Well, Greg, I'm sorry I bought such a piece of *****. It sounds as though you think Adam has as well. I bought what I could afford,, not everyone can spend over $600+ for top of the line air. And lucky for me, I AM a "home user." Thats probably why I bought the base model.

For the five months I've had it, I've pulled 1 rear end, 2 moters, 2 trannies and many more huge rusted bolts with no problems. And it still works fine for my periodical use when needed. Sounds like adam is pretty happy with his so far also.

I just think you could have shared your 'expertise' in a kinder way instead of wishing us good luck while we wait for our crap to break so we can have fun fixing it.

Back on topic.. I have always heard electric grinders are much better than air grinders. Basically because they have more stamina, since there is no limit on electricity. I think you would need a huge air tank to continually run a grinder without it slowing down. I bought a $20 electric 4 1/2" grinder from HF and it still runs strong after 5months of heavy use. Also nice how you don't have to wait for your air tank to fill up before use - plug in and go.

-Scerb

Sorry to sound like a jerk-off.
That compressor was basically made for you... for how you use it it'll be perfect... but if you're going to use it often it's not the right choice.
BTW, we sell the "top of the line" air for just over 300$US... probably the most affordable place you can find...
ALL i'm trying to tell you is you get what you pay for in the air tol industry.... a cheap P+C roofer always has tonnes of problems... rebuild kits are expensive, etc.
The more expensive MAX gun? never break down, rebuild kit is half the cost, etc...
Trust me, i'm not saying i don't have things that are cheap yet still do a great job (my briggs+stratton powerwasher comes to mind).. but i have tonnes of experience repairing those type of compressors... and lots of it depends on if it was built the day before a holiday weekend, or a nice tuesday afternoon. (one that blew up today was built dec 30... who would want to work around christmas anyway?)
Anyway, good luck with your stuff, i hope it lasts, but if it doesn't, remember i said i told ya' so...
Remember to keep oil in them machines! (not yours tho Scerb) it's the major killer of rods and such.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

PS. id much rather use the bosch angle grinder than an air one any day... they don't get freezing cold in your hands and usually have gobs of power...

I diddn't think they celebrated christmas in China? (isnt that where most of the HF stuff is made?)

cant tell if that was directed as a joke or in all-seriousness... (the compressors i work on are 99% campbell hausfeld, with the odd hitachi or eagle thrown in).
How does the compressor work... most importantly, how long does it take to fill the tank from dead empty? I'll let you know if you got a great deal or not...

I thought you were saying you found a bad HF compressor that was made on Dec 30th. My bad.

I'll time it tomorrow. What is a good time?

Under 1.5-2 minis good for an 8 gallon tank...

1 minute, 50 seconds

So I finally get everything plumbed up and running, and I find out the thing has 2 chambers inside of it, separated by a steel divider. I had the air coming in one side, but it was not coming out the other.

Do you think it would be alright if I got a big long drill bit and drilled a hole through the center of the divider? I can easily do it with a long drill bit. I'll clean all the shavings out of the tank before I use it.

Or...do I run a short hose from the front half to the back half? It has tons of threaded holes in it, and I beleive I have the connectors to rig it up.

Oh and the compressor has been working OK for me. Havent really used it for a lot of stuff, but have taken off a few wheels, caliper mounting bolts, and blew off the mower before puting it back in the garage. Definetly doesnt put out the full 5cfm as it advertises, but for $100 it works out great. I'm going to do a CV joint install next weekend and I'll need to impact off the 32mm axle nut, so we'll see how it does on that task.

Nevermind. I made up a hose to go from one half to the other. Works just fine. Diddnt take too terribly long to fill up. I'll test it out in the days to come.

Used it today to pop off the 32mm axle nuts on by buddy's 94 Civic to replace both CV joints. Worked great! I'm happy. It sure is nice to have air tools. Real time saver.

So if anyone is thinking about getting this compressor for light duty work, go for it. For $100, I couldn't be happier!

One thing I'm curious about. When I use my impact gun, I can hear the hose kind of "re-pressurize" itself after using the gun. So I hit the gun, let go, and I can hear the air hose (25" 3/8" hose) quickly fill up with air. Makes the same noise as if you had the shut off valve from the tank turned off and the tank full, and you turn the valve and fill up the air line.

I'm wondering, why does it do this? Do I have too small of a hose? Do the cheap HF fittings I'm using not have enough flow? Or is this just normal for a small tank setup?