What Should You Know When Buying a Compressor for the First Time?

Knowledge is power. Enjoy this simple list to help first time buyers on selecting their first industrial air compressor to meet their needs.

If you have never purchased a screw compressor before; do the following. Add up the air consumption of all the equipment at your shop. That will be the amount of air your desired compressor should provide. Most people, however, buy a bigger air compressor, as these machines tend to lose air during load-unload times. On the other hand, you can consider buying two equally sized compressors and use them on tandem. Unfortunately, that option may be too expensive for everyone, which leaves us with the option of buying one big machine that has the following features.

 

  1. After cooler – Your ideal air compressor must have an after cooler to cool the compressed air before it leaves to feed air tools. Air coolers also help eliminate moisture in the compressed air, which would otherwise condensate into water and reduce the machine’s performance.
  2. Variable Speed Drive â€“ Variable speed drives in rotary screw compressors help match your equipment’s demands with the machine’s output. In effect, a variable speed drive helps save on energy consumption, since the compressor will lower or increase horsepower usage depending on demand.
  3. Integrated air dryer – This feature helps eliminate moisture and oils in compressed air, which in turn improves efficiency while prolonging the machine’s service life.
  4. Air Flow – It is always about the air flow when it comes to a compressor’s capability. As such, choose a machine whose air flow is huge enough to match the demands of your tools and equipment


Learn more about our rotary screw compressors here

Below 50HP - Screw Air Compressors

Chicago Pneumatic rotary screw air compressors are built on the very robust platform and feature state of the art controller and high-efficiency screw element.

The Ash Air range of oil lubricated screw air compressors are excellent all-in-one solutions for small and medium workshops, with energy cost savings of 30% - 35%. The most popular air compressors 10HP, 15HP, and 20HP are available as a full feature with integrated air dryer and receiver. More than 100 rotary air compressors available for sale from stock in Auckland and Christchurch.

Direct driven air compressors with variable speed drives offer high energy efficiency, a smooth start and prolonged life of the component parts, reduced system pressure and energy consumption.

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Above 50HP - Screw Air Compressors

For power above 45 kW we offer ALUP air compressors, designed and manufactured in Europe. We installed Alup rotary screw air compressors at dozens of sites in New Zealand for food processing, at timber plants and other industrial sites.

These high-efficiency rotary screw air compressors feature variable speed drives, remote monitoring and heat recovery options. ALUP air compressor is covered by an optional 5 years warranty.

The three most popular air compressors 45 kW, 55kW and 75 kW are available for sale from stock in Auckland. Chat to our experts, we will help you to answer questions about what can you use the compressor for, what compressor is the best and learn all about air compressor efficiency.

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Oil Free - Screw Air Compressors

The team at AshAir specialises in oil-free or oil-less scroll compressors with zero risk of oil contamination, and are ideal for critical applications including medical, pharmaceutical, dental, R&D, food & beverage, wine and brewery. Our 100% oil-less scroll compressors are designed with fewer moving parts, which means less wear and tear, less noise, higher efficiency and reliability, and a longer machine life .

These scroll compressors use cutting-edge scroll technology where the spirals never contact each other, and no lubrication is needed, making them completely oil-free. Our SPR 20 Multi oil-less scroll compressor operates with variable air delivery, controlled by an intelligent controller for air delivery supplied according to the fluctuation of air demand. This means a higher energy efficiency and more stable system pressure.

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Who we are and how Ash Air can help your business!

Ash Air has been around in New Zealand since 1979, and we’ve grown into a nationwide company with international support and a reputation for quality and reliability.We look after all things compressed air for your business!

  • Reciprocating, Screw, air compressors
  • Vacuum pumps
  • Nitrogen
  • An extensive line of air treatment components

Ash Air's range of Chicago Pneumatic, Alup, Pneumatech, and Quincy compressors are used extensively around the world in industries ranging from oil and gas to food, automotive and farming, and we bring you these world class compressors here in the land of the long white cloud.Our technicians are compressed air equipment experts and are dedicated to addressing customer needs. Supported by a 13 locations nationwide, Ash Air offers one of the widest selections of compressed air equipment and parts available today in New Zealand.

Reliability and Efficiency

With Ash Air compressors, you can count on reliability and high performance for even the most demanding applications. We focus our efforts on the following:

  • Increasing uptime
  • Reducing unexpected repairs
  • Reducing energy consumption
  • Improving the cleanliness of compressed air


Talk to the team today:  CONTACT US CONTACT US

Read more from our #expertcorner


Air compressors come in many types, rotary screw, piston, scroll, reciprocating, some are oil-free and other air compressors require oil lubrication. Like many businesses, an efficient air compressor is at the heart of their operations. So, which type of compressor should you choose? What makes a compressor, like a rotary screw, unique? Here are some clear cut benefits of equipping your business with a rotary screw compressor.  


