A Guide to Air Compressor Usage & Care | Air Compressor Help Guides

Without a good quality working compressor your garage will struggle to keep up

The 4 main uses of a workshop compressor include:

1. Tyre Inflation

   Workshops simply cannot function without at least one air compressor. Air compressors generate air pressure, which helps to inflate tyres, as well as many more functions around the workshop. Choosing the right air compressor can seriously improve your productivity and profits. At Straightset, we not only sell the most reliable and cost effective compressors on the market, we supply only genuine parts and a first class maintenance package to ensure your work horse keeps running at its best. All our engineers are manufacturer trained to work on all the best quality brands.

2. Air Tools

   During all aspects of the servicing of vehicles, technicians use a wide range of tools powered by air. These air tools save an incredible amount of time and effort compared to conventional hand tools. If the compressor should not work for any reason, the technicians would struggle to complete the repairs on any modern vehicle. It is not only hand tools that need the power of an air compressor. Such things as brake fluid bleeding systems and engine lifting equipment also rely on air to operate.
   
   

3. Oil Dispensing Equipment
   

   In order to keep costs down and labour time to a minimum, lubricant and waste oil pumping systems are now dispensed through hose reels fitted into tidy benching systems. In order to power such oil dispensing equipment, your compressor is need to feed air into the pumps attached to you oil distribution tanks. Again, if the compressor breaks down, oil is not available unless small containers are used at a huge premium.
   
   

4. Lift / Ramp Operation

   For the safe operation of vehicle ramps, some manufacturers have air operated locks, to minimise any chance of the vehicle lowering whilst a technician is working underneath. Without an air feed being available, these safety devices will not work and the ramp will be unusuable.

When servicing a compressor, only genuine parts must be used to save causing damage to the equipment and ensure the parts can keep up with the constant running of the compressor. Only qualified maintenance engineers should ever carry out any repairs, as a compressor is constantly pressurized and extreme care should be taken to avoid very serious injury.
Never add oil to the compressor unless it is purposely manufactured for the brand of compressor being serviced!

If you will like a competitive quotation for a routine service and inspection of your compressor, why not give us a call

Phone our service department on 01909 480055

Should i turn my compressor off overnight?

The easy answer is always - yes you should.

Reasons why:

1. If you have any air leaks in your workshop, the compressor will run once the pressure in the compressor drops
2. Each time the compressor runs, it starts to use electricity, which is'nt good for your running costs or the environment
3. If one of the oil distribution reels in the workshop was to burst overnight, the pumps would continue to run through the night causing major damage throughout the workshop
4. Additional wear on the compressors critical running gear

To turn off your HPC compressor overnight, do not press the emergency stop button. Simply press the red button shown in the image below, to put the compressor into standby mode. This will save the compressor running through a complete reset routine when restarted the following morning. When the compressor is left in standby mode, you can simply press the green start button and the compressor will restart.