How to Pick the Perfect Industrial Air Compressor

From automotive to pharmaceutical, a lot of industries rely on air compressors. These machines push air into things to make them work. This can include powering up tools like jackhammers or staplers or supplying air pressure to industrial equipment.

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With so many on the market, it can be hard to know which one is right for your needs. Here’s a quick guide to help you choose the best industrial air compressor for your company.

Types of Industrial Compressors

There are three distinct types of industrial air compressors that you can choose from. Each has its unique benefits that can make them better or worse for specific applications.

Industrial-Grade Reciprocating Compressors

One of the most popular types of air compressors is the reciprocating compressor. These compressors have a piston that moves up and down in a cylinder. As the piston moves down, it draws air into a compression chamber, when the piston moves up, it compresses it.

These compressors are often used in auto body shops and other industrial settings where they need to power pneumatic tools. They’re also quite popular in home workshops.

The Quincy QR-25 is a popular model and is generally considered an industry-standard in pressure-lubricated air compressors.

Advantages

The reciprocating compressor is a very popular air compressor because it is durable and reliable. It also has a low cost of ownership, making it an excellent choice for businesses on a budget.

Additionally, reciprocating compressors are very versatile. They can be used for various applications, making them an excellent choice for businesses with multiple needs.

Downsides

The downsides of the reciprocating compressor include its high noise level and limited duty cycle.

Rotary Screw Air Compressor

The rotary screw air compressor is an air compressor that has become very popular in recent years. These compressors use two rotating screws to compress air. As the screws turn, they draw air into the compression chamber and compress it.

Rotary screw air compressors are often used in factories and other industrial settings. But they are also becoming more popular in many workshops. Quincy Compressor manufactures a full line of advanced rotary screw air compressors.

Advantages

The main advantage of the rotary screw air compressor is its efficiency. They produce less heat, conserve more energy and consume less oil than most compressors, making them an excellent choice for businesses that need to save on energy costs.

These air compressors are designed to run all day with little to no issues. If your duty-cycle need is beyond 60%, then rotary screw air compressors are the perfect choice for your business.

Another advantage of the rotary screw air compressor is its low noise level. When enclosed, these compressors are much quieter than reciprocating compressors, making them better for businesses that need to keep noise levels down.

Downsides

The main downside of the rotary screw air compressor is that it is can be more maintenance intensive than the reciprocating compressor. While they will not need maintenance as often as other systems, these compressors have intricate systems that require special care from experienced maintenance professionals.

Oil-Free Scroll Air Compressors

Oil-free scroll air compressors are the newest type of compressor on the market. These compressors use two intermeshing scrolls to compress air. They draw air into the compression chamber and compress it as the scrolls turn.

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Oil-free scroll air compressors are becoming more popular in many industries, namely in pharmaceutical manufacturing, hospitals and laboratory facilities. This type of air compressor is the right choice for processes that require dry, clean, and oil-free compressed air.

Quincy’s QOF 2-30 hp oil-free scroll air compressor model is specifically designed to work in critical environments where even the smallest quantities of oil can prove costly.

Advantages

The main advantage of oil-free scroll air compressors is their purity. These compressors do not use any oil in the compression process, making them a great choice for businesses that need to maintain a clean and oil-free environment.

Oil-free scroll air compressors are also known for being efficient and extremely quiet.

Downsides

The main downside of oil-free scroll air compressors is their cost. These compressors are often more expensive than reciprocating and rotary screw compressors due to its oil free design and newer technology.

Other Considerations

Sizing an Industrial Air Compressor

When choosing an air compressor, one of the most important factors to consider is the size of the unit. The size of the compressor you need will depend on your business’s air demand requirements.

To determine your business’s compressed air needs, you’ll need to know your facility’s air consumption and pressure requirements. However, it’s generally recommended to simply measure twice and buy once. That means overestimating your air demand to account for any future expansions to your business.

Air Demand Requirements

Your business’s air demand is the amount of compressed air your facility needs to run all its equipment at once. This is also known as your peak air demand. To determine your business’s peak air demand, you’ll need to know the CFM requirements of all the equipment running off of your compressor.

Once you have that information, simply add up the CFM requirements of all your equipment to determine your total air demand. For example, if you have three pieces of equipment that require 4 CFM, 5 CFM, and 6 CFM, respectively, your total air demand would be 15 CFM.

Cubic Feet per Minute

Your air compressor’s flow rate is measured in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. When you’re looking for an air compressor, you’ll want to find one with a CFM that meets or exceeds your business’s total air demand. An air system study can be performed to ensure you get an accurate sizing estimate to avoid oversizing your equipment too much.

