Campbell Hausfeld HL540100AV 8-Gallon Air Compressor

• Ideal for heavy duty home or garage use
• Reliable, long-lasting pump
• Features cast iron, oil lubricated pump
• 125 max PSI
• 1.3 HP pump

I spend many hours searching for my next air compressor on the Internet. Reading reviews from many customers got their air compressor delivered with some damages, I was holding my order.

One day, an email came from Harbor Freight Tools, and I was just checking their items and offers. WOW! "Isn't this the one that I was going to order from Amazon?" And $109.99? I carefully compared their web photo with this one on Amazon. A perfect match... but only the name of the company. Because this one from Harbor Freight Tools is Central Pneumatic.

I think it is safe to say that these air compressors are made in china by a Chinese manufacturer and whoever order them spray the buyers name on it.

Anyway, I went to one of Harbor Freight Tools store nearby and bought one. I picked one in a clean box. Not a crushed box with open holes.

I filled this new compressor with air and left it for 24 hours. No sign of any problems so far with air pressure at 125 psi where it stopped last night. I unplugged the unit after so I know.

With nice wheels and a handle, it is very easy to move around. I like it a lot.

FYI,

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I've had this compressor for six months now and it still runs great. There's a bit of assembly involved to put the wheels and handle on when it arrives, but that's very simple to do.

Very important: You will need to add the oil to the compressor before operating it for the first time. For obvious reasons, the compressor is shipped dry with a sealed bottle of oil included in the box.

Everything functions as it should, although the pressure regulator gauge looks and feels a little toy-like compared to the Craftsman compressor that this one replaced. In addition to widely spaced PSI numbers, it has pictures of items (soccer ball, tire, etc.) as a guide to setting the pressure. To some that might be useful. I'd rather have a more detailed gauge.

All in all, a good compressor for the money. Airs up fast and is good for tires, sporting goods and as an air blower for small jobs.

UPDATE: I've noticed this compressor consumes more oil than others I've used. Frequent refilling is a bit inconvenient particularly because the oil level indicator can be difficult to read.

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I used to have an older belt driven Campbell Hausfeld portable compressor ... liked it and used it for several years, that's why I bought this one. So far so good ... it's very noisy though ... rattles a lot.

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This 8 gallon air compressor, assisted to me cleaning computer parts of the dust.

I am planning to paint my car too !

It's great !

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So far it works great. I didn't realize that I would need to purchase the hose and accessories seperately but not a big deal. It does what an 8 gallon size should do; air up tires quickly, etc. It was a gift for my hubby and he has no complaints on this compressor.

Whistler Pro-1600W 1,600 Watt Power Inverter

I have purchased many inverters for my service truck, RV, boat, and emergency home backup, and this is what I have learned...

Buying a large inverter is confusing. Most people want their inverter to run the "continuous" loads that they have, plus have enough surge power to start air conditioners, microwaves, sump pumps, etc. Seems simple enough, but when they purchase an inverter, usually it can't handle the startup surge they were hoping. Herein is the problem: most people don't understand "Surge Duration".

Most inverters can put out more than their rated "continuous" output for surge. But the question is: How long can the inverter provide that surge? The vast majority of consumer inverters can only provide surge for 2 seconds with most less than 1 second! This is totally inadequate for hard starting appliances. I have measured the surge on my 2 hp air compressor, and it lasted about 5 seconds before it settled out to its "continuous" wattage. My 1000 watt microwave settles down at about the 3 second mark.

So what to do? Always look for an inverter with a long surge duration. The bigger inverter companies sell them, but they are usually labeled "Industrial" or "Commercial", and are much more expensive.

Which brings me to the Whistler Pro Inverters. Whistler Pro's have something they call "Smart Surge Control" that provides the surge wattage for close to 10 seconds. That is the longest I have found of any low priced consumer based inverter. I gave several a shot, and they work as advertised! They have more than enough surge duration to start my hard starting appliances like A/C, microwave, air compressor, large power tools, sump pump, etc. My 3000 watt Whistler (5000 watt surge) can start my hard starting RV air conditioner with no problem while also running my microwave!

...So add up your continuous wattage needs. Then find the wattage of your most surge hungry appliance (here is a great chart w w w.g e n e r a t o r s a l e s.c o m/w a t t a g e-c a l c u l a t o r.a s p ) and size your inverter based on those calculations.

