WHAT IS AN AIR COMPRESSOR?

Our domestic and small portable units are piston compressors; they operate the same as a motor car engine but without petrol or spark plugs.  The piston on the down stroke draws in air from the atmosphere.

The volume of air drawn into the piston chamber is called 'free air' and is measured in cubic feet of air in any given minute, or, cubic feet per minute (C.F.M.) or expressed in Metric terms, litres per second. 
(Conversion:   1 cfm =  27.94 litres/sec.)

So for example, 10CFM entering a compressor each minute is called the 'Free Air Capacity' or a 10 CFM compressor.  'Actual capacity' on the other hand is the volume of pressurised air that leaves the compressor every minute, so to explain, you draw in 10 CFM in one minute and compress it into a smaller pressurised volume which when released exhausts as a high velocity jet which can be regulated from zero to 100 PSI.  This is called P.S.I. or 'Pounds per square inch' of pressure.

When driving accessories and tools, each requires a certain volume (CFM) and pressure (PSI) to drive them.

Note also, that the use of a larger diameter hose can act as a Small Receiver eg. volume of air back-up is greater in a 15.2 metre (50 ft) x 3/8" diameter hose than a 7.6 meter (25 ft) x  1/4" diameter.

To make your job easier, we have put together a range of tools and accessories suitable to be used with each compressor in our range.

Click here for a guide to choosing an Air Compressor.
Click Here to see how an Air Compressor Works.