My bothering to post this-- and your bothering to read it-- won't really amount to jack. I guess I just wanted to brag to someone other than my redneck friends here about Apple Springs.
I've been shopping for a compressor for over a year now. I wanted a 60 gallon, >= 120 PSI, >= 10 CFM compressor for painting arcade cabinets. I was initially suprised to find that $500 was going to prove the bottom-basement figure. 6 or so months ago I found, at Northern Tool, a refurbished one for like $399 or something like that. I posted a link to it on this forum. 2 weeks later, when I went to the site to buy the thing, it had been discontinued. So so on and blah blah...
4 or 5 weeks ago I was pushing my cart through Home Depot on a Saturday morning and spotted, at an end cap in electrical (ie half a block out of place), a Husky Pro compressor fitting the above specifications and with a big gawdy sticker on it that said, "Needs Green Tag" or "Needs Yellow Tag", I don't precisely recall. I noticed that it had a minor scratch (more like a black rubber residue) on its tank and that it wasn't in a box. I grabbed an employee and inquired. 20 minutes and 4 or 5 employees (leading up to, and including, the store manager) later I was at the check-out counter giving $249.99 for it. The story was that it was bought, taken home, and returned within 30 days. The purchaser reported merely that it "didn't work right". (HD has a 30-day all purchases returnable with receipt policy.) They sent it to their shop in Houston for diagnostics. It was returned to the store a week later with the official report: There ain't nothing wrong with this thing. Anyway, its listed new price was $549.99. I saved $300, got the complete warranty, and was able to wipe off the black rubber residue with 409. The thing is all hooked up in my new 'paint room' and performing like a nazi kuckoo clock.
I know that Husky Pro isn't THE BEST compressor on the market, but when I consider that I paid $99.99 for a 3 gallon Husky less than 2 years ago I feel pretty good about the whole thing. Like I said, this isn't going to help anybody (not anybody honest, anyway), but I felt like sharing. It does go to show that if you keep looking you just mind find.
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...53&langId=-1&keyword=compressor&storeId=10051