Compressor can’t keep up with air tool

Compressor can’t keep up with may air tool – is it a big enough compressor?

by Bob
(Tennessee)

I have a 6.5 sears 90 gallon 160 max psi vertical compressor.

I have a spit line with both regulators set to 90 psi.The problem occurs on both lines.The problem I am having is when I use a 4.5 cfm angle grinder the pressure drops down to a point after about 4-5 minutes that the tool barely operates. I would think a compressor of this size should be capable of running this tool fairly effortlessly.
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Bob, if the compressor is 6.5 HP, then yes, since it should give you around 20 – 26 CFM of compressed air at 90 PSI. I certainly would agree that it should drive an air tool that uses 4.5 CFM.

Clearly, then, something is interfering with the flow of sufficient air from the tank.

Since I don’t know how long the air lines are, or the size of them, I cannot suggest that this might be the issue.

If it is a common feed from the tank to a splitter, and then each line from the splitter is plumbed through it’s own regulator, and you experience the problem on both lines, I would think that it is not the regulator at fault, unless both are undersized for the flow.

If the regulators are OK, then it’s got to be the splitter or else something else is slowing flow.

I suggest you plumb right from the tank nipple, a direct air hose, right to the tool, and run the tool for a bit to see if that resolves the issue. If it does, then start adding components back into the circuit until you hit the one where the problem starts.

Please let us know how it turned out.

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