Example:

Rated running watts ("continuous") of my lights + fridge + sump pump = 1440 running watts

Largest Surge wattage appliance is my big sump pump = 2700 surge watts

Pick the inverter that is above both ratings, in this case I would get a Whistler Pro 1600. It is rated at 1600 watts running continuous, 3200 surge.

Remember: inverters require VERY HIGH current, so the 12v cables have to be VERY large to work correctly. For larger inverters (1500 watt+) the cables need to be LARGER than the cables you see on your car battery. Large cables are expensive, stiff and heavy, but are a MUST! Your inverter will NOT run correctly without them! Follow the cable sizing guides, and don't skimp or you will be disappointed with your inverter's performance! I cannot stress this enough. Also, keep the 12v connectors clean and tight for reliable power.

Lastly, let's talk about your batteries:

Home backup, off grid or RV (large) inverter use requires more than one deep cycle battery, usually many more. Check with an inverter pro to size your battery bank correctly BEFORE you purchase your inverter.

For those of you that are running an inverter in an idling single battery vehicle, the vehicle alternator makes your battery look bigger than it is. In my truck I have a 165 amp alternator with a 1600 watt continuous inverter. It works terrific with the engine idling. I just don't use the inverter with the engine off. The continuous large current draw on an ordinary car battery will shorten its life considerably if the engine is not running. I could install a battery isolator with a second battery, but if I leave the truck idling, that isn't necessary. Remember, BIG cables, TIGHT clean connectors!

I hope this helps you with your inverter buying quest... Good shopping ;-)

I purchased this to run my appliances (fridge and freezer) in the case of power outages. Got heavy duty cable and battery clamps so can hook up to any available auto to power the unit. Tried on the chest freezer and the over/under fridge one at a time with no problems. Will only need to run for an hour every 5 or 6 to keep things cold enough to not spoil. Can also obviously run lights and other items as needed with this. Easy to store, easy to use, no need to store gas, no maintenance. There is always at least one car in my driveway too.

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One just can't beat the amount of wattage this item provides for the money. It seems a good quality product and simple to use. Works great, if properly set up. One thing I didn't see anybody mention is that this inverter is NOT supplied with the battery cables, which these things used to always include. As another reviewer recommended, get very heavy wiring/cables to connect this item to your vehicle because it will draw a lot of amperage when driven hard. I give this Whistler product 5 stars and two thumbs up.

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I just ordered this inverter because my 15 year old Whistler 1500 watt is going on the blink. If this one lasts have that long I will be totally happy. I think the trick to long life is mounting it horizontal and give it plenty of air space around it for cooling. I use it in my Locksmith van to run key machines, a Dremal and laptop. Not at the same time. I also don't let the inverter get stressed, I run the truck while in use. This puts less stress on the truck battery to. Past experience is why I am going with Whistler.

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I've got a fair amount of experience with inverters and I'm really impressed with this one. I've been using it off and on for a few months now and it has worked great. It handles 1600 watts and then some. Make sure to use the heavy gauge cables. I tried to skimp by with 8 and it wasn't strong enough to handle the full 1600. I went to Lowe's and picked up 6 and it's working like a champ with a 3 ft lead from my 350 ah battery bank. The one thing I have noticed is the voltage readout is showing a bit lower (ex 11.9v vs 12.2) than actual when I compare with my multimeter. That's actually a good thing for me because the inverter will take your battery below 10.5 volts and I really don't want to discharge my batteries that hard. I really like the digital readouts for voltage and current watts used. It's pretty easy to see the conversion loss if you're able to run the appliance off the grid through a kilowatt and compare.

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AAA 63 Piece Premium Traveler Road Kit

• Compact 63 piece road assistance kit by AAA and LifeLine First Aid
• Heavy-duty booster cable
• Heavy-duty flashlight with batteries
• Includes a 45 piece first-aid kit
• Double-sided premium carrying bag

The AAA traveler road assistance kit is a waste -of space, money, and materials. Luckily I bought this for $8 in a clearance bin at my local sporting goods store. If I had bought it for $33 I would have been outraged. The emergency supplies are the worst quality imaginable, the flashlight is pathetically weak, even the bag it comes in isn't very good quality. The only reason this kit deserves even one star is because you can't buy this kind of "storage" bag and a pair of jumper cables for less than the $8 I paid. Save your money, and piece the kit together yourself.

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Way below expectation. "63" piece ad is a deceiving trick. Bad. They count a single band aid as a piece to make the whole package a 63-piece item. It is like an illusion. I felt cheated.

