Silent Air Compressor Buying Guide

So why a silent air compressor?

Air compressors can be very noisy and if you are working in a shop, at home or require a mobile air supply this can be a real problem. The Bambi range of Silent Air Compressors are specifically designed to operate at low noise and vibration levels, in fact the Budget range of oil filled compressors run at levels as low as 40 decibels which is equivalent to the hum of your kitchen fridge!

So which compressor is right for me?

When deciding on which air compressor to buy the first thing you need to think about is the tools that you will be using and how many you will be using at the same time. Will you be using 1 staple gun for occasional short usage or several impact wrenches on a production line that is running 24/7?The compressor tank size and power of the pump determine the output of the compressor and this output must be able to meet the requirements of the tools that you are using.The main attributes you need to consider when deciding on a compressor are:

Horsepower (HP)

Every compressor has a pump that compresses the air that is stored within the tank. Pumps are rated in horsepower (HP) and the HP of the pump impacts directly on the compressors performance. The amperage (Kw) of a compressor pump also indicates how powerful it is. You can see the HP and Kw ratings of all our Bambi Compressors in the relevant Spec Table

PSI

PSI stands for ï¿½Pounds per square Inchï¿½ and is a measurement of the amount of pressure that is applied. All air tools require a minimum amount of PSI to run properly so this is a key area to consider. Pressure is also measured in BAR and the maximum BAR working pressure is shown for all our Bambi Air Compressors.

If your tools spec shows its PSI requirements you can convert this to BAR by using our BAR to PSI Conversion Tableï¿½ .

CFM

Your tools will use air at a rate that is measured as either CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) or LPM (Litres per minute), so you must ensure that the compressor can deliver the output required by your rated tool (itï¿½s advisable to add a little more CFM/LPM requirement to your toolï¿½s rating so that you know the compressor can deliver).

Your tool should have a spec plate or hand book that details the relevant CFM or LPM figure. This could be shown as either:

CFM (Displacement) ï¿½ this is the amount of air a compressor will produce in theory

CFM (FAD) ï¿½ this is the actual amount of air the compressor will produce in cubic feet (FAD = Free Air Delivery)

LPM (FAD) ï¿½ this is the actual amount of air the compressor will produce in litres

Making sure that the CFM (FAD) or LPM (FAD) that a compressor produces matches the requirement of your tools is key!

If your tool shows CFM (Displacement), divide this figure by 3 to get the CFM (FAD) figure i.e. CFM (Displacement) 10 CFM, divided by 3 = 6.5 CFM (FAD).

The average CFM or LPM figure shows the output required from the compressor to power your tool on an average work cycle, this assumes that your tool will be used only for about 25% of the time on average i.e. 15 seconds for every minute. If you need to use your tool continuously then you should buy a compressor that can supply 4 times that actually required by the tool. Small, occasional nailing/stapling jobs can usually be supplied by a compact compressor while firing nails continuously would require a large air supply.

All of our Bambi Compressors show the LPM (FAD) that they produce but if your tools shows CFM simply multiply this figure by 28.316844 (this figure equates to 1 CFM) to find the required litres per minute.

For further Compressed Air Conversion Formulas for CFM, LFM, PSI, Bar etc follow this link to our Conversion Page

Tank Size

The tank size of your compressor is measured in litres and this shows how much stored air your compressor can hold at any one time. This figure will give you some idea of how long you can run your tool before the compressor needs to replenish the tank. The tank size allied with the PSI/BAR and HP of the pump will directly determine how quickly your yourcompressed air supply is replenished.