Should You Buy An Eastwood QST - 30/60 Air Compressor + Bonus How To Do Monthly Maintenance

We got a new air compressor for the shop! It was time for an upgrade, and decided to go with the Eastwood QST - 30/60 Scroll Compressor.

If you're considering purchasing one of these for yourself, check out our video 1st for a straight up honest review.

If you already own it and want to know how to do your monthly maintenance to keep it running in good condition, I cover that towards the end of the video.

Find us on Social Media to follow along our journey!

[garyweber]

I've had my compressor for 6 months and have not had any issues with water in the oil, the secret is it has to run enough to evaporate the water from the oil if it doesn't get warm enough its going to build water, the tank of all compressors will have water

[flyhighusa]

I’ve heard people having having the same experiences you had . I personally have owned one of these for almost 2 years now. The only thing I’ve ever replaced is the switch, and they actually sent me a new one with the machine and recommended that I swap them out. As far as the water collection goes, you were talking about I have almost no water in my oil whatsoever. I do run my air compressor a lot I’m thinking, maybe the heat burns most of the water vapor off although I can’t be sure, I’ve had no oil coming out near the pressure switch. One thing I do put on all of my compressors and maybe this helps I put an automatic drain assembly on all of my air compressors that will actually drain any water condensate out of the bottom every 45min to an hour. Maybe that’s one of the key factors that’s helping me have a good experience anyway, I wish you guys the best. Hope you have good luck too.

[billknighton]

I only drain the water under pressure being careful to just crack the valve open. I don’t bother tilting the unit. 10-20 second job every few weeks. It’s true about ditching the cover - Eastwood even recommends this in one of their videos.
The only complaint I have it when it vents after a fill cycle. That hiss is way too loud and long. Defeats the purpose of having a quiet compressor. I’ve been meaning to plumb a diffuser to the switch assembly.

[tabcreedence]

I was considering one of these today.... thanks for the information!

[ZING-ojzi]

Yep, I've heard of the term "Cherry picker" for the engine yanker. Was a common term around the shop. Thanks for the review of the compressor, was going to take the plunge but decided not to since the monthly "maintenance" schedule is total BS. I wont be buying one anytime soon, not until they correct the issue anyway. Thanks again.

[jaredkaplin]

They sent me a moisture catch bottle this past month for mine. I have to empty that every couple of days in addition to the draining the oil tank of moisture. Also filled my garage with smoke upon first use because the pressure switch failed and it wouldn’t cycle off. They’ve sent me an upgraded pressure switch. They told me the oil spitting out the pressure relief was because I over filled the oil tank. The instructions of how to read the dipstick says full-safe zone-min. Full doesn’t mean what it does in the rest of the world, I was instructed to fill it within the safe zone. I’ve now spent about 6 hours total on fixing a $2600 compressor that I’ve used 5 times. Wouldn’t recommend this compressor to anyone until Eastwood does more R&D.

[Bellawella-bjnq]

if i remember right that compressor runs hot i think if you upgrade your cooling fan, or mount a water cooled heat sink on the cooling radiator it will stop the condensation issue and it will last longer to.

[ghffrsfygdhfjkjiysdz]

A year later mine still works like a charm. My pressure switch would not shut off, but i found that it was just set too high for the cut-off pressure. A little adjustment is all it took. Add an automatic drain valve to the bottom of the tank; electronic or pneumatic controlled and you never have to drain the tank. Make sure to run the compressor long enough to let the oil heat up; so that the moisture can evaporate and move to the air tank. If you are only running it for 5 minutes to fill up your tires; you will have issues.

[Dreday_k]

Well, I'm on my second unit because the first unit's pressure switch wouldn't turn it off at 150 psi. The unit kept running, getting so hot that it led to catastrophic pressure build-up, spewing black smoke in my shop. Since then, they have sent me a new unit, pressure switch, and moisture drain kit. The new pressure switch is a much better design and turns off like it's supposed to. Thanks for sharing your frustration. I agree with you, and I'm spending a bit more next time for a nicer air compressor and using the Eastwood as a backup!

[Nsir]

Originally from New Jersey here and instinctively refer to it as a cherry picker but will adjust the term to engine hoist depending on who I'm talking to. I keep hearing negative things about the QST 30/60 and probably will go with a standard 60 gallon compressor that is louder and much cheaper but more maintenance-free and less worries. Thanks for sharing this info! 👍

[jimb]

Thanks for the review! I was considering one of these.
Yes, I have known it as a "cherry picker" since the '60s.

[bower]

They just came out with a version 3 update. The parts can go on an old version. I just ordered them today. I would look into it if you still have it. I think they did a video about it on youtube.

[ChuckCassadyYT]

I’ve always drained my tanks daily. I don’t see how that process takes 30 minutes but then again it did take you a long time to jab that Tupperware in there. Find a better fitting drain pan for the bottom and extend that clear hose to reach it and this job would take less than a minute.

[michaelcavalier]

Great review, thanks for the information and feedback.

[axisvaporhoningindustries]

GS Compressor 42 cfm 10 hp single phase. I would add an elbow and a 6 inch nipple and then the ball valve on the tank bottom.

[chivasdeguadalajara]

I installed an automatic drain that opens up every 15 minutes for 2 seconds And never had that much water build up in the tank, I have however noticed that after long periods of not using the compressor it will drain only oil at the first purge in the beginning of usage that day. I don't use my compressor as much as I thought I would so can't really recommend what long term usage might be even though I've had it for 2 years. The auto drain can be setup anywhere from opening up every 30 seconds up to every 45 minuts and can open up for half a second up to 9 seconds.

[richardjeun]

I don’t plan on using a lot of air all the time. I think the smartest thing to do is to buy the quietest 30 gallon compressor. I’m going to start with two units and hook them up in parallel pneumatically, and maybe go with three units if I need a lot of cfm. I can replace, move, and multiply if need be. I was thinking about purchasing this scroll compressor, but reliability is the most important factor in my purchase.

[LarryBouley]

I've had mine for 10 months and it is pretty much dead. I called Eastwood and it took them 3 days to call back and they said they would have to send it to engineering to figure out. They mentioned a replacement unit. I had to go buy a couple of different air compressors to keep my shop running. I'll be looking for a different solution than Eastwood.

[gomez]

Eastwood has a written procedure for this on their website, they know about the problem, I agree they should fix it. but no where in it does it say to use a rag tied around the unloader valve. After you service this that oil will not spray out any more, it only does it if it accumulates to an overflow level.
Apparently this guy doesn't drain his tank daily as all the placards tell you to do, you should never get that much water from your tank, you are asking for corrosion and possible cracking of the tank!
And then, use the short hose off the oil tank drain off the end, instead of the side where you can hold a container....I can't say this guy is the brightest crayon in the box!
I changed my lid bolts over to 10mm hex heads, this whole process takes me about ten mins. once a month because I don't drain the tank once a month, I do it every day like you should!

[PeterDiCapua]

it's a cheery picker for sure..NYer here