The specifications on the compressor below look a bit too good to be true. I have no experience with compressors beyond my relatively little Iron Horse unit, so I'd appreciate any advice.

The unit below is supposedly "5 horse peak" (I don't believe it, but I don't really care about that part). But, most significantly to me, the unit supposedly puts out 5.7 SCFM @ 90 psi. Is the latter possible from ANY 120V compressor?


w.kingcanada.com/Products.htm?CD=195&ID=12058

Thanks.

 

5hp = 3730 watts not even counting the motor's efficiency.
So you need more than 30 amps with a 120v circuit. That's seriously large for 120v, a "large" household 120v circuit would be 20 amp.

 

My wife and I have a 3-hp treadmill and it's 220v. I don't believe for one second that that compressor is five hp, even for a split second. If it were, you'd never be able to run the thing! It would trip the breaker whenever you turned it on. It's maybe a bit less than 2 hp continuous (1400 watts, or so) and just a bit more than that at start.

What I'd like to know is the theoretical upper limit in SCFM @ 90 psi for a compressor that draws say 14.5 amps. Our small, 1750-rpm Iron Horse unit claims 4.1 SCFM @ 90 psi. (I originally got this unit only to drive a pneumatic nailer, which is does very well.) I just now determined that it draws 900 watts when the pressure in the tanks has ramped up to 90 psi.

Coincidentally, today I just stumbled on the 120V Makita model MAC5200. Below are it's specifications. Makita claims that this unit will put out 6.5 SCFM @ 90 psi, while drawing 13.8 amps at that presure. Remarkably, this flow rate is over one and one-half times as much as our Iron Horse. That unit would, theoretically at least, continuously drive our new IR impact ratchet at maximum torque. If it didn't, I could even couple the Makita in parallel with our Iron Horse (powered from a different electrical circuit) to get a theoretical total of 10.6 SCFM @ 90 psi -- enough to drive practically any pneumatic tool except maybe a monster torque wrench.

If anyone has another recommendation for a high-output, 120V compressor, I appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks.