Porter-Cable 2HP Air Compressor and Brad Nailer Combo Kit - Great Value for Your Money
Written: Sep 06 '02 (Updated Sep 29 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great kit value, powerful, oil-free maintenance, transportable
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend the Porter-Cable Brad Nailer and Pancake Compressor Kit for homeowners who need an air compressor and looking for more value for your money.
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| mountainhigh's Full Review: Porter-Cable 1-1/4" Brad Nailer and 2HP Compressor... |
The Porter-Cable 2HP, 6 Gallon Air Compressor is a pancake compressor design (which is easily transportable), rather than the large cylinder tank shape which takes up more room in your garage.
The Combo Kit
The model number Porter-Cable CFBN125A refers to the kit combo unit which consists of the model number Porter-Cable CF2600 Pancake Compressor with a 25 foot, 300 psi air hose and the model number Porter-Cable BN125A Brad 18-Gauge Nailer and a carrying case.
The carrying case contains your Brad Nailer, 2 allen wrenches, a package of 1,000 nails, small plastic container of light weight oil, Teflon tape, male and female couplers, and your operating manuals. There is a place to store your goggles, however, goggles apparently are not offered any longer with the kit.
Why Buy the Kit over Piece Parts?
The Porter-Cable CF2600 Pancake Compressor alone costs $190. The Porter-Cable BN125A 18-Gauge Brad Nailer costs $85.00. The 25' hose is priced at another $13.00 and the couplers price out at $4.00 each. The total piece parts thus far are now at $295.00. Add on a few more bucks for your oil, allen wrenches, and Teflon tape. Now you are over $300.00. But wait! You also have a hard plastic carrying case to store your brad nailer, oil, wrenches, goggles, couplers, manuals and Teflon tape. Pricing out carrying cases was running about $20 but did not have the proper slots for your particular needs. Now the total cost is $100 more than buying the Porter-Cable CFBN125A Combo Kit.
The Porter-Cable CF2600 Pancake Compressor
The compressor offers 2 HP and a 6 gallon tank size and is completely assembled and ready to use.
It offers plenty of capacity and power enough to support the use of brad and finish nailers, framing nailers, ratchet wrenches, blow guns, and most of all the other numerous air tools. It provides 3.7 SCFM at 40 psi and 2.6 SCFM at 90 psi.
This is an oil-free unit which can be used on sloping landscapes areas without the worry of oil leakage.
The unit plugs into a standard household plug and the 120-volt motor draws only 10 amps.
It has an outlet pressure gauge that indicates the air pressure available at the outlet side of the regulator. This pressure is controlled by the regulator and is always less than or equal to the tank pressure. The regulator knob is located on the front part of outlet gauge. Turn the regulator knob to increase pressure or to decrease pressure.
The tank pressure gauge located next to the outlet pressure gauge, indicates the reserve air pressure in the tank.
There is a pressure switch located next to the gauges that automatically starts the motor when the tank pressure drops below the factory set "cut-in" pressure. It also automatically stops the motor when the air tank pressures reaches the factory set "cut-out" pressure.
There is a pressure release valve located on the side of the pressure switch, which is designed to automatically release compressed air from the compressor head and the outlet tube when the air compressor reaches "cut-out" pressure or is shut off. If the air is not released, the motor will try to start, but will not be able to. The pressure release valve allows the motor to restart freely. When the motor stops running, air will be heard leaking when the motor is running, or continuous leaking after unit reaches "cut-out" pressure.
The cooling system is an advanced design that at the heart of the system is an engineered fan. You will know that the cooling system is working when air is being expelled through the vent holes.
The unit does not require an air filter due to the design of the air intake system.
The motor has an automatic thermal overload protector. If the motor overheats for any reason, the thermal overload protector will shut the motor down.