It’s also worth noting that you may need to have a specific CFM or PSI to operate some machinery. That’s why it’s always better to overestimate your air demand than to underestimate it.

Single-Phase vs. Three-Phase Voltage

Air compressors come in two different types of voltage: single-phase and three-phase. Single-phase compressors are the most common type of compressor. They run on standard 120v or 240v power, which is the kind of power you’ll find in a typical household outlet.

On the other hand, three-phase compressors require more powerful 208v, 230v, 460v, or 575v power. This kind of power is typically only found in commercial or industrial settings.

The main thing to consider when choosing between them is the amount of power your business needs. If you only need a small amount of compressed air, a single-phase compressor will do fine. However, if you need a lot of compressed air, you’ll need to go with a three-phase compressor.

Consider Working With Trusted Brands

Choosing a suitable air compressor for your business is a big decision. There are a lot of factors to consider, from the different types of air compressors to what kind of voltage you require. It’s important to take your time researching to make sure you’re choosing the best compressor for your needs, and this article is a good start.

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I've had it with piston air compressors. I just can't take the noise and low outputs anymore. I just finished rebuilding my 2 car detached garage into my shop, time for a compressor.

I looked at the Eastwood rotary compressors. $2k for a 9cfm scroll air compressor. Bit more than I want to pay, a little low I think for sandblasting or multi tool use. Seem to be some quality issues.

I am now looking at an OppAir unit from China. Model OPN-5PV. Oppair OPN-5PV link
This unit uses a VFD (variable frequency drive) which enables soft start and operation on 220v single phase power.
5hp motor, direct drive, 31.7 gallon. Air delivery at 116psi ~ 20cfm. The motor is variable speed and runs at lower speeds for less than full capacity. This makes the unit even quieter and saves roughly 30 - 40% on electricity according to the company. 56 decibels!! This is considered similar to the volume of normal conversation or background music. 42" long, 20" wide, 40" tall. 320 lbs. Comes on wheels. Has 12 month general warrantee & 18 months on compressor. FWIW, it also has a network connection...

I figure this will do everything and then some. I am trying to figure out how good this company's product is. It says they export to over 50 different countries and have 140 employees. I know some people will just say everything from China is crap, but realistically, they can make everything from crap right up to ISO rated components. The Eastwood unit is also made in China. Honestly, most everything is these days, even if it's assembled in USA... So I'm ok with a Chinese unit if I can reasonably verify the quality.

Landed cost to Boston port with crating, shipping, insurance & 4 consumable kits is around $. Kits include air filter, oil filter, and air/oil separator filter. Change intervals are 500 hours for first, then hours for next three. I think the only thing else needed is the oil.

So, can anyone speak to the quality of this company? Other thoughts? Would consider putting together a bulk buy if other people are interested.

Thanks,
Bryan Patton
Simsbury CT

I've had it with piston air compressors. I just can't take the noise and low outputs anymore. I just finished rebuilding my 2 car detached garage into my shop, time for a compressor.

I looked at the Eastwood rotary compressors.

First, the proper terminology is a SCROLL compressor ! "Rotary" could imply a swash plate piston pump.

If you want QUIET (but less volume) than the Eastwood (and much lower cost), check out the California Air Tools (CAT) xxx line of compressors. VERY QUIET ! You can even buy one with a {nearly) sound proof cabinet ! 125 PSI maximum. 10.60 CFM @ 90 PSI. Several different tank sizes in both horizontal and vertical.

Not enough volume ? Check out the xxx models. 14.6 CFM, but now you are approaching the price of a scroll compressor.

I've had it with piston air compressors. I just can't take the noise and low outputs anymore. I just finished rebuilding my 2 car detached garage into my shop, time for a compressor.

I looked at the Eastwood rotary compressors. $2k for a 9cfm scroll air compressor. Bit more than I want to pay, a little low I think for sandblasting or multi tool use. Seem to be some quality issues.

I am now looking at an OppAir unit from China. Model OPN-5PV. Oppair OPN-5PV link
This unit uses a VFD (variable frequency drive) which enables soft start and operation on 220v single phase power.
5hp motor, direct drive, 31.7 gallon. Air delivery at 116psi ~ 20cfm. The motor is variable speed and runs at lower speeds for less than full capacity. This makes the unit even quieter and saves roughly 30 - 40% on electricity according to the company. 56 decibels!! This is considered similar to the volume of normal conversation or background music. 42" long, 20" wide, 40" tall. 320 lbs. Comes on wheels. Has 12 month general warrantee & 18 months on compressor. FWIW, it also has a network connection...

