An air compressor is basically a compressor that captures air and increases the amount of air in a particular space at atmospheric pressure and delivers it at a higher pressure. By contracting the air inside, the air pressure is increased which in turn creates energy that is useful for various industrial, manufacturing, commercial or personal purposes.
Air compressors are more essential than merely pumping up tires. These adaptable tools can also power nail guns, spray guns, and many other tools and machinery. The functionality of these machines is like lungs of the human respiratory system. For example, when you take a deep breath to blow out candles on your birthday, you're increasing the air pressure comprising in your lungs. Similarly, air compressors effectively use the force of air to produce energy for various equipments.
Air Compressor
Following are the types of air compressors:
o Piston-Type Compressors
These type of compressors have in-built tanks which store compressed air. The motor automatically shuts down when the pressure in the tank crosses a particular set level. As the air is used up from that tank, the pressure inside falls down and the motor starts to rebuild the pressure again. The specified pressure settings can be adjustable to the operator's requirements accordingly.
There are mainly two kinds of piston compressors:
o Single-Stage Compressors
These type of piston compressors have only one piston that compresses and releases air to the in-built storage tank. Single-stage compressors are usually utilized by home users with a maximum level of 150 pounds of pressure per square inch, essentially meant for light-duty compressors.
o Two Stage Compressors
Unlike single-stage compressors, such compressors include two pistons that compress and release air to the storage tank. The first piston compresses the air and passes it to the second piston, through a check valve and the second one compresses air even further and eventually delivers it to the storage tank.
o Compact Air Compressors
Unlike piston compressors, compact compressors are the smallest and lightest available category. These compressors don't store air as they do not have an in-built storage tank and run continuously to supply air. Such compressors are utilized in glue guns and small spray guns.
Depending on the type of these, they can be used in various ways. It can be used to compress air to alter the chemical composition during the process of making fertilizers or it can also be used to maintain industrial plants and machinery. One of the most common uses of these is in the case of tools like staplers, spray guns, sanders, nail guns, etc.
Operation costs of compressor can be high depending on the type of compressor you end up purchasing for your industrial plant maintenance. While these machines may require running on manual labor, most of them are functional on either electricity or natural gas. Natural-gas compressors are undoubtedly more cost-effective.
With the amount of information available on selected online portals, you can easily get a fair idea about the prices. But we suggest you to compare brands instead of prices as they can vary greatly which could result into unnecessary expenditure.