Five Important Uses for an Air Compressor (Beyond Inflating Your Tires)

You are sure to know that air compressors can be used to inflate the tires of your car, but air compressors have a wide range of uses beyond that, from industry to DIY.

While there are lots of different types of air compressors available, they work by the same principles.

Basically, an air compressor converts power into potential energy that is stored as pressurized air. It forces more and more air into its storage tank in order to increase the pressure until the pressure in the tank reaches its upper limit.

The compressed air is then stored in the tank until it is ready to be used. When the air compressor is used, the kinetic energy of the air is released and the tank depressurizes.

There are three main classifications of air compressor use: industrial-grade, professional-grade, and consumer-grade.

Industrial-grade air compressors are used at manufacturing plants and oil rigs, among many others, while professional-grade air compressors are used to run several types of tools.

Consumer-grade air compressors can be used by anyone. They can be used for household tasks like inflating tires and powering staplers.

Buying an Air Compressor Online

Whether you are looking for industrial-grade or consumer-grade air compressors, you will find collections of used air compressors for sale to suit your needs.

Used air compressors can be every bit as good as brand-new ones, but second-hand compressors are a lot less expensive. So, it makes sense to look for an air compressor on the used market.

Now, let us take a look at just five of the important uses for an air compressor.

1.     Woodworking

One reason you could need an air compressor is to help with carpentry.

Whether you are a woodworking novice or a professional carpenter, air compressors have many important uses, so they can benefit you in multiple ways.

For instance, air compressors can power pneumatic tools like nail guns, perform detailed work on wooden materials, and remove dust from your workstation.

2.     Agriculture

If you work in agriculture, air compressors can also be utilized in multiple ways.

For example, they can power dairy machines and handling equipment, be used to spray crops, help in glasshouse ventilation systems, and be employed to move grain and feed to and from silos that have conveyors.

3.     Spray Painting

Air compressors are fantastic for spray painting.

Whether you want to spray paint the walls of your home or use spray-painting for commercial uses, you can achieve better results than other painting methods.

An air compressor is a critical element of spray paint guns. You could even use air-compressor-driven spray painting to add colors or imagery to things like motorcycles and lawnmowers.

4.     Paintballing

Talking of painting, air compressors are not only used in tools. They are also used in paintball guns.

Air compressor tanks in paintball guns work by generating pressure behind the loaded paintball. When you pull the trigger, the pressure is released and the paintball is propelled through the gun’s barrel.

The next time you go paintballing, you are sure to marvel at the inner workings of the gun. Quite simply, paintballing would not be possible without air compressors.

5.     Diving

Actually, lots of fun activities involve air compressors besides paintballing.

Diving is one activity that requires air compressors. In diving equipment, compressed air is filtered into the diving cylinders, allowing divers to breathe. Two kinds of air compressors are used in diving: low-pressure surface supplied diving air compressors and high-pressure compressors that are used in scuba diving cylinders.