Are Ingersol Rand Compressors Actually Any Better ???

Any Grainger Stores? Have an old 2hp 20 gallon Speedaire that has treated me well for ~30 years now. At least they usually have parts for the Speedaire stuff they sell...

I don't do business with Grainger. They screwed me one to many times. Most of the things I would buy from Grainger/Zoro I get for less from MSC anyway. Not as bad as Graybar, but darn close. I seem to recall Speedaire is NOT a Grainger owned brand though. Last time I shopped around I am pretty sure the brand offered from the Local True Value hardware franchisee store was Speedaire. They didn't stock any. I need something today.

I spent the money on the Ingersol Rand. I'll pick it up shortly. Ask me in 5 years how its doing. LOL.

Yeah, I have my hot-button vendors too...

Problem with 5 years from now is that it could be a completely different unit by then. Where stuff is made and quality of it changes fast nowadays :(

If you are buying commercial grade I-R stuff you are likely getting your money's worth. The cheap-assed consumer grade crap with their name on it?? Not so much. May as well be Campbell Hausfeld (sp?)

Ordinarily that doesn't bother me to much. I can use a different pump or a different motor. I can make adapter mounting plates as needed as well. Check valves, pressure switches, etc are all available as separate parts. I still have one little mill drill in the back that doesn't require air that I only keep for that reason. So I can make a shitty "good enough" part if I need to to get something else running again. I would have just done a motor slap on my old compressor today, but no place in Yuma that I could find open on a Saturday had a big enough motor on hand. Harbor Freight usually has some compressor duty motors, but they are out of stock. I can still get this new IR installed today and run one or two jobs late this afternoon. I decided on the new compressor for a couple reasons. It more closely matches my shop air needs, and when I get a motor in for the old compressor I will have a full drop in backup. If the new one fails and I have to order some parts.

Hey! Don't be dissing on Campbell Hausfeld. The original pump on my little roll around lasted almost 20 years and it wasn't a closet queen. It still has the original motor, switch, and check valve. It got used on construction sites, and in the shop for most of that time.

That is proving optimistic. I enlarged the space for it and got it off the pallet. LOL

So far there is good news and bad news.

BAD: Its a fair amount louder than the old one. I won't want to work at the back work bench when its running.

Good: It fills the tank a lot faster.

So far there is good news and bad news.

BAD: Its a fair amount louder than the old one. I won't want to work at the back work bench when its running.

Good: It fills the tank a lot faster.

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The 3HP Harbor Freight air compressor pump is quiet, apparently due to a good (and large) intake muffler. I can hear when the pulley lock screws need retightening.

I've actually got Harbor Freight pumps on two compressors. One is my old Campbell Hausfeld roll around, and one is the compressor I just took out. I was taken with how much quieter they were than the original pumps. Perhaps that's why I complained about the sound level of the new compressor. The roll around is still a little loud, but I expect that's atleast in part because it is not fix mounted on vibration dampening pads, and the steel front foot rests on the floor. When I first started needing a fixed air plant in the shop I had it setting in the corner connected to the shop air lines with a whip.