Eaton / Polar Air Compressors

Does anyone here have experience with these compressors? I've been looking to upgrade my compressor for a long time and am getting close to pull the plug out of necessity. I am looking at a 3-phase 5HP compressor and I want it to be the correct fit that I don't need to worry about for a while.

I'm specifically looking at the 5HP, 3-phase, 80-gallon tank vertical, Industrial Plus Quiet Air unit.

5 HP Quiet Air Compressor, 3 Phase, 2 Stage, 80 Gallon Tank, Vertical

I have liked what I see from Polar Air. Sounds like they come with Leeson motors and the pumps are beefy. The Quiet Air 5HP model is rated at 60dB which is less than my small compressor I use to run my mill. The Industrial Plus variant has a belt tensioner, automatic drain, continuous-run feature and last time I talked with them that also upgraded you to a TEFC motor over their standard ODP style.

Anyone have experience with these? They aren't cheap once freight is added in. I don't want a cheap compressor that falls apart and it sounds like Atlas-Copco, IR and other big names aren't so good after getting sold out?

No experiences with these?

I have one of their screw compressors. It's been pretty good.
I have no experience with their quiet device for the piston compressors.
Also check out aircompressorsdirect.com.
Good luck!

I have that compressor that you are looking at buying. Mine might be slightly larger as I remember that it's around 22cfm, but maybe not. Either way, it has kept up with my media blasting cabinet just fine.

I had a good experience working with Eaton Compressors. I had an issue where they missed some email communications from me. When I called them to follow up, they were very apologetic and quickly made it right. Their compressor is not 100% USA made, but that's virtually impossible to find in that size of a compressor these days. I have been using mine for 4 years now and not had an issue. I would buy from them again. The compressor is rebuildable if you put that many hours on it.

Back when I bought it, they called it a 'whisper quiet' model or something like that. It does cut down on the noise quite a bit. I work in a smaller enclosed shop and I'm not that far away from the compressor when it's running, so it's not 'whisper quiet' for me. However, I can have a conversation with someone in the shop without yelling and I don't need hearing protection when it's running. It's a lot quieter than the Dresser Wayne that it replaced. I've been in shops that run the comparably sized Ingersoll-Rand and those things are a heck of a lot louder than the Eaton Quiet version.

I would definitely get the quiet version again since I highly value my hearing.

I re-read your post and noticed the dB rating -- I would agree with that rating. That has been my experience.

medsar said:

I re-read your post and noticed the dB rating -- I would agree with that rating. That has been my experience.

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Thanks for the feedback! I have two compressors right now, one is a Craftsman that doesn’t quite keep up and is going out. The other is a California Air Tools that I use just for the spindle purge in my mill. The Craftsman measures around 87dBA and needs hearing protection, The CAT is rated at 62 dBA and I have no problem working in the shop with it running so 60dBA sounds pretty sweet for a real compressor.

I know some shops that are pretty happy with the Quincy compressors. They have a 5hp and 7.5 hp screw with integrated tank and dryer that's rated 62 db.

When I bought my Emax compressor (made by Eaton) I later became a bit frightened after reading about them on this forum:

Eaton Compressor threatens to sue me over "Made in China" compressor post - Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board

I don't mean to unfairly bash them. My compressor has excellent CFM and low RPM, but also sees limited use. One thing that frustrated me is the fit and finish of the pump, which is made in India. Pressure relief valves look like they were made on a pottery wheel and screw into the male threaded bores that look, um, not 90 deg from the casting. A gasket blew that was of a mysterious fibrous material, and showed the two cast parts it sealed were over 1/8" out of alignment. Had to machine one of the screw holes more into a slot in order for the parts to bolt together, without being on a bind. Last, the pump is dipped in a tar-like paint that shows rust underneath.

That said, it has worked excellent in its limited use.

Here's the one I have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/EMAX-Industrial-PLUS-Series-80-Gal-7-5-HP-1-Phase-2-Stage-Vertical-Stationary-Electric-Air-Compressor-HP07V080V1/204353719

The positives are really nice; I love the low RPM pump and the tank drain. Super convenient to drain the oil with a ball valve, also. Maybe my pickiness over the pump fit and finish is overkill... I just really like the smooth castings, good assembly and finishes on Rol-Air, Quincy, IR, etc. pumps.

BROTHERFRANK said:

I know some shops that are pretty happy with the Quincy compressors.

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I think that Quincy is a good apples-to-apples comparison to Eaton. Pumps share similar features and are based on tried-and-true design characteristics. Both use quality motors (mine came with a Leeson TEFC motor). One is a big company and one is a smaller company. At the time I bought mine, Quincy didn't have a compressor at 60dB in the sub-10hp range (or maybe I missed it).

BROTHERFRANK said:

I know some shops that are pretty happy with the Quincy compressors. They have a 5hp and 7.5 hp screw with integrated tank and dryer that's rated 62 db.

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I’m open to the Quincy’s, I’ve heard good things on them. I don’t know that I want a screw yet, my use is fairly intermittent and my demand is moderate when I use it. A 5HP compressor would give me what I need when I need it but I think a piston is the right way for me right now. The Eaton’s seem to have a lot more features for the price than Quincy’s but maybe the Quincy is overall a better unit?

TheOldCar said:

When I bought my Emax compressor (made by Eaton) I later became a bit frightened after reading about them on this forum:

Eaton Compressor threatens to sue me over "Made in China" compressor post - Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board

I don't mean to unfairly bash them. My compressor has excellent CFM and low RPM, but also sees limited use. One thing that frustrated me is the fit and finish of the pump, which is made in India. Pressure relief valves look like they were made on a pottery wheel and screw into the male threaded bores that look, um, not 90 deg from the casting. A gasket blew that was of a mysterious fibrous material, and showed the two cast parts it sealed were over 1/8" out of alignment. Had to machine one of the screw holes more into a slot in order for the parts to bolt together, without being on a bind. Last, the compressor is dipped in a tar-like paint that shows rust underneath.

