The best compressor for the garage and home: how to choose, manufacturer ratings
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Pneumatic equipment is often used for both industrial work and home use. They require compressed air, which is supplied through a valve, to achieve a certain pressure in the system. For such purposes, there is simply no way without a reliable compressor.
Similar devices are produced by dozens of companies, which we will talk about in this article. We will also tell you which compressor to buy for the garage and its necessary characteristics.
The content of the article
Which compressor is better to buy for a garage - type of device
There are really many types of such equipment. But all of them are based on a specific drive that transmits torque to the device structure, helping to generate compressed air and transmit it to the system.
Torque can be transmitted either from an internal combustion engine or from an electric motor, which is more suitable for garage conditions. We will also talk about them in our article.
And according to the method of converting and compressing air, there are only 2 models - piston or screw.
Piston compressors
Primitive equipment, easy to use.The basis is the working cylinder, inside of which the piston system is located. Through a brass mechanism, a torque is created, which is transmitted by the shaft and creates a reciprocating movement of the piston. Several valves maintain the necessary air compression. When the exhaust cylinder expands, the intake valve opens and air is collected “outside”, and when the volume taken out decreases, the exhaust sleeve is activated and the finished air is transferred under pressure.
Screw system
The opposite principle of compression is used here. The main component is the “Archimedean screw,” a pair of screws that move the air as it is compressed. A similar procedure occurs when working with a manual meat grinder - the screw creates pressure, which is enough to cut through the products and release the finished result out.
How to choose a compressor for a garage - basic criteria for evaluating equipment
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In this section we will talk about the basic components of each pump: pressure, degree of performance and receiver volume. Without their calculation, your compressor will not only not pump air, but will not even turn on when starting. The choice of a compressor for a garage depends only on the following points:
Pressure
It doesn't take a lot of intelligence to determine the performance indicator here. For garage work, according to experienced users, 6 atmospheres is sufficient (in some options you can find not Atm, but BAR - these values are unambiguous with each other). For spray guns, 4 bar is generally enough. That is, when choosing, we focus on the average indicator - 6 bar (atm).
Compressors with a receiver always have a pressure switch in their design, adjustable to a difference of 2 bar. Thus, for productive work we will need: 6+2=8 bar.You can take more - it won’t make it worse.
Which compressor to choose for a garage - performance
A little complicated option for an inexperienced user. This is because most factories do not mark the working performance indicator, but “input” ones, which are far from the actual marks.
The value is measured in liters per minute (primarily). That is, knowing this moment you can understand how much volume of compressed air you will receive at the outlet from the pump.
The values are different for each pneumatic device. We recommend paying attention to devices with a capacity of at least 600–800 l/minute.
Receiver volumes
We need it not only as an additional supply of compressed air, but also as a pressure corrector to supply the necessary compression. Also, the receiver helps cool the compressor and pauses its operation, increasing the operating time.
The interesting thing is that the same manufacturer offers the same models, but with different receivers. This means that tank volumes affect not only the parameters of the purchased device, but also the compressed air output as a result.
Rating of compressors for the garage - what to choose for everyday use
If we talk about manufacturers, there are more than a hundred, if not thousands, of them, but the most popular are Abac, Fubag, Remeza (Aircast).
One of the “premium” and highest quality is Abac, models of which are produced in Italy and China.
Our selection of pumps is as follows:
- PATRIOT EURO 50/260;
- BISON ZKPM-440-50-R-2.2;
- Elitech KPM 200/24;
- Abac Montecarlo L30P 1129100037;
- Remeza SB 4/C-100 LB 30 A;
- Remeza SB 4/C-100 LB 75;
- FIAC AB 100-360 A.
This is far from an “ideal” selection, because each parameter depends on how often and for what you will use your equipment.You can share your experience of using this or that device in the comments!
