The Best 6 Gallon Air Compressor — Buyers Guide, Review, and Comparison

CFM – Cubic Feet per Minute

Undoubtedly, the most important factor when selecting your ultimate pneumatic powerhouse. Get it wrong, and your machine may not drive your air tools — and you’ll have a useless lump of pancake metal sitting on your garage floor.

CFM — or Cubic Feet per Minute — describes the amount of air that a 6 gallon air tank compressor can produce at a given pressure. And, it has an inverse relationship with the pressure, usually measured in PSI, output — in that as PSI decreases CFM increases, and vice versa.

To make the comparison between different machines more straightforward, manufacturers usually declare the CFM output at an industry-standard pressure of 90 PSI.

In general, machines with a higher CFM rating makes them suitable for running larger pneumatic tools or those with significant air demands. For light DIY pneumatic tools, such as airbrushes and small nail guns, a CFM of around 2.6 will be sufficient. For more demanding units, such as air-powered drills, you’ll need about 4.0 CFM or higher — exemplified by the Metabo HPT EC914SM.

PSI – Pounds per Square Inch

The pressure output of a 6 gal air compressor is explained in PSI, or Pounds per Square Inch. For the pneumatic newbie, you would consider that this specification is absolutely crucial when selecting your ideal unit. However, it actually isn’t that significant.

Sure, you want a machine that has the grunt to drive your air tools — but as most handheld pneumatics demand around 90 PSI of pressure, manufacturers simply ensure that their machines can at minimum deliver this degree of output. As mentioned above, it’s more important when differentiating units you look at the CFM demanded by your tools and delivered by your air powerhouse.

That said, it’s beneficial to check out the maximum pressure that the six-gallon compressor can provide. Those with high output specifications, such as the 165 PSI knocked out by the DeWalt DWFP55126, indicate that the machine will have a similar function to a unit with a larger tank.

HP – Horsepower

Read any substandard online 6 gallon air compressor reviews, and you’ll believe that the greater the unit’s horsepower — or HP — the more impressive the machine must be. To be honest, a compressor could knock out a megatrazillion horsepower, and still be completely useless.

The HP rating describes the level of work that the compressor’s internal motor emits at a given PSI (for more information on how a compressor works, check out my article here).

For example, you know that your shiny new nail gun requires 2.6 CFM at 90 PSI — so you seek out compressors that have this capability. You find two suitable units, one has a horsepower rating of 3.5, the other 7.8 HP — which one is better?

The answer is, the 3.5 HP machine.

This unit provides the same CFM and PSI output as its competitor, but at a lower HP. Therefore, it’s more efficient — requiring less energy (gas or electric) to drive the machine, saving you on fuel costs.

When searching through online 6 gallon air compressors, look for high-efficiency machines that can knock out 2.6 CFM at 90 PSI with an HP rating of 0.9 or lower — such as the Bostitch BTFP02012.

Oil-Free

To be honest, it’s harder to find an oiled 6 gallon 150 psi air compressor than an oil-free model. However, the oil-dependent versions do exist — so if you come upon one in your search for the ultimate pneumatic machine, avoid.

Oilless compressors have numerous advantages over their oiled counterparts, including:

Low maintenance — no filtration or air separators to go wrong.
Reduced cost — no oil or filters to purchase.
Eco-friendly — eliminates the need to dispose of used oil.
Benefits health — reduces workplace fumes.
Shields against contamination — oil droplets can infiltrate your project.
Multi-angle — they can be positioned and work fine away from the horizontal.
Faster starting — allowing you to crack on with your project.

All of the compressors in our top list, including the Porter-Cable C2002, are oil-free units. If you’re interested in discovering more about the benefits of oilless over oiled, check out my guide here.

Size and Weight

If you’re planning on having a permanent home for your compressor — such as a garage, tool shed, or workshop — portability may not be a significant factor. However, if your trade or DIY projects require you to move the pneumatic unit, or you’re short of space in your garage and may need to move it to one side when not in use — size and weight can be crucial.

One of the main advantages of six-gallon pancake compressors is that they’re relatively lightweight and take up little space while offering impressive CFM output. That said, sizes and mass can vary slightly between particular models — the DeWalt DWFP55126 is the smallest and lightest in the six-gallon category.

Included Accessories

Perhaps not a dealbreaker, but receiving some additional accessories with your pneumatic powerhouse can save you money and allow you to crack on immediately with your project.

When reading 6 gal air compressor review articles, look out for units that arrive with:

Couplers or splitters — allowing the use of two or more tools simultaneously.
Standard 0.25-inch pneumatic hose.
Washers.
Grommets.
Cleaning tools.

Of particular note is the Craftsman CMEC6150K, which comes with a tire chuck, blow gun, inflator adaptors, and a PVC air hose.