8 bar air compressors
Air tools work at around 6.3 bar, so eight bar is enough for them — provided the pipework is short and free of unnecessary losses. That is why both small plug-in compressors and large screw machines are built for this pressure; for the latter, a higher pressure would only push up electricity consumption. Most machines on this page are oil-free.
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Why not compress more than you need
Every extra tenth of a bar — whether from a higher setting or a pressure drop in the pipework — raises the compressor’s electricity consumption by about one per cent. On a small machine you will not notice, but on a screw compressor running all day it shows on the electricity bill. That is why screw compressors come in several pressure versions and you choose the lowest one that is still sufficient at the end of the line. How to reduce losses in the pipework is described in our article How to minimise pressure losses.
What you will find at eight bar
Oil-free screw and scroll machines
Completely oil-free air is supplied by the SCR-G oil-free screw compressors, and by scroll compressors, which compress air between two scrolls without lubrication and range from 2.2 to 29.6 kW. They belong in the food, pharmaceutical and electronics industries — wherever traces of oil would harm the product.
Two-stage screw machines
Air is compressed in two stages, with cooling in between, by the large SCR-H screw compressors, which therefore produce more air per kilowatt of power. These machines, from 132 to 280 kW, are built for large plants.
Small piston and dental machines
Eight bar is also the pressure of small single- and twin-cylinder compressors for a 230 V socket with 27 to 257 l/min — from portable machines with a 6 l tank to fifty-litre models — and of the oil-free Clean Air CLR dental compressors for surgeries and laboratories.
When eight bar is not enough
Long pipework, lots of couplings and hoses, or a tool that needs more than 6.3 bar at its inlet. Then it is safer to go one step up in pressure, and the most common workshop choice is a 10 bar air compressor. An overview of types, pressures and sizes is under air compressors.
Frequently asked questions
- Is an 8 bar compressor enough for air tools?
- Yes, air tools work at around 6.3 bar. The 1.7 bar margin has to cover losses in hoses and couplings — enough for a short line, but for a long one go for 10 bar.
- Why do screw compressors come in several pressures?
- The same machine gives more air and uses less electricity at a lower pressure. So you choose the lowest pressure your operation needs.
- Are 8 bar compressors oil-free?
- Most are: there are more than sixty oil-free machines at eight bar, from small plug-in piston units to large screw compressors. The oil-lubricated ones are mainly oil-injected screw machines and smaller single-cylinder piston units.
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Black Wind piston compressors
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Atmos reciprocating compressors
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Walter reciprocating compressors
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Piston compressors ABAC
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Piston compressors ABAC
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Expert Zero compressors
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ABAC reciprocating compressors
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Quiet compressors Super Silent OS
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INDUSTRIAL TECH compressors
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CLR reciprocating compressors
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Combustion compressors
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Screw compressors
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Pressure vessels
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Compressor accessories
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Product sorting
List of products
Oil-free compressor 1.5 kW with 256 l/min and a 24 l tank on wheels, 22 kg, 67 dB at 4 m. For longer work with a gun without oil in the air.
The lowest noise in the range: 83 dB Lwa, 63 dB at 4 m. Oil-free twin-piston pump 0.55 kW at 1,420 rpm, 140 l/min, 8 bar, 6 l tank in a frame with a handle, 17 kg. Regulator,...
The highest-output direct drive in the range: V-twin, 2.2 kW, 356 l/min, 50 l tank, 40 kg. For a spray gun, a grinder and longer work from a standard socket.
Set: quiet oil-free BO-0.75-6PM compressor (56 dB, 15 kg, 6 l) + 5 m spiral hose, inflating gun with gauge and three nozzles for balls, bicycles and air mattresses.
The most powerful single cylinder in the range: 1.8 kW, 233 l/min, 50 l tank on wheels, 32 kg. A sixth more air than the basic fifty at the same noise.
Strongest six in the range: oil-free twin-piston pump 1.5 kW at 1,420 rpm, 230 l/min, 8 bar, 85 dB Lwa and 65 dB at 4 m. Six litres in a frame with a handle, 19 kg — for a...
The lighter of the SUITCASE suitcase compressors: 5 kg, oil-free 1.1 kW pump, 160 l/min, 8 bar, no tank. Hose in the compartment under the lid, one button — for inflating,...
The cheapest oil-lubricated compressor in the range: 1.5 kW, 200 l/min, 24 l tank on wheels, 25 kg. The lubricated cylinder withstands longer work, the sight glass shows the oil...
Suitcase compressor with a 6 l tank: 10 kg, oil-free 1.1 kW pump, 160 l/min, 8 bar, regulator and two gauges, hose in the compartment. For a stapler and small spray jobs;...
A small piston compressor with an output pressure of 8 bar designed especially for occasional use in craft applications and for home use. Oil-free design with 1.1 kW motor...
The smallest and quietest compressor in the range: 0.75 kW, 6 l, 15 kg and 56 dB at 4 m. Oil-free, maintenance-free, for a standard socket — for inflating, blowing off and small...
The cheapest fifty in the range: oil-lubricated compressor 1.5 kW, 200 l/min, 50 l tank on wheels, 29 kg. For a nail gun and a spray gun that draw air in pulses.
The smallest pump in a sound canopy. 64 dB(A) instead of 71, a 30 l receiver inside, 68 kilos.
Extremely quiet piston compressor with an output pressure of 8 bar, designed primarily as a small compressed air source popular in Airbrush applications. Portable,...
Fourteen kilos in one hand: oil-lubricated 1.5 kW L20 pump from an ordinary socket, 220 l/min, 8 bar, horizontal 6 l tank on feet, handle on the cover and a hoop around the...
Portable oil-free compressor 1.5 kW with 256 l/min in the 6-litre version, 17 kg. For a stapler, blowing off and a gun wherever you carry the compressor.
The strongest machine of the range with a dryer. 240 l/min and a −40 °C dew point for four to five chairs, 60 kilos.
The lightest machine of the range for one to two chairs. A twenty-five-litre receiver, 31 kilos and an oil-free pump without a dryer.
The most powerful machine that still fits the smaller of the large frames. 19,000 l/min at eight bar, 2,050 kg — above it come 850 kg and a new frame.
