bN

blueman

27/10/2011 1:04 PM

Do CFM ratings on HF compressors 'lie'?

We all know about the 'peak horsepower' lie... but what about CFM?

My $100, 8-gallon HF compressor is rated at 4.5 SCFM @115 psi.
There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot meaning that my 8 gallon
compressor is just a little over 1 cubic foot.

Assuming I am basically at standard pressure & temperature conditions,
this would seem to imply that my compressor should fill in under 15
seconds, i.e., (8/7.48)*(1/4.5)*60

But it takes more like 2 minutes to fill...

What am I missing here?


This topic has 4 replies

Rc

Robatoy

in reply to blueman on 27/10/2011 1:04 PM

27/10/2011 10:35 AM

On Oct 27, 1:04=A0pm, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:
> We all know about the 'peak horsepower' lie... but what about CFM?
>
> My $100, 8-gallon HF compressor is rated at 4.5 SCFM @115 psi.
> There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot meaning that my 8 gallon
> compressor is just a little over 1 cubic foot.
>
> Assuming I am basically at standard pressure & temperature conditions,
> this would seem to imply that my compressor should fill in under 15
> seconds, i.e., (8/7.48)*(1/4.5)*60
>
> But it takes more like 2 minutes to fill...
>
> What am I missing here?

The charging flow's resistance isn't linear as the pressure increases
in the tank.
The answer to the original question is no.

MM

Mike

in reply to blueman on 27/10/2011 1:04 PM

27/10/2011 4:36 PM

On 10/27/2011 1:04 PM, blueman wrote:
> We all know about the 'peak horsepower' lie... but what about CFM?
>
> My $100, 8-gallon HF compressor is rated at 4.5 SCFM @115 psi.
> There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot meaning that my 8 gallon
> compressor is just a little over 1 cubic foot.
>
> Assuming I am basically at standard pressure& temperature conditions,
> this would seem to imply that my compressor should fill in under 15
> seconds, i.e., (8/7.48)*(1/4.5)*60
>
> But it takes more like 2 minutes to fill...
>
> What am I missing here?

You appear to be expecting approximately 1 CF of air to fill the tank.
And it will, but not to 115PSI.

dn

dpb

in reply to blueman on 27/10/2011 1:04 PM

27/10/2011 3:50 PM

On 10/27/2011 3:36 PM, Mike wrote:
> On 10/27/2011 1:04 PM, blueman wrote:
>> We all know about the 'peak horsepower' lie... but what about CFM?
>>
>> My $100, 8-gallon HF compressor is rated at 4.5 SCFM @115 psi.
>> There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot meaning that my 8 gallon
>> compressor is just a little over 1 cubic foot.
>>
>> Assuming I am basically at standard pressure& temperature conditions,
>> this would seem to imply that my compressor should fill in under 15
>> seconds, i.e., (8/7.48)*(1/4.5)*60
>>
>> But it takes more like 2 minutes to fill...
>>
>> What am I missing here?
>
> You appear to be expecting approximately 1 CF of air to fill the tank.
> And it will, but not to 115PSI.

And, when account for that, (115 + 15)/15 = 8-something so the SCF input
required is 8X times the final volume. Thus 8X the 15 seconds is for 1
SCF yields about 2 minutes for 8. Amazing!!! :)

--

bN

blueman

in reply to blueman on 27/10/2011 1:04 PM

28/10/2011 2:31 AM

dpb <[email protected]> writes:

> On 10/27/2011 3:36 PM, Mike wrote:
>> On 10/27/2011 1:04 PM, blueman wrote:
>>> We all know about the 'peak horsepower' lie... but what about CFM?
>>>
>>> My $100, 8-gallon HF compressor is rated at 4.5 SCFM @115 psi.
>>> There are 7.48 gallons per cubic foot meaning that my 8 gallon
>>> compressor is just a little over 1 cubic foot.
>>>
>>> Assuming I am basically at standard pressure& temperature conditions,
>>> this would seem to imply that my compressor should fill in under 15
>>> seconds, i.e., (8/7.48)*(1/4.5)*60
>>>
>>> But it takes more like 2 minutes to fill...
>>>
>>> What am I missing here?
>>
>> You appear to be expecting approximately 1 CF of air to fill the tank.
>> And it will, but not to 115PSI.
>
> And, when account for that, (115 + 15)/15 = 8-something so the SCF
> input required is 8X times the final volume. Thus 8X the 15 seconds
> is for 1 SCF yields about 2 minutes for 8. Amazing!!! :)

DOH me!!!! of course I forgot the old pv=nrt
and therefore it's not 1 SCF in there but as you say (115+15)/15...

That makes a lot of sense of course...


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