Air Compressors Buyer's Guide
Determining what your compressed air needs are is very important when choosing the right air compressor. As given the range of types, you can save time and money by considering your requirements in advance. You should see other articles in this section for a fuller description of the various air compressors on the market and how they vary mechanically. In this section however, we will consider the two questions that will govern your choice of compressor; which are: what are your power requirements? And what air quality issues do you need to consider?
Assessing Your Power Requirements
Tools that are powered by compressed air will state either on the tool itself or somewhere in its documentation, what its specific power requirements are. These power requirements will come in the form of a pressure and an airflow rating.
Depending on the country of origin, the pressure rating will be given in either PSI (pounds per square inch) or BAR (meaning [number of] atmospheres; derived from the Greek word báros). These figures denote the recommended pressure that the air is delivered from your compressor to the tool you’re using for optimal performance. On the other hand, the airflow rating will be given in either CFM or LPM, standing for cubic feet or litres per-minute respectively. This measurement will inform you of how quickly the compressed air needs to be delivered to ensure continuous operation.
Having collated the power requirements for all the tools and machinery you will need to use; determine which tools you will be using concurrently and then add together all their respective LPM ratings. The resulting figure is the bare minimum airflow capacity that your compressor will need to run these tools together. Next you should examine the pressure requirements for the tools; you will not need to add them up but you do need to ensure that the tool which requires highest operational pressure will be satisfied (i.e. if your highest rated tool requires 8 Bar, as a bare minimum, your air compressor should be capable of delivering this).
Wastage
Most tools pneumatic, especially if well used, will start to leak some air. As such, if your air compressor is at capacity when delivering the minimum operational requirements for your tools, you are likely to have problems in the future, as your system becomes less-efficient. In light of this then, it is wise to have some spare capacity; especially if you may purchase more equipment in the future. However, you shouldn’t over do it; as you will pay for too much spare capacity in needlessly high running-costs.
Wear and Tear
Most air compressors should have an operational life of at least 10 – 15 years. Like most machinery, however, an air compressors’ lifespan will ultimately be determined by how heavily it’s used and how well it’s maintained. As such, when choosing your compressor ensure it can comfortably cope with its workload, even if that means spending more on your initial purchase. An overworked compressor will need to be replaced or repaired sooner and thus, could prove to be more expensive in the long-run.
Air Compressors Buyer's Guide Part 2 >>
