compressor has had light use with no were close to the advertised 3000hr mark. My guess is it may have run for 300 - 500hrs with a duty cycle of 50/50 when used with the longest period of time being 6 hours. One of the motors seems to be making more noise than the other. I have reached out to California Air via email multiple times to get a rebuilt cut but no luck. The footprint of the compressor is nice and the once low noise was too. The fact that you can get it is 220v was nice but the main reason for purchasing this was to reduce noise in the garage and higher CFM. There aren't many options for quiet and higher CFM compressors. The hunt continues for a better option.

Broke some small parts during warranty period and customer service was great with replacing the parts. However, the motors stopped working a month after the warranty expired. They told me to just take it an independent shop to repair it.

Great compressor. Super quite. No one in the house hears it when I’m in the garage. Only negative about this for me is doesn’t come with wheels. Feels up air super fast and a lot of cfm