FIAC make - any opinions?

[Farside]

A local tool stockist offered me a FIAC Air Force comp for a good price recently. I suppose many of them are much of a muchness, but wondered if FIAC were good, bad or indifferent.
I should have taken more detailed notes on the spec, but I think it's this one...
http://www.indanc.com/Catalogue/Com...e-14150S-Air-Compressor-FIAC-AIR-FORCE-14150S

 

[julianf]

I have a mitchegen.

Its OK. It makes a right racket, eats fuses if you try and run it on an extension etc.

Bought used years back - start cap had gone. Not been any bother since.

I'd never buy another direct drive though.

 

[armalites]

The one in the link is belt drive not direct drive

 

[slim_boy_fat]

They're Italian, that's all I know.

 

[anto44]

Place I used to work in had a 200l fiac. It was about 6 or 7 years old when i left. It never gave any problems in the time i was there. The noise was normal for a 3hp belt drive not excessively loud. It looked fairly well put together, power cable was good quality rubber insulated stuff not that horrible cheap hard stuff that you see when companies are trying to cut cost. Thats my only experience with them.

 

[fizzy]

A local tool stockist offered me a FIAC Air Force comp for a good price recently. I suppose many of them are much of a muchness, but wondered if FIAC were good, bad or indifferent.
I should have taken more detailed notes on the spec, but I think it's this one...
http://www.indanc.com/Catalogue/Com...e-14150S-Air-Compressor-FIAC-AIR-FORCE-14150S

A similar compressor in machine mart is about £450 - they really are fine - had mine years.
Our local machine mart has a returns section at the back of the shop - they often have compressors with a good saving - if you look at the wires you will see some have never even had a plug on the end.

 

[Farside]

I went back in for another look and arranged pickup for next week.
It's actually this one (not in Poland, obviously).
http://sabtech.pl/sprezarki-tlokowe...owe/sprezarka-tlokowa-olejowa-fb-150-3-detail

 

[brightspark]

if the price was right it looks ok much the same as most others

 

[Farside]

It's what I was thinking - they all look the same at that bit of the market, and if they're knocked out in Manchester or Italy, they're probably reasonable quality.
I suspect the one I'm getting is slightly New Old Stock, as the pump model on it isn't part of their current range. Not that that bothers me, as it won't be used all day long and the price is right.

 

[RonMig]

I got my fiac a few years ago from a motorbike shop closing down, the plate says made in 1988, they were confident enough to give a 10 year warranty... And it's still going strong in year 29. Works fine from a 13amp plug. A bit noisy, am planning to build an insulated shed extension to house it at some point...