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45 piece first aid kit, so is there 40 bandaids and that counts as a piece, you gotta be kidding me. I may just cancel my AAA membership after this pos.

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This is a good, basic emergency kit. It would be better if it had emergency flares and hazard signs, but everything else one might need is included. One of my sons even commented how convenient it was to have a strip of Velcro on the outside of the bag, so he could stick in inside his hatch along the carpeted wall of the compartment.

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We have a wellness program at work that I wanted to include an item for our wellness while in the vehicle that we depend on daily. With winter coming I saw this Travel Road Kit and thought what a great thing to have and at a great price. It was a huge success.

Grex Genesis.XA Single Action Top Gravity Airbrush, 0.3mm Nozzle, 7ml Cup

• Easy to use single action push button with precise paint volume control knob
• Interchangeable top mount reservoirs with integrated paint cup for minute amounts of paint
• Internally mixed, cutting edge design for precise control of fine detailed work
• Replaceable solvent proof teflon seals, precision machined stainless steel nozzle and needle
• Convenient to clean design with short passageway from cup to nozzle for responsive feel

I build plastic models as a hobby and I purchased a Grex Genesis XA single action airbrush with money I received for Christmas. I bought this model because I wanted a tool that would allow me to airbrush large sections with a single color. I use acrylic paints primarily albeit I do use lacquer based paints on occasion.

The airbrush has a unique design and some nice features--the knob to adjust airflow is an example. But it was also disappointing. The gravity feed design enables paint to leak down into the nozzle which in turn causes spatter on the model. It can be fixed by tightening down the airflow, but that somewhat defeats the process I purchased the brush for--large area coverage. Additionally, I had several problems with paint clogs. The clogs may have been due to user error--not properly mixing the paint, for example--but the clogs happened frequently than with any of my other airbrushes, causing me to break down the airbrush and clean the individual components.

Overall, bottom feed single action brushes from domestic manufactures would have been a better fit.

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I just finished watching a very informative video on figure painting where the instructor used a Grex single action brush for the priming process. I'm a Paasche guy from way back and I have several of their brushes, both single and double action. I have heard good things about the Grex airbrushes and the video demo was encouraging but the only review on this site causes me pause. I know of a hobby shop in my area that carries this product and they have hosted demonstrations for Grex in the past. I was ready to drop the bucks on this airbrush tonight but after reading the review on this model I am going to wait until I can actually see one in use and hopefully spray a little with it myself. I'm getting into figure painting in a big way and The Grex Genesis.XA seems to be just right for the task. I know that the Grex company puts on demonstrations from time to time so perhaps I'll get lucky and find something in the near future. I usually jump in feet first on a deal like this but I have spent too much money lately on items I did little or no research on and have paid a price for not being thorough.

My bet is that I'll own one of these little gems soon.

Ampro A1435 Air Tire Chuck

• Corrosion resistant, durable brass construction
• Angled head with rubber gasket for easy access and leak-free seating on type valves
• 1/4" Female

I'm not an expert on tire chucks, but I wanted one to go with the accu gauge that I bought, so I can add air directly to it as you would a tire. This was one of the only ones on amazon prime, was cheap enough, and seemed like it would be well made and last (I liked that it was brass).

It is indeed very solidly built, doesn't leak, and works great.

I would buy it again.

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I got this because my dad has a nice old brass chuck and this was the closest I could find. This one is lesser quality but works great and is a simple design. Would be five stars if price was lower.

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Have used a few times and it works as well as any air chuck I have used in the past. Price was right.

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I purchased this with the 7 piece Milton M-style coupler and plug set and am very satisfied. It works well when used with one of the Milton screw-in plugs. There are no air leaks from the threads or the air fill mechanism. I saw tire chucks that were cheaper at Amazon, and I've used cheaper ones (and experienced air leaks) but figured I'd go with a name brand and so far I'm happy I did.

This chuck is well build and fits well. While the cheaper chuck that came with my compressor was difficult to get to seal well on the tire valves of my car, this valve slips right on and seals well with little pressure. I'd recommend this if you're having problems with the cheapo chuck that comes with many compressors.

RapidAir Union Elbow Fitting - 1/2in., Model# 50300

• 90° fitting with two ports to connect nylon tubing
• Simply push tubing into fitting until seated
• Tubing can be removed by pushing release ring
• Molded mounting hole for clean installation appearance

this system always begins to leak somewhere what a waste of money. I spent hours setting it up with no leaks securing it everywhere and yet at least once a week there is a leak somewhere.