Mississippi Valley Equipment     •     2819 Larson St.     •     La Crosse, WI     54603     •     (608) 781-8688


 
 
Air Compressor Formulas
 

Find Motor Pulley Diameter:

Flywheel diameter:     
Motor RPM:               
Compressor RPM:      
Motor Pulley:             
Find Motor Pulley Diameter!

You can use just the diameters, but using pitch diameters is more accurate.


Free air if volumetric efficiency (%) and piston displacement are known:

Free Air = piston displacement X eff. (%)


To find cubic feet of either compressed air or free air:

cu.ft. comp. air X (psig + 14.7) = cu.ft. free air X 14.7

  • cu.ft. comp. air [ Cubic Feet of Compressed Air ]
  • cu.ft. free air [ Cubic Feet of Free Air ]

To convert gallons (tank size) to cubic feet:

gallons X .134 =cu.ft.


Cubic Feet of free air required to raise a receiver from some pressure to a greater pressure:

Tank size in gallons:  
Final PSI:                  
Beginning PSI:           
Cubic Ft. Air Required:
Find Air!

If starting from "0" pressure, put "0" in for beginning psi


To Check Operation of Compressor With a Tank

Time how long it takes to pump up the tank from "0" psi to some greater pressure (normal cut off psi)
Calculate the free air using the method above
Put the time in the following:

Time seconds or CFM:
CFM or Time in seconds:
Find cubic feet per minute or Time!

If you enter time in seconds, you will get CFM. If you enter CFM you will get the time to pump up to the final pressure.


Air Cylinders:

Total force in lbs. of air cylinder = area of the cylinder diameter (inē) x psi gauge pressure
CFM of Free Air req'd to Operate Air Cylinder (single acting)
= vol. of cyl. (in cu. ft.) x cycles per minute x (gauge psi + 14.7)/14.7
For double acting air cylinder multiple by 2


Compressor RPM:

motor pulley diameter x motor rpm
compressor pulley diameter


Motor Pulley Diameter:

compressor pulley diameter x compressor rpm
motor rpm


Compressor Pulley Diameter:

motor pulley diameter x motor rpm
compressor rpm


Motor RPM:

compressor pulley diameter x compressor rpm
motor pulley diameter


Required Piston Displacement:

free air
vol. eff.