Engine Air combustion-engine compressors: petrol and diesel

Engine Air

You cannot run a cable onto a motorway, a field or a forest. The Engine Air range is the answer: a piston compressor driven by a petrol or diesel engine instead of an electric motor — one that asks nobody for power. There are twenty-two machines, from a 28 kg box you carry by hand to a stationary 378 kg unit that also generates electricity. One thing unites them: where there is fuel, there is compressed air.

Three questions before you choose

The range is deliberately wide — a machine for a nail gun in a roof and a machine for breakers in a quarry have nothing in common but fuel. Work through these three questions and only a few models will be left.

How to read the model designations

A designation such as EA9-6,2-50CPH looks complicated, but it is an instruction for reading the whole machine. EA9 is the size within the range, 6,2 the engine power in kilowatts, 50 the tank volume in litres, and the letters at the end tell you what the machine looks like and what it runs on.

All twenty-two machines in one table

Intake is the volume drawn in according to the manufacturer — the machine delivers less to the tool, and the gap widens with pressure. Noise is the sound power level Lwa, the figure from the rating plate required by the European directive for machinery; the noise you hear a few metres away is markedly lower. All data come from the manufacturer catalogue ABAC 2025 (pages 94 to 98), dimensions from the importer.

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Four versions, four ways of working

The letter in the model designation is not cosmetic — it changes the whole shape of the machine. This is what all four versions look like.

Petrol or diesel — how they differ

The eighteen petrol machines are built around Honda GP and GX series engines. You start them with a cord, the machine is lighter and cheaper, and it fires up even after a week standing in frost. It is the choice for a tradesman who carries the compressor from site to site and runs it for a few hours a day.

The four diesel machines use Kohler engines. Diesel makes sense where the machine runs long shifts and where a fuel bowser stands on site anyway — consumption per cubic metre of air is lower and the engine takes more running hours. Diesel machines are noticeably heavier, though: the lightest weighs 184 kg.

From 7.5 kW you no longer pull a cord

Sixteen machines in the range start manually, by pulling a cord. On large engines that would be hard work, so the six most powerful machines have an electric key start — every stationary version with a 270 l tank, plus the large machine with a generator.

The drive follows the same logic. The three smallest machines have the pump mounted directly on the engine shaft; the other nineteen are driven by V-belts, which lower the pump speed and extend its life. Eleven machines compress in one stage, eleven in two.

What all the machines share

Frequently asked questions

Can a combustion-engine compressor run inside a hall?

It cannot. The engine releases exhaust gases including carbon monoxide, so the machine belongs outdoors or in a space with fume extraction. That is exactly why an engine-driven compressor is worth buying only where there really is no power — in a workshop an electric compressor is cheaper, cleaner and quieter.

How many tools will the smallest machine run?

Machines with 275 l/min intake handle one air tool with intermittent use — a stapler, nail gun, tyre inflator or blow gun. For a breaker or a sandblaster, which draw air continuously, you need a machine from 550 l/min upwards and a large tank.

What does an intake of 411 l/min mean?

It is the volume of air the pump draws in per minute with free intake. Less reaches the tool — part of the output is consumed by compression itself, and the gap widens with the pressure you set. It is a manufacturer figure, used to compare machines with one another.

Why is the noise figure almost 100 dB(A)?

Because it is the sound power level (Lwa) required by the European directive for outdoor machinery and stated on the rating plate. It is not the noise you hear standing nearby — that is tens of decibels lower. The figures in the table are comparable with one another: 95 dB(A) is noticeably less than 98.

Can the machine with a generator replace a generator set?

Yes. The EA17-12,6-90FBDS supplies compressed air and electric power at the same time, and that is precisely its purpose — in remote terrain it saves you one machine. It is the heaviest item in the range, though, at 378 kg.

How often does the oil need changing?

Both the engine and the pump have oil, and each is changed separately. The interval is in the manual for the specific machine; on a new compressor the first change comes considerably sooner than the later ones, as with any new engine. Our service department will prepare and maintain the machine for you.

Where to go next

If mains power is available on site, a workshop compressor will be cheaper to buy and will run far more quietly. Have a look at the Compressors category.

• Piston compressors — the same pump, but with an electric motor — for the workshop
• Screw compressors — when air has to flow all shift without a break
• Air tools — what you will run off the compressor
• Compressor noise — what the decibels on the plate mean and what you will hear

Technical data follow the manufacturer catalogue ABAC General Catalogue 2025, pages 94 to 98; dimensions are taken from the importer. Intake is the volume drawn in, not the volume delivered to the tool. Noise is the sound power level Lwa under the European directive for equipment used outdoors.