The safety valve is located at the end of the tank pressure gauge. If the pressure switch does not shut off the air compressor at its "cut-out" pressure setting, the safety valve will protect against high pressure by "popping out" at its factor set pressure. Before usage of the air compressor, pulling on the safety valve ensures that the safety valve operates freely and is not stuck. If the valve is stuck, over-pressurization can occur, causing air tank rupture or an explosion.
The bearings in the unit are sealed; therefore no other lubrication is required.
The compressor weighs 32 pounds and has a handle built into the motor housing.
Maintenance consists only of periodically blowing out all air passages with compressed air and cleaning all plastic parts with a soft damp cloth.
Porter-Cable Brad Nailer BN125A
First let me explain that brads are very small diameter nails without a head and some as short as 5/8 of an inch. Using brads in your wood working reduce splitting of wood. Using a hammer with brads is not an easy task due to their size and trying to hit the nail in the center with the hammer while holding the nail with your other hand. You could use a small tool to hold the brad while trying to use the hammer, but this becomes a very daunting experience. Also, you have your cases where you have tight places to use a hammer.
Electric brad nailers work well on softwoods, such as pine, but air brad nailers are needed for hardwoods such as oak or maple.
A brad nailer is good to use when holding work together while gluing where clamps are difficult to use.
Our Impressions
To date, my husband has built some small birdhouses, installed some molding, built a small garage cabinet, and a few other unfinished woodworking projects with no jams. However, if it did jam, you just pop open the front end of the nose using the quick release latch and you have complete access to the brads. Some nailers require the use of an allen wrench to clear a jam.
My husband does not like plastic parts and this one is made of die-cast aluminum, yet weighs only just a tad more than a hammer. The handle is very comfortable to hold. We are very impressed with the product.
Since we are homeowners and we do not use this for commercial use, I do not know how well this would work on a daily, constant, commercial use basis.
Features of the Porter-Cable BN125A Nailer
The Porter Cable BN125A is a heavy duty pneumatic brad nailer designed to install 18-gauge brad nails of various lengths from 5/8" to 1 1/4" inches long and has a visual reload indicator to signal that the magazine is nearly empty.
The nailer is designed to operate at regulated pressures between 70 and 120 PSI. All air line components (hoses, connectors, filters, regulators) must have a minimum working pressure rating of 150 psi or 150% of maximum system potential, whichever is higher. Do not use this nailer to an air compressor system with maximum potential pressure greater than 200 psi.
The nailer is equipped with a male "quick connector". The tool must always be connected to the air compressor with a coupling that will release all pressure from the tool when disconnected.
The adjustable directional exhaust deflector provides 8 detented positions for directing the exhaust blast away from the operator and the project.
The nailer is equipped with a removable rubber nose cushion to help prevent marring of finished surfaces during normal operation. You can remove the rubber nose and store it in the rear area of the magazine when operations require better visibility and using it in tight spaces.
The depth to which a fastener is driven is controlled by the depth adjustment knob that allows exact setting of nail head without changing settings on the air compressor.
A sequential fire trigger and increased power assure that nails will be driven accurately and cleanly.
Maintenance of the Brad Nailer
This is not an oil less nailer, therefore, you need to put several drops of oil in the air inlet before usage.
All compressed air contains moisture and other contaminates that are detrimental to the internal components of the nailer. An in line water separator filter (an air line filter) will remove most of these contaminates and significantly prolong the life of the tool.
Always wear Z87 approved safety goggles when operating your unit.
Items of Interest to Use Your Compressor On
We have bought an additional air ratchet wrench to make it quick and easy to use sockets on (like removing tires on vehicles) or using on many of my husband's special projects. We also bought a blow gun, sander, and a tire inflator. I'm sure we will be buying many more air tools since this is so much easier than manual labor.
Warranty
The warranty on the compressor and the brad nailer are both 1 year parts and labor.
Thank you for reading my review, and I hope that this product has enlightened you on a fabulous buy for your purchasing decision.
Recommended:
Yes
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mountainhigh
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