California Air Tools CAT-1P1060S Light & Quiet Portable Air Compressor, Lightweight, Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free, 1 Gallon Steel Tank, .6 HP, 56 dBA Noise Level, Silver

My voice in a normal conversational tone is 80DB. This CAT-1P1060S runs at 75DB, which is more than the advertised 56DB. Honestly, I did not believe the 56DB claim as my new 17 seer heat pump fan in my house makes 65DB and it is not loud at all so I doubted this compressor would be more quiet than my HVAC fan motor. Being that it is quieter than the spoken voice I am thrilled. I always hated the traditional pancake compressors that run close to 100DB on a good day as they make a work site louder than it needed to be. What I used to do is run my loud mechanic's compressor I have on my 2003 7.3L diesel F350 service truck to power my carpentry air tools, but that obviously used diesel at $3.50/gallon and I had to run a 150' to 200' long 3/8" air line to get the air inside the house where I needed it. With this compressor, I enjoy leaving Betsy (my truck's name) in the driveway turned off and I simply grab this tiny CA compressor. It is super light, which is very nice! It is compact so I can stow it inside my behind-the-cab truck box with plenty of room for other tools so it is always ready to use. On job sites without power, (which are few and far between) I use my 4000w pure sine wave inverter that is wired to my truck's electrical system, which requires I run the engine to prevent dead batteries (7.3 diesels needs gobs of battery power to start). I just use a 100' or 200' long 12AWG extension cord from the inverter to the job site with a short 50' long 3/8" pneumatic hose in the area I am working. I only use my truck compressor now to run my mechanic's tools such as impact guns and the like as they require tons of air supply, much more than any carpentry tool will ever need. I absolutely love this California CAT-1P1060S compressor.

Unbelievably quite. Love it for small jobs.

Works as advertised. Quiet. Light. Easy to use.

The media could not be loaded. An absolute game changer when it comes to noise level and pressure buildup and pressure management. I was a little weary because of the price of this 1 gallon compressor but now I know why people recommend this particular brand. I was needing a compressor for my brad nailer my old compressor was way to loud and took forever to reach max PSI- I got it at a certain “freight company” but this compressor here, this is worth every penny. I can use this compressor in my garage without waking up the whole neighborhood you can’t even hear it from in the next room. Fast pressure buildup so this keeps up with my 18 gauge Brad nailer. Not sure how rapid you could apply Brad nails, it’s only a 1 gallon compressor but it works for my needs so if you’re in the market for a high quality quiet compressor this is the one.

This unit works well and is very quiet. I would have given it 5 stars if it weren't for the location of the on/off lever. The lever is easily bumped into the on position when grabbing the handle to carry it. As I am writing this, it occurs to me that this may be because I'm left-handed. Even if that is the case, I think the location is a poor design.

This thing is a cadillac of small air compressors. NOTICEABLY quieter than others I have used. Obviously this is for smaller tools like brad nailers and crown staplers but so long as you are aware of the limitations inherent in this size/pressure, I can't recommend this enough.

Replaced my old banger, now I don't need earplugs. Why didn't I do this sooner

I ordered this compressor after researching many options, mostly based on it's fairly light weight and quieter operation. I can attest to the weight, but I have no idea what it might sound like when running - because mine simply would not run. The power switch produced no results at all. I did as much troubleshooting as I could and finally found that the reset button was broken. My hunch is that the unit might have simply required a reset, but it was impossible to do because of the broken button.The product comes with one of those cards that pleads for you to call them at the provided number for help, rather than return the item... so I called. After waiting about 15 minutes (being told by the machine that I was #1 in the queue) I was notified by a recording to leave a message. I left my name and number and brief description of my problem. No one ever called me back - they had all day to do so, but didn't.So, back it goes. I have patience for problems and am willing to work with companies to resolve them, but I have no time for poor customer service. California Air Tools obviously has too many customers - so I am doing my part to help by ensuring that I will never be one.