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Tank Pressure – Is there anyway of increasing the tank pressure to 150 or 200 lbs?
I recently renovated an old laundry mat and took the compressor that ran the presses home for use in my garage. I seen that it worked and thought why not. It is rather old but is your basic compressor with the top mounted pistons, and motor with pulley and such.
Anyway its pressure gauge goes to 300 and while I do not want to pressure 300 lbs it cuts out at 125, and cycles as it should. My question is this. Is there anyway of increasing the tank pressure to 150 or 200 lbs?
I plan on using it for impact wrenches air ratchets and such. I have had small 125 lbs compressors such as those small “compressor and tool packs” that you could get at Lowes near Christmas, but as soon as I would start using an impact it would deplete the tank and need to completely refill.
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Hi and thanks for writing in.
If the compressor can handle the pressure, and if you know how to adjust the pressure switch, then yes, you can increase the pressure output of your compressor so that it cuts-out at a higher pressure when the tank is full and assuming that the pump and motor can handle the higher pressures.
That you have a higher pressure in your tank that you need means that, if you regulate your downstream pressure at 90 PSI for example, a typical pressure setting for some air tools, you will have a few more seconds of pressurized air before your compressor tank drops below cut in pressure and your unit has to run to fill the tank.
It is a common assumption that higher pressure means longer tool use before recharging, and while in theory that is the case, what you may really need is a much bigger reservoir (and that means a longer recharge between uses), or a larger capacity compressor that can supply the flow you need, or recharge the tank faster.
Just because the gauge reads up to 300 PSI does not necessarily mean that the compressor is built to generate pressure that high.
And a question about – How many Cubic Feet of air in an air compressor tank
by John
(Seattle)
How much cubic feet of air per gallon in a tank at 125 PSI, i.e. 21 gallon tank at 125 PSI or 20 gallon tank at 150 PSI?
I am trying determine the air compressor tank size that best suits my needs.