In the world of compressors, there are often significant and unutilized energy-saving possibilities including energy recovery, pressure reduction, leakage reduction and optimization of operations through correct choice of a control and regulation system as well as the choice of compressor size.We are going to take a look at some of the opportunities for minimizing the compressor’s operating costs. 


Liquid water in compressed-air systems can lead to rusted equipment and unresponsive controls. Anyone who uses compressed air will, at some point, find liquid water in the air distribution system. This can be anything from a nuisance to a serious problem, depending on the application. If water might corrode equipment or introduce bacteria, removing it is critical. 


Liquid water in compressed-air systems can lead to rusted equipment and unresponsive controls. Anyone who uses compressed air will, at some point, find liquid water in the air distribution system. This can be anything from a nuisance to a serious problem, depending on the application. If water might corrode equipment or introduce bacteria, removing it is critical. 


Whenever most people think about a compressor, they probably have a piston compressor in mind. You might already know there are two basic principles of air compression. One of those is the principle of displacement compression. There are a lot of compressor types that classify as a displacement compressor. The piston compressor is one of them, oil-lubricated or oil-free. 


Once you have the size and type of compressor figured out, one last question remains, should I go with an oil lubricated or oil-free air compressor. To not overcomplicate the answer, your choice should be based on the application and process that the compressed air will be utilized in.


Like all compressor types, rotary screw models do require periodic maintenance. Thanks to the simplicity of the internal components, maintenance is relatively easy on most rotary air compressors. As long as you stick to a rotary screw compressor maintenance schedule, you will likely be rewarded with many, many years of optimal productivity from your machine. 


Did you know, the biggest part of the air we breathe is nitrogen? Everyone needs oxygen to survive, however air is made up of 78% nitrogen, only 21% oxygen and tiny amounts of other gases. Although, the human body does not use this nitrogen, it is very helpful in various industrial applications. There is an unlimited source of nitrogen readily available, allowing you to achieve needed purity at a fraction of your current annual nitrogen cost. 


If you notice that your compressor is getting hot and bothered, there may be heating issues affecting your air compressors performance. Did you know that an overheating compressor is top of the pops for being the most common cause of compressor failure. 


A rotary-screw compressor is an air compressor that uses a rotary-type positive-displacement mechanism, typically used replace piston compressors where large volumes of high-pressure air are needed, either for large industrial applications or to operate high-power air tools. 


Have a look around and what do you see? What are you thinking about? Your next holiday to Queenstown maybe? You might go snowboarding with the kids or have some alone time at the Day Spa. Whatever holiday you choose, compressed air is involved in some way, without you even realising it!  


There are crucial reasons why you should service and maintain your compressor regularly, with the most common issues being piston failure caused by wear of components, increased friction, corrosion, reduced cooling, overheating bearings and components, clogging of air filters. 


Compressed air is all around us, from the air in a balloon to pumping up tires on your bicycle. In this article we will explain what compressed air is and how it is created. Whether you know it or not, compressed air is involved in every aspect of our lives, from the balloons at your birthday party to the air in the tires of our cars and bicycles. It was probably even used when making the phone, tablet or computer you’re viewing this on. 


One of the biggest challenges is to correctly size your new air compressor. Similarly to everything else, new compressors available on the market are more efficient and employ better technology, therefore you have to understand the application and usage to size the machine correctly. Choosing the wrong air compressor for your facility can lead to problems with production and or increased costs due to wasted energy. 


Once you have the size of the air compressor figured out, the next thing to do is to decide on the type of compresor you will need for your application - piston, rotary screw compressor etc. Let us take a look at two of the most popular options available. When choosing the right type of compressor, you should ask yourself the following questions:


​Which vacuum pump do I need? - this is one of the most frequent questions we receive and this is understandable, because there are number of technologies which can provide the same vacuum level and pumping speed. Here is quick advice on how to choose the best vacuum pump for your needs. 


You may be asking, why does my air compressor start, then stop? Allow us to take the guessing out of it. We understand your pain. We know that a compressor problem can quickly result in hours (if not days) of production downtime and loss of revenue. When your compressor continuously shuts off from on, we refer that as a short cycle. There are a few reasons that a short cycle may be happening with your compressor. 


Air compressor leaks are very common in all applications, but can be very costly and difficult to find. On average, 20-30% of the compressed air used in a manufacturing plant is wasted as leaked air. Finding and fixing these leaks can save your business thousands of wasted dollars a year. 


When installing a compressed air system into a business, people often look to PVC piping as an option to build a piping system because it is cheap, versatile and easy to install. However, using PVC pipe in any compressed air application is extremely dangerous and NOT recommended by multiple associations and manufacturers. 


Changing the oil and oil filters on your compressor is one of the most common routine maintenance tasks to perform to keep your compressor running efficiently. After you remove your old oil and oil filter, you may find yourself wondering, “Where do I dispose of these?”, or “Can I just throw them in the trash?”. Because oil is toxic and a pollutant, disposing of your old oil and filters is not as simple as just tossing them in the trash.Â