That said, it has worked excellent in its limited use.

Click to expand...

The Emax stuff is confusing, it looks almost identical to the Polar units but there’s a couple minor differences. The Emax is more expensive but I can get them through online dealers and even Home Depot. Polar is cheaper and ships direct and seems slightly better. Weird they’d have twin options like that.

DethloffMfg said:

I’m open to the Quincy’s, I’ve heard good things on them. I don’t know that I want a screw yet, my use is fairly intermittent and my demand is moderate when I use it. A 5HP compressor would give me what I need when I need it but I think a piston is the right way for me right now. The Eaton’s seem to have a lot more features for the price than Quincy’s but maybe the Quincy is overall a better unit?


The Emax stuff is confusing, it looks almost identical to the Polar units but there’s a couple minor differences. The Emax is more expensive but I can get them through online dealers and even Home Depot. Polar is cheaper and ships direct and seems slightly better. Weird they’d have twin options like that.

Click to expand...

It gets weirder (at least did) as I've noticed multiple brands with those same pumps. I'm trying to remember which ones... It might be CP uses them, or Bel Air.

That could mean they are trustworthy pumps, though. I believe Quincy pumps, not just tanks, are USA made.

I have seen that the lower end CP, Quincy and Harbor Freight compressors have the same Italian mass pump. I just want a nice, not cobbled together piece of garbage.

I went through a similar search a few months ago when looking for a new compressor, noise level was my primary concern along with quality.

Something I found is the DB levels published essentially mean nothing. To compare one vendor to another you need every detail of how the test was performed.
- How far from the compressor was the measurement taken
- Was the compressor against a wall, or was it in the middle of an open field
- Was it measured on the side of the intake, or the opposite side
- Was it taken at head height, or on the floor


Even if the vendors gave you all that info, unless they were all taken in the same method, it would be a science project to compare ones that were measured slightly different and see how they compare.

One thing that makes a big difference is the speed the pump turns at, I started making that my primary focus once I realized the DB levels provided were useless.

I got lucky and ended up finding the bargain of a lifetime on a Quincy 5hp 80gal with cooler and dryer system that only had 400 hours on it, too good to pass up that I no longer worried about the noise level. My #1 choice prior to finding this one was going to be a Quincy 5hp anyway.

This thing is 10x quieter than my previous cheap compressor, I am impressed how quiet it is considering they don't advertise it as a super quiet compressor.

One thing I did notice is I had it located in the same location as now, except a while ago, I moved a shelf that was almost in front of it, by moving that shelf it got a lot quieter. You can easily manipulate the noise level, by plumbing the intake up higher, building a box around the pump, or even just build a cage and mount sound dampening sheets around the pump.

I have a 7.5hp polar air compressor w/ their silencer and dryer, and my neighbor has a 10HP. They were great to work with throughout the purchase process and the compressor's been great. Tons of capacity vs my old 20gal 2cyl compressor, and really quiet in comparison. I know when it's on, but with the mills and lathe going it's just background noise, whereas my old compressor made itself known no matter what. I'm still buying a screw compressor one day, but my package was about $3750 including freight and that's pretty hard to beat for CFM per $ and DB.

They sent me a die grinder for writing a review too. No complaints here.


I'll confirm that it's not "silent" in a small shop environment. I have 1200sqft of shop space, so it's snug and sound just bounces around in here with the metal roof, concrete floor, and all the machines. Still, quality of life is way up and I might move it to a better location to mitigate the noise further. I wish I bought the 3ph version so I could hook it up to a VFD and a PLC for soft start and speed-variable-by-demand, but they made it sound as if they didn't make this one in 3ph. I think they may have but it extended the leadtime a week or something. In any case, an easy enough project if I am so motivated in the future.

I have bought two Eaton compressors and was pretty dang happy with them. Not the shiniest, but they were reliable and I agree with the fundamental ideology of run a bigger pump slower for better performance.

First one was a 7.5HP replacement pump for an IR compressor that seized. I did a bunch of research on replacement pumps and found Eaton, and convinced my skeptical boss to give them a shot. Installed the pump and got it back up and running and it became the backup compressor to our Kaeser rotary screw machine. We had a fab shop in the back of the machine shop, and there was a ball valve we could close to pump that side of the shop air above what the Kaeser ran at without any impact on our CNCs. The thing is probably still in near new condition 15 years later.

Second one was a ~10HP unit I bought for a new shop I was building at a startup. Looked at Eaton right away based on the experience with the last one. Price to performance was great, it never let us down.

Not sure about the quiet versions, but would consider one when I buy a compressor for my home shop.

...where are the pump components made ....?

Does anyone have any info wiring a10hp single phase Eaton compressor with a magnetic starter. It says recommend breaker 60amp but it arrived and says on the magnetic starter just use 4 gauge for 100ft or less runs and 3 gauge for over 100ft and failure to do so will cause motor and capacitor failure. Yet a 60amp breaker only requires 6 gauge

Call them. They have pretty good customer service.

Quincy, like others makes several series with the QR being the best piston compressor made. Old rebuilt ones last a long time. They can run slow, ranging from 600-1000 rpm but the slow speed makes a pleasant put-put sound. The valves are easy to rebuild and they are pressure lubed. I've rehabbed a few and they have no comparable. The QT is their off shore low end model. Dave

Npolanosky can you contact me, [email protected]. I have a couple questions about your compressor. Thanks