I have a Coleman pancake tank style compressor. It is labelled “contractor” and claims it has a short stroke for longer life etc. I have had it just over 3 years but have only fired it up 25 to 30 times in that period of time. I am not a tradesman and don’t use this stuff everyday. I have a big compressor in the garage that I use for automotive air tools etc. This little one was just for the basement workshop so I could use a brad nailer and a little stapler. I don’t like to fire up the big one when it is really cold outside. On January 1st the little compressor blew. The connecting rod snapped and it beat itself up pretty bad before enough parts fell off to stop causing damage. I knew it was past the stated warranty but I took it back to the store where I got it and they sent it off to a local Coleman repair depot. Coleman declines to do anything. The quoted price to repair is $500 which seems a bit silly since I got it on sale for a little over $300 in the first place. The good news is that the store where I bought it is very reputable and has offered to replace it with one they now have in stock. They no longer sell the Coleman so I have to switch to something different but I am not sure I would really trust another Coleman anyway. I think they are being a bit unreasonable since the machine looks like new – not faded, dirty or spattered with paint or anything like that and was clearly defective if the connecting rod broke. It has been in my basement for its whole life and hardly used at all. I am feeling fortunate however given I will get a new replacement. I think I will switch to one of the oiled ones so it will be quieter.
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bic- I think I would be buying all my tools at that shop from now on.
A Coleman only lasted three years? snicker snicker
3 years you say.. Consider yourself blessed...
What is the store that I would buy all my stuff from offering as a replacement?
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
If I had used it hard, I might not think 3 years was bad. However, as I said, a tradesman would have used it more in the first week than I did in its whole life. That is what frustrates me. If you don't use it much you don't give it much of a test before you run out of warranty.
I am in Canada and the store is a local company called Princess Auto. (they started out a long time back on Princess Street here as an auto junk yard and have progressed into a much bigger company)I do buy a lot of stuff there but they are more into automotive, hydraulics etc. - not into woodworking stuff at all. My garage looks a bit like a showroom for them - sandblast cabinet, air compressor, hydraulic press etc - all from their store.
They have offered my choice of any of the little portable compressors that they now carry. They are not carrying anything really comparable given that the ones in stock now are all Asian as opposed to American made so far as I can tell. However, I am not complaining as any replacement is a blessing at this point. The Coleman was not very good anyway I guess. Don't know if I just got a bad one or if they had problems with that model.
I have a Coleman pancake that I bought in a hurry one day as I needed another one. It self destructed once & was replaced. I have now spent 6 years hoping the thing will self destruct again so I can get rid of this POS !On a hill by the harbour
I have a coleman hotdog style compressor(it fits nice beside the wheel wellin my truck) that I use for mostly smaller jobs. and I have beat the tar out of it as well. Its still going after 5 yrs With no maintenece. has a very high cfm for its size. Tank rusted out a year ago, bought a new one bolted the motor and compressor on and its still going. Ido an average of 60 hrs a week year round and have many differenet tools some major name some not I think some of it is luck of the draw, like when you buy a car.