CAT-1P1060SP Light & Quiet Portable Air Compressor, Lightweight, Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free, 1 Gallon Steel Tank, .6 HP, 56 dBA Noise Level

I have had mine almost 3 years. It works perfectly. Very quiet. Like, CRAZY, quiet.Compact. Portable. Perfect.Great product.

May, I love this thing. I’m 65 this year, so decided to downsize since I no longer need a $400 air compressor taking up real estate on the floor in my garage. And the smaller compressor I had on my storage shelf was obnoxiously loud and about 10 pounds heavier than this one. So I ordered this smaller compressor and gifted the other two to my kids, who were always relying on me to air up their tires. Now they can handle that chore on their own.Before I gave those two away, though, I waited until this compressor arrived to test it out:As promised, it’s very quiet. Two people can carry on a normal conversation standing right in front of it. You won’t need hearing protection. Nice. Sitting in the garage, the 15 gallon DeWalt I gave my son would wake me up in the middle of the night from the other end of the house if I forgot to unplug it. I was afraid it would wake the neighbors and violate some city noise regulation it was so loud.The CA compressor is lighter than my 2 gallon portable compressor, as I would expect.. I no longer have to dread picking it up to carry it to the job location around the house.I was pleasantly surprised to find that the female air socket on the compressor was operable with one hand. Kudos to California Air Tools for adding that.The fit and finish are more than satisfactory. I could find nothing to complain about.I comes with the plastic air filter detached. So I installed that, plugged it in and the compressor quickly and quietly charged right up. I tested my small air nailers, up to the 18 gage unit. You shoot two or three nails and it kicks on for a few seconds, but you should expect that with a 1 gallon compressor. For a homeowner doing small jobs around the house, I would think this would work out just fine. It even runs my small palm nailer, which I use a lot for nailing jobs where it’s difficult to swing a hammer.It this continues to operate as it did today, I have no problem rating it 5 stars. Best compressor I’ve ever owned for its size.

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.

Boy this thing is quiet. True, you are not going to forget it is there, but the average polite conversation isnt going to be disrupted by it either even it is sitting at your feet. FWIW, I use this at an SMD rework station for blow-off, drying, and powering small air tools where it has replaced my little DeWalt pancake unit. When the DeWalt kicked-on, I’d always flinch and often turn my head away from the noise. No more! This fact alone made this a worthwhile purchase for me.This compressor has a very pleasing “putt-putt-putt” sound, unlike the obnoxious “braaaaaap!!!” of other units, yet the air output is impressive for such a small unit. As other reviewers have mentioned, it only takes 60 seconds to fill from empty, and 15 seconds to refill itself to the cutoff pressure (~120 psi). Although my use case is pretty specific, I can definitely see where this unit would be a good fit for air brushing or powering a trim/brad nailer. And of course it will handle the usual tasks like inflating bike tires, car tires, athletic equipment, and levitating random sleeping cats (KIDDING!).Perhaps the biggest “like” (other than being so quiet) is the portability factor. Im guessing it is about 35-ish lbs which means even an over-the-hill duffer like me can pick it up and take it to where it is needed without needing medical attention afterwards. Its actually pretty well balanced. Hefting it up to the tailgate of my truck did not evoke any colorful language from my back. :)All in all this is a very impressive little compressor without any visible downsides. It is well-built, runs cool and is basically a steal at this price. If you need quiet, portable air in small quantities, you will love this thing. 5 stars.Update: July 19, 2020: When I went to throw the box away, something in the bottom rattled. Hmmm... Curious! Further investigation revealed an intake muffler. Wait... what? So I installed it. This means that when I wrote the review above, it DIDNT HAVE THE INTAKE SILENCER ON! After installing the silencer, its even quieter. You can listen to music or talk on the phone while this thing is running. Unreal!I use this compressor every day and it really deserves six stars. It sits beside my rework bench and just purrs along. Love it!