Doing Effective Work With Industrial Air Compressors

When tackling a major task such as framing a new house, sandblasting the old paint off a car so that you can apply a brilliant candy paint job, or riveting a piece of machinery together with a pneumatic rivet gun, you don't need a weak, lightweight, or flimsy compressor that can barely reach 90 psi when working at full blast. A powerful compressor is needed for tough, demanding jobs - and Industrial Air compressors do their best to fill this role with their line of heavy duty machines.

The smallest air compressors made by Industrial Air are somewhere in the vicinity of 20 gallons (the volume of the air tank), and are fashioned in the firm's usual upright or "vertical" tank configuration. Horizontal tanks of the "hot dog" type are found here and there in their product range, but their focus is overwhelmingly on upright types, some as tall as 77 inches or more.

The largest air compressors made by Industrial Air are 120 gallon giants suited to the heaviest tasks - long periods of riveting, sanding, spraying, and grinding or cutting. Painted the usual sleek, glossy black that the firm has adopted as its "livery" color, this model is one of the few horizontal types, configured rather like an outdoor propane tank with the main machinery atop the air cylinder.

Even at this size, however, the machine is powered by electricity, meaning it can be used in a confined space without concern about asphyxiating or explosive fumes building up in the air. This machine - and the smaller 60 gallon and 80 gallon compressors that are also part of the range - provides up to 175 psi at maximum pressure, though 100 psi is considered the normal operating pressure. At maximum psi, the device provides 30.2 cubic feet per minute.

In performance terms, most Industrial Air compressors feature two stage engines, though some of the lower end models are single stage. Most include a built in magnetic starter to get the machine fired up as quickly as possible when you are ready to start working. Industrial has also taken care to make cooling very efficient in their compressors, which helps to lessen the chance of breakdown in the short term and increases the overall life of the machine.

The air compressors engineered by Industrial are clearly made to last. Along the way, they can be expected to endure a high, steady workload such as is usually found in commercial situations. The tanks are made of cast iron, which is noted for its solidity and strength. Flywheels are also cast iron, while valves are made out of hardened steel. The belt guard is made of heat conducting metal, which helps to explain why the devices run cooler than otherwise equivalent ones from other companies.

Industrial Air compressors are designed expressly to meet your most challenging work head on and provide you with reliable, powerful air pressure every day and every week for years. With their sturdy design, flexible controls, and high pressure output, they are tough enough to give you strong support in countless work situations.

Making Outdoor Projects Easier With Gas Air Compressors

Outdoor projects are the natural "habitat" for gas air compressors, which generally stink too much of gasoline fumes to be used indoors in spaces that people are expected to occupy on a regular basis (such as homes, offices, and shops) - and which may even become dangerous if the interior area is closed off enough so that the exhaust builds up enough to asphyxiate people sharing the room with the compressor. In their proper niche, however, gas air compressors have a very important role to play.

A gas air compressor is usually a bit heavier than an electric equivalent, and the weight of the gas needed to run it needs to be figured into both weight and bulk when you are planning out the way to transport it to the work site. Gas air compressors are fairly fuel efficient compared to a car engine, since less "work" must be generated in order to move the internal parts and pressurize the air.

Gas air compressors may be less portable due to their greater weight, but they are more mobile - they can be used far from any source of electricity, on a boat, at a remote construction site, or during an emergency when the electric grid is entirely down. If you have a task that needs doing far from the nearest outlet, you should seriously consider a gas powered device to operate your pneumatic tools.

These devices come in several different configurations to offer various users the functionality and pricing that they need. Hobbyists, home handy-people, and those who only use air compressors for fairly light tasks such as attaching moldings or laying down hardwood floors, will need only a small compressor that should be as portable as possible. Gas compressors in these sizes are indeed made, though they still suffer from the drawback of being hard or impossible to use indoors.

There are larger gas air compressors mounted on wheels due to their bulk, with a twenty gallon tank or larger. These are obviously best suited to one-off projects where some mobility is needed, such as framing a house, and where no electricity is available. Since most electric air compressors are limited by the length of their power cords, and should not be put on an extension cord, the building site need not be very distant from electric supplies - just far enough so that the electric compressor's cord won't reach. There is no real alternative to the gas compressor in these circumstances.

Stationary compressors are also usually larger and more powerful, but are designed to be mounted in one place rather than moved around. They are typically meant only for commercial locations where powerful ventilation can remove fumes and carbon monoxide from indoor spaces before they build up to hazardous levels.

Gas air compressors come in many shapes and sizes, for every type of project, but most of them have all the extra details that modern engineering has added to the older, more primitive machines meant to supply pressurized air. Despite their bulk, weight, and the pollution they spew, you may find them extremely useful if you often need to use pneumatic tools outdoors, far away from a ready supply of electricity.