.....stay away from the mid priced Chines compressors, specifically the Hatsan Lightning and its cousin the AirVenturi 4500. It's the same ole story almost weekly that someones compressor stopped making air. Then the task of sourcing parts and waiting on them to show up. Being a AV owner I've had numerous failures with lots of down time and it's the same story with the Hatsan. I will say this though AV customer service is pretty good actually and they do have parts on hand but from what I've heard from Hatsan owners its pretty much non-existent and acquiring parts is futile. I do have mine up and running again (very well actually) but I know it could and kind of expect it break just when ever.
It's also seems like a lot of the smaller portable compressors are also short lived before the trouble starts.
If someone is inclined to go the Hatsan or AV route I would recommend the Yong Heng or the Tuxing because of the price difference and the simplicity, not near as many un-needed whistles and bells even though they share the same gene pool as the other two. Both of these are very capable of filling tanks at 1/3 the price of the AV and Lightning. If the Yong Heng blows up after a couple of years just chunk it and get another one.
If I knew then what I know now I'd probably go with a ShoeBox since money is an issue for me. I've been urged to get one by a buddy for years and I kind of blew it off since they are a slow filling booster, but heck I'm not in that big of hurry any more and so far I've been really impressed with it. If money wasn't an issue a high end compressor might be setting in my shop.... but..
Jking
It's also seems like a lot of the smaller portable compressors are also short lived before the trouble starts.
If someone is inclined to go the Hatsan or AV route I would recommend the Yong Heng or the Tuxing because of the price difference and the simplicity, not near as many un-needed whistles and bells even though they share the same gene pool as the other two. Both of these are very capable of filling tanks at 1/3 the price of the AV and Lightning. If the Yong Heng blows up after a couple of years just chunk it and get another one.
If I knew then what I know now I'd probably go with a ShoeBox since money is an issue for me. I've been urged to get one by a buddy for years and I kind of blew it off since they are a slow filling booster, but heck I'm not in that big of hurry any more and so far I've been really impressed with it. If money wasn't an issue a high end compressor might be setting in my shop.... but..
Jking