How should I select an air compressor?

How you choose an air compressor is first you must define how you are going to use it. what tools you will drive with it and the air requirements of those tools. What electrical power you have available. Is it 120Volt / 15 Amp or do you have 240Volt 30Amp available. Do you have 3 phase power available assuming you are needing much greater air flow. or are you just inflating tires with it. Will it be truck mounted and powered by a gasoline or diesel egine. Key point. figure out your requirements first. Then match the compressor to match your needs. my little 120Volt compressor will NOT reliably feed a die grinder for example, but it will feed a pneumatic nail gun. My main compressor is an 18CFM@90 psi unit that required 25Amps at 240 Volt ( 5HP) . I have also found the same 120Volt air compressor is not enough to handle a touchup spray gun. or a cutoff wheel. Looks at specifications of EVERYTHING you plan to use on it.

What is the difference between and air compressor and blower?

 

An air blower will generally be used to supply a relatively high volume of low pressure air to cool or clean a surface. An air compressor simply pressurizes air to be stored in some sort of tank until needed.  

What types of air compressors are used in industrial applications?

An air compressor is a mechanical device which utilizes energy to compress air. The energy may be in the form of electrical energy, chemical energy, or any other type. They are two main types of air compressors.

1) Reciprocating Compressor:
This device is very similar to a piston engine. But instead of burning air fuel mixture, this device takes in uncompressed air in the suction stroke, compresses it during the compression stroke, and let's out compressed air at a higher pressure and temperature during the exhaust stroke. The compressed air is then stored in a pressure reservoir and can be used when needed. This type provides intermittent pressure supply.

2) Centrifugal type: This is an indirect type of compressor. It involves an impeller housed in an involute casing. The air enters this compressor from the center and is forced rapidly inside the casing. The cross section area of the housing decreases as the air goes from inlet to outlet. The compression takes place due to the sudden drop in speed the air experiences once leaving the compressor housing. The pressure output of this type is generally less than the reciprocating type. But the output is continuous.

Multiple compressors can be used in series to achieve higher compression. There are further many classifications of compressors.