PORTER-CABLE Air Compressor, 6-Gallon, Pancake, Oil-Free (C2002)

I bought this to replace a Cheap made in china model that I bought about 6 years ago. I dont use my compressor for any type of industrial work, so they have a fairly easy life. When my cheapo went the the great toolstore in the sky, I decided to get a different type, and of better quality. My last one was a "tank" type, with two wheels and a third foot. It was nice to roll it around, but the handle was so low that it hurt my back dragging it around. This one, despite having to carry the full weight (30 lbs) is easier to move around. The handle is well designed and sturdy. As for performance..wow. I started it and it took maybe 2 mins to get to full pressure. it shut off with the tank pressure indicator showing about 145 PSI. Is the switch off a little? Is the gauge off a little? Who cares, its 5 PSI which I will never need anyway. It has two quick disconnects so you could supply air to two different tools at once. I have pneumatic tools to drill, grind, saw, and polish. It would be nice to be able to just pick up a tool and not switch it out with one hose. In fairness, splitters are available to accomplish the same thing, but this comes with it. One less thing to worry about. It is fairly loud but hearing protection would not be necessary unless you were in a confined space and very close to the compressor. The compressor turns off at just under 150, and will cycle back on at about 120. Despite its smaller capacity (6 gal, vs. 10) it seems to provide more air volume than my old compressor. I did all five tires on my car, then hers and it still showed 80 PSI on the tank gauge. In closing, worth the money. The compressor has a quality feel and great performance.

First, I'll tell you why I gave 4 stars on the noise level. Virtually ALL portables are a bit "noisy" by nature of the work they do. So, there's nothing at all 'special' about this one from PC in that regard. Okay, on to the particulars. The carrying handle is super sturdy and placed just right for balance and easy carrying. The gauges are of good size (one for tank pressure regulation and the other for tool pressure) and reliable. I really like the dual air outlet couplings. This is one portable that can actually operate two tools at the same time. Its padded feet keep the PC right where you place it. No "Waltzing Matilda" when your back is turned. When you're all done for the day, there's an easy to use drain that'll keep the tank fresh for the next day's work. Porter-Cable built this unit right, I've come to rely on it and that means a lot. I highly recommend this 6-gallon, oil-free compressor if all it's specifications are a good fit for you.

I purchased the Porter-Cable Pancake compressor even though I have another much larger compressor. The large compressor, though it has wheels and a hand truck type design is not something to move around further than the yard or around the garage. I easily picked up this Porter-Cable and went upstairs to do some remodeling in my son's house with no problem. We used both a framing nailer (31/4" nails) and a lighter trim nailer (16mm). It handled both types without a problem and the air gauge was easy to change as we switched guns. The compressor has two hose connections and could have had both guns connected, but we only had one hose and had no need to use both at the same time. I would not recommend this compressor if you're planning to use two framing nailers at the same time. I have other Porter-Cable tools and have found them to be excellent and have great longevity. Hopefully this will be the case with this compressor, only time will tell. When using the framing nailer, I found that the compressor would recharge after about 5-6 nails, but kept up just fine. I would have had no problem using it when I built my house since I never would have had two nailers going at one time. I feel this is a good unit.

I just ordered my fourth copy of this tool. The pros-- It's handy. You can pump it up and take it along to air up a flat tire on the road if you want. It runs easily on a small generator. It's easy to carry. The oilless feature is nice for some things--you don't have to check fluid, and some tools don't like oil. It works a nail gun easily. I've used it with a plasma cutter, and occasionally have to wait for the compressor to catch up, but that's not a big deal. The cons-- It is what it is--a cheap consumer grade tool. I know of many carpenters who use these little portable compressors (they are all essentially the same), and it's worth it to them and to me to replace it once in a while. The accessories are cheap crap, so don't bother. The cord is not suitable for cold weather. That's true of most things, and I live in a place (Interior Alaska) where that's a serious issue. I just resign myself to replacing the cord on everything I use that will be out in the weather. The switch doesn't like to be rained on, so keep it under shelter, although it seems to come back after it has been wet. I've replaced the switch on one of the compressors, plus the cord and the hose. I also bypassed the pressure regulator and decided to live without the pressure gauge when it broke. We had a catastrophic flood here about a year and a half ago, and the power tools that proved particularly useful were these little PC pancake compressors and a Honda EU2000I generator. They are both gems, although the Honda is built to last, and the compressor is, ahh--less so. Why four of them? I gave two away for Christmas presents , and just yesterday I gave the oldest one, with the repaired cord, switch, and regulator, to a friend who needed it because he is having tire problems. It's the same one I had before the flood, and it was under water for four days. The others all still work, but I was ready for a new one.

I bought this as a gift for my Mom. Great, durable construction. Air pressure and power are great. The cord length allows for multiple uses around the house or farm, especially for small projects like airing up tires or running air tools. It has decent storage but can keep up with the demands of most jobs.

This compressor was purchased for one main purpose to maintain the tires in my RV properly inflated. It does a great job, it fits perfectly in a compartment on the side of my RV directly under a 115v outlet. So I can run it inside compartment no extension cord and it is so quiet because compartment absorbs sound like a sponge. I used a plug-in meter that monitors volts, amps, watts, hertz, watt hour and my RV is connected to my home via shore wire. Here are results: No load voltage 119.2, load voltage 110.6, watts varied from 1068 to 1100 as pressure increased, amps varied from 9.6 to 10.1 by pressure. I also have a 1200 watt inverter however I will need to upgrade to run compressor to a 2000 watt pure sine wave. I advise never to run compressor on a modified inverter the sine wave is almost square and it will ruin your compressor motor right quick. I am extremely happy with my compressor, perfect blend of size, power and prize.

Very nice compressor that has worked well for me. I would not hesitate to buy another one if I needed another compressor for some reason.

It's a solid piece of equipment and seems to be well made. It has a pretty decent capacity but still gets up to pressure in a minute or two. It is quite noisy and it certainly can't be ignored while it's on. I imagine that's pretty standard for a medium sized unit though. There is also a DeWalt version available which is almost identical and goes for about the same price. I imagine it's just the same performance, so just pick the cheaper one or just choose the color you like! It is easy to move around but it weighs around 30 lbs, so I can't really give that 5 stars for portability - you can't exactly tuck it under your arm!