Two of the most common types of air compressors are piston and screw types. In order to know which one to get, you need to know one very important aspect of how they operate.

• Screw air compressors are made to run 24/7 and only shut off for service and emergencies.

• Piston air compressors need to shut off in order to cool the heads.

Now that we know how the compressors run we ask a few questions.

What is your air demand?

When we ask what is your air demand is we are referring to how much air or volume will you need? We will look at all the things that use air. We will add them all up in order to answer this.

Will your air demand change throughout the day?

Most applications have periods throughout the day where demand is high and periods where no too little air use is needed. But some applications do call for a steady use of air. We will want to size your air compressor to your peak demand.

What type of environment is the compressor going to be in?

When picking an air compressor it is important to know what type of environment it is going in? Is it going to be hot, cold, or dirty? Or is it going somewhere it needs to be quiet?

What is your required air quality?

Depending on what your using the compressed air for will determine what air quality you will need.

With all of these questions answered we can now figure out what type of air compressor is best suited for your application.