Good Deal on Ridgid 3 HP 5 Gallon Compressor OL50135

[jaco]

Normally $259.00 they are on clearance @ H.D. for $181.00.
Made in Italy. I have a Hitachi compressor made in Italy,
most likely the same company and the Hitachi is a very good compressor.

[Phone Guy]

I picked up one of theseat the reduced price. It was new in the box but it has a big air leak at about the center of the manifold behind the hose guage. I called the 800 number on the compressor and they suggested taking it back for an exchange. Problem is HD does not have another and they cant ship clearance items from store to store. They did give me the option of upgrading but there is nothing to up grade to. I want an oil lubricated compressor. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[woodslayer]

I’ve been waiting for my oil-less Craftsman to die so I could pick up an oil lubricated compressor and this may be just the excuse I needed. Any real world observations on the noise level compared to deafening model I am currently suffering with.

Thanks

Woodslayer

[imported_CWSmith]

Phone Guy,

Short of taking it to a another HD for exchange, I could only suggest you look to have it repaired under warranty. You got a great price, so maybe the wait would still be worth the cost savings.

Woodslayer,

Not being familier with the Ridgid, I'm not sure of the cylinder design/material. But I might assume that because it is lubricated, it may have an iron liner in the cylinder. From my experience, iron or linered aluminum compressors that are of lubricated design are generally 10 to 15 dB quieter than straight aluminum, non-lubricated units. The life expectancy of the unit is also, typically, two to four times longer than non-lubricated aluminum units.

CWS