Porter Cable Compressor Combo Kit

[pioneergal]

Looking at this item as a Christmas present to DH.

I would appreciate any comments.....pro and con helping me make this decision.

I have less than 48 hours to decide........HELP!




Porter Cable
6-Gallon Compressor Combo with Finish Nailer, Brad Nailer and Crown Stapler

Model CFFN251T

Price: $329.00/ea

Special Price: $299.00/ea
Valid through: 01/05/2006


This 2 nailer, stapler and compressor combo kit includes all of the tools you need to complete heavy-duty installation, assembly and construction on the job with more convenience and efficiency than if you were using manual tools. The 6-gallon, oil-free pancake compressor delivers 3.7 SCFM at 40 psi and 2.7 at 90 psi and requires less frequent maintenance.

•        2-1/2 In. finish nailer drives 3/4 In. to 2-1/2 In. 16-gauge nails
•        1-1/4 In. brad nailer drives 5/8 In. to 1-1/4 In. 18-gauge brad nails
•        1 In. narrow crown stapler drives 1/2 In. to 1 In. narrow crown staples
•        Includes nail gun oil, wrenches, 1/4 In. plug, couplers and fittings, safety glasses, 1,000 finish nails and a 25 Ft. PVC hose

[spinnm]

Generally the oiless don't last as long as the oil versions.

Nothing wrong with the tools, love my finish and brad nailers and Porter Cable is good stuff.

You'll need a heavier gun for framing and that's were you are, isn't it?  Don't think this compressor will work for a framing nailer.

How 'bout going up a notch on the compressor, framing nailer, and save the other tools for later on...like Bday and Valentines Day?  You won't need them RAWA unless I'm mistaken about where you are in your project.

Check out the DeWalt if you want to stay on the smallish side.  Can't remember the model number....has a lot of 5s in it.  Single tank.  Tool of the year when it came out.

[Amanda_931]

I didn't look at these because

a) the first building will be fairly small.

b) no electricity up there, probably going to run a 12 v chest refrigerator and a light--not much more .

(this will be pretty much all the comforts of home place, though--sleeping porch, storage for books, tools, out-of-season clothes, hot and cold running--well, flowing--water.)

c) I worked in framing before such things were popular, never have used one.

[Daddymem]

Some comments on this post:
http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1126301797/75

[glenn-k]

I agree with Shelley that the compressor is on the short side - the tool value is good.

A compressor such as this one is still small but puts out about 3 times as much air - check the cfm @90 psi.

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/jsearch/product.jsp?pn=165613

This compressor costs a little less than  the whole set of tools and small compressor.  You still need a framing nailer-  Porter Cable F350 - Hitachi is also supposed to be good.

Ultimately up to you.

[Dustin]

If you read the reviews of the unit on Amazon's site, you will see they vast majority are good. Some posted they finshed their house with it, and ran framing nailers. I plan on using it as my primary nailgun kit for building my FirstDay house, and buying a framing nailer. Yes, it's underpowered for some other tools, but it's a pretty good deal, and I got it for under $240 with a free orbital sander rebate!
I suppose you could always buy another larger tank later if you wanted. I also saw Sears has a deal for $299 today for a larger air tank with three nail guns (Finish, brad, and crown stapler). I saw this at the store, don't know if it's on-line. Looked like a pretty good deal too, but then you have to pay tax, and I didn't since I bought it on-line.

[glenn-k]

Looking at a framing nailer, I couldn't find specs as to air consumption, just 70 to 120 psi- it has its own air storage in the gun to assist.  At the worst with the small compressor you may just have to wait a little for it to catch up and that probably wouldn't happen often.

http://www.portercable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=4811

Be sure to get full round head nailers for framing - clipped head nails don't pass code in some (or all???) places.

[Bouncer]

I have the set and it works great. No problems at all.
Kevin

[John_M]

I also have the set.  I have not had any problems at all.  I have put it to moderate use.

I also just got the framimg nailer from Porter Cable and it does work with that compressor, you just have to use it sparingly....every few nails kicks the compressor on.  

Also have to jump the PSI to about 110 or so to drive the nails below the surface.

[rampage]

 Will the HD compressor that Glen gave a link to also run brad/finish nailers? Or, is it too strong for that. Do you think this compressor will hold for building a couple small builkdings and 1.5 storey?

[glenn-k]

Both compressors will run any of the tools with no problem - pressure is usually around 100 -120 on either - probably adjustable.  The difference is speed of recovery - as an example when nailing down solid sheathing to my logs I may shoot 20 ring shank nails in a minute - the bigger compressor would do it no problem or run 2 nail guns with no problem - the small one may have to come on and catch up after 5 to 10 nails as noted above to keep enough pressure to drive the nails all the way down - as a work around just drive less nails at one time.

Another area where the small one will probably be short would be running a texture gun for drywall texturing or possibly if you got an impact wrench and did mechanic work with it - pulled a tire - used an air chisel etc.  In these situations you would have to wait and do smaller amounts of work at one time - many times this is not a problem to a DIYer but frustrating to someone in a hurry- the small kit may give you a good way to get your feet wet with a good value in tools -then when you're rolling in the bucks and  have saved all that money with the speed you gained with the small set, you can splurge and get a bigger compressor.  The tools are usable with any large enough air compressor and are a good value by themselves.   Power tools can allow you to do the work of a whole crew by yourself -nice bcause you only have one person to train (or even chew out)-- I'm constantly walking around calling myself bad names. :-/ :'(