DEWALT FLEXVOLT Cordless Air Compressor

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DEWALT FLEXVOLT 60V 2.5 Gallon Cordless Air Compressor DCC2560T1 Review

DEWALT FLEXVOLT Cordless Air Compressor

4/5
Manufacturer: DEWALT
Model number: DCC2560T1
Price: 299.00
Power source: 60V cordless
Motor size: Brushless
Weight: 21.5 lbs
When it comes to tools, there is a massive world of features and accessories, sometimes you have to boil down a tool to a few features. When it comes to compressors, three things jump out to me:

  • Size
  • Reliability
  • Noise Level

 

FlexVolt Cordless Compressor Size

At 21.5 lbs, this compressor is both lightweight and highly portable. The compressor has a heavy duty roll cage to protect the valve and pressure gauge.  The FLEXVOLT cordless air compressor has a 2.5 gallon tank, and a maximum tank pressure of 135 PSI. In our opinion, it provides a sweet spot for pneumatic trim and finish fastening applications.

The compressor is oil-less and the only real downside to that, is that it takes time to fill with air because of the small pump that compress the air. Like other oil-less compressors, this means the compressor is louder, has less power, and will need to be filled more often.

FlexVolt Cordless Compressor Reliability

Designed with a brushless motor and oil free pump the FLEXVOLT cordless air compressor lets you continue using the pneumatic tools you already have, minus the electricity needed to power a compressor. For you guys that are still using pneumatic fastening, and want to keep using your pneumatic nailers, this compressor is your cordless solution. DEWALT says the FLEXVOLT 60V 2.5 gallon cordless air compressor when used with a DCB606 battery and a DEWALT DWFP12233 Brad Nailer achieves up to 1,220 nails.

Durability goes hand in hand with reliability and this compressor has a durable roll cage which protects the switch, gauges and battery from tips and drop damage. The compressor’s feet are thick rubber tabs that are  attached with screws. The rubber feet help reduce vibration and prevent the tool from walking when in use. DEWALT installed a quarter-turn ball valve drain cock, we’ll touch on this later.

FlexVolt Cordless Compressor Noise Level

The DEWALT FlexVolt Compressor is rated at 79 dBA.

Decibel ratings are a great way to gauge the performance of a product, but for me hearing is believing! We don’t claim to be a test lab, and do not have expensive decibel testers like DEWALT has. We tested the compressor for decibels in our shop, at three different locations:

  1. 92 dBA next to compressor pump
  2. 90 dBA next  to compressor, ear height
  3. 88 dBA Foot feet away, ear height

PSI Regulation

DEWALT designed in a one-turn regulator knob, which allows the user to simply adjust the regulator knob so the indicator is pointing to the desired PSI. The compressor will then self-regulate. Its a fast, easy, and accurate pressure adjustment. Its basically a “simple-stupid” design. We like it! further more to answer the question everyone has, this compressor has plenty of PSI to run full size finish nailers.

Hose Coupler

We like quick-connect couplers that stay retracted when not hooked to a hose, because they allow easy one-handed hookups. Unfortunately with the DEWALT Cordless Compressor you must manually retract the sleeve on the compressor coupler with one hand and, with the other hand, insert the hose nipple. (a two hand operation) To us this would have been a simple upgrade for them to make and a missed ground ball thru the legs for DEWALT.

FlexVolt Cordless Compressor Cycles

We tested the DEWALT cordless compressor for cycling after installing different fasteners. We performed these tests at 100 PSI,and developed an average number of fasteners driven before the compressor needed to cycle.

  • 16 Gauge finish nails:  2-1/2″ nail:    10 nails
  • 18 Gauge brad nails:                            1 -inch: 18 brads
  • 1″ Pin nails:                                            34 pin nails

We timed the tank charging times of the compressor both when empty and when recovering after firing enough fasteners to cycle the pump motor:

  • Time needed to fill empty tank:           2:22 minutes
  • Recovery time after firing fasteners:  30 seconds [AVE]

Probably the BEST point to mention is when the compressor activates we were able to continue to “rapid fire” 50 fasteners [2-1/2″ finish nails] before the compressor was not able to keep up. this tells me that under “normal” fastening rate you should not have to stop and wait for this compressor to keep up.

Specifications

  • Drain Valve Type: Ball Drain Valve
  • Horsepower 4
  • Max Tank Storage PSI 135
  • Number of Couplers 1
  • Pump Type Oil Free
  • SCFM @ 40 PSI 5
  • SCFM @ 90 PSI 2
  • Tank Size 5 gal
  • Height 5 in
  • Length 14 in
  • Weight 21.5 lbs
  • Width 5 in

Improvements

Two areas that are worthy of watching, on this compressor, are the battery receiver cage and the drain cock. While using the compressor and inserting the battery, we noticed that the battery receiver has slop in it. This movement is seen both vertically and horizontally, and we are not sure if that is a design feature or sloppy fit and finish.

The drain cock lever is plastic and indexes onto a square valve stem. There is a small plastic o-ring between the stem and lever, and a screw holds the lever on. When draining the compressor we noticed a lot of slop in the lever. It’s uncertain to us how long the lever will stay on before stripping, slipping, or breaking.

Using the FLEXVOLT Compressor

We found the FLEXVOLT was able to maintain speed during a variety of finish applications including molding, baseboards, door and window trim fastening. Its smaller and 7.5lbs lighter than the Porter Cable 6-gallon compressor we normally use, and most importantly it kept up with our finish nailer.Its important to note that this is a one user compressor. You’ll be disappointed if you  hook up a double coupler to this compressor.

Kit Includes

  • Dcc2560 air compressor
  • DCB606 FLEXVOLT 6.0 Ah Lithium Ion battery
  • Fast charger.

Cost

The DEWALT FLEXVOLT Cordless Air Compressor sells for $299.99 online.

DEWALT FLEXVOLT Cordless Air Compressor
299.00

A Cordless Compressor  – Is it Worth It??

Yes it is!   DEWALT continues to bring cordless innovation to the job site. The one thing that impresses me the most about DEWALT is that they never take their foot off the gas with regard to their development process.

DEWALT FLEXVOLT Cordless Air Compressor Review

About the author

Rob Robillard

Robert Robillard is a remodeler, general contractor, and principal of a carpentry and renovation business located in Concord, Massachusetts, and serves as the Editor of Tool Box Buzz and founding editor of A Concord Carpenter . Rob is in charge of our Tool and Product Review - Tool and Product Review - Video Channel, , where we post all of our tool reviews and video tutorials. Rob enjoys using his knowledge and experience to help and educate building professionals as well as DIYers on best practices in the remodeling industry. The Concord Carpenter's motto: "Well done is better than well said!" : Read more about Rob

http://www.aconcordcarpenter.com/@https://twitter.com/robertrobillardRob Robillard

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5 Comments

  1. Michael Skelton

    Great information! I have a question. How would it work for airing up light truck tires, trailer tires, ATV/UTV tires and inflatable floats? My guess is that it would do all of those with no sweat, but wanted to confirm. I am tired of lugging extension cords arround

  2. FYI This unit slowly drains the battery even with the switch off. But works good just remember to remove battery when finished.

  3. MJ

    Is it louder than the porter cable compressor?

    1. Todd Fratzel

      MJ – It’s similar to most compact pancake compressors on the market.

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