I figure this will do everything and then some. I am trying to figure out how good this company's product is. It says they export to over 50 different countries and have 140 employees. I know some people will just say everything from China is crap, but realistically, they can make everything from crap right up to ISO rated components. The Eastwood unit is also made in China. Honestly, most everything is these days, even if it's assembled in USA... So I'm ok with a Chinese unit if I can reasonably verify the quality.

Landed cost to Boston port with crating, shipping, insurance & 4 consumable kits is around $. Kits include air filter, oil filter, and air/oil separator filter. Change intervals are 500 hours for first, then hours for next three. I think the only thing else needed is the oil.

So, can anyone speak to the quality of this company? Other thoughts? Would consider putting together a bulk buy if other people are interested.

Thanks,
Bryan Patton
Simsbury CT

20cfm at 115+ psi from 5hp, while operating at 62db all sounds awesome, if a bit too good to be true. I doubt you'll get much personal experience here, but I'm sure you'll get plenty of opinions. Good luck and let us know how it goes either way. How much "power" do you need ? What do you plan on using air for ?

One of my friends has a precision type machine shop and he has a fairly good size Kaeser rotary type compressor. I dont know what size it is or the specs but it is fairly loud. He has it in a back room to keep the sound out of the main shop.

I think a lot of guys judge piston type compressors by listening to some of the cheap ones. A good quality one will not be that loud in my opinion.

Also not sure what you consider "low output" but I have an ancient 7 1/2 hp Curtis 2 stage at the shop and I cant imagine needing any more, especially in a home shop. I can run my bead blast booth continuously with it. That is probably the biggest air hog there is. Not an ad. Just trying to get some feedback. From what I can tell, sounds like a real company. They will overnight parts for free during warranty period. They sell the consumables kits with the machine. They have a good rating on Alibaba with a fair amount of reviews and traffic. With scheduled oil and filter changes, I suspect this unit will last a long time, especially with intermittent use. I am inclined to order one, and will probably do so within the week if anyone else is interested in saving on shipping/port fees. Landed cost direct from manufacturer is under 2k, so it makes sense that similar brands or private label brand would be marked up to $+ Yes, a Chinese machine is a risk as no really good way without a body of users on this side of the ocean to give feedback to know if quality is there. But, if it has enough air to meet your needs, agree it is probably a reasonable risk to take. Just for reference: I usually pay about $10k Cdn ($7k US) for A-C, G-D, etc. brand name 5 HP single phase compressor, tank mounted with refrigerated primary driver. Recently bought an off brand 5HP scroll for my home shop so will see what the low cost option feels like. To me, 5HP is the sweet spot for home shop - you can do small blast cleaning or run medium size air tools and still have some power in the panel for other circuits in the shop. I bought a 10 HP IR rotary compressor to power my Shop some years ago. On the plus side it was quiet, not as quiet as I expected though. It put out a lot of air, so that we could run multiple lines at the same time including the paint booth. Didn't produce as much heat as a conventional pump.

The downside was that it broke down often. The integrated circuit panel (not the actual name) was always the issue. The last time it did, had the IR guy come out (@$200/hr) and he worked on it for 4 hours. When he finished he said he couldn't figure out what was wrong. Unbelievable. So this very expensive piece of equipment sat for months collecting dust. Ended up having a buddy look at it. He had it running in 15 minutes! They are complex and unless you have someone that knows those machines repairs may be an issue.

They are no longer an issue for me as I sold the sucker shortly after my buddy got it running.

How much "power" do you need ? What do you plan on using air for ? ......

Also not sure what you consider "low output" but I have an ancient 7 1/2 hp Curtis 2 stage at the shop and I cant imagine needing any more, especially in a home shop. I can run my bead blast booth continuously with it. That is probably the biggest air hog there is.

Pressure blasting uses ~twice as much air as a suction gun with the same nozzle size- there's no comparison; pressure blasting with a 3mm nozzle is like drilling a 2.5mm hole in the tank and expecting it to keep up. But yes, I agree that a true 7.5 HP, 30A, two stage compressor is enough for a home shop with occasional pressure blasting.

5hp, single phase, 19 cfm, probably a little higher pressure.

The US Air rating is at 100 PSI; delivered CFM falls off at higher pressure demand. Getting something for nothing raises red flags with me.

Also, you are assuming the no-name Chinese one has accurate specs; there is no way I'd assume the same. And there is no way I'd spend $ with a no-name company. But that's just me. I have no problem spending ~$100 and taking a chance on something I'll use once a year when it has good reviews, and a name brand is 3X as much. But spending $ on something I plan to use every day that I'm in the shop for the next few decades- no way. Of course, I have a Quincy compressor, Lincoln MIG welder, DeWalt cordless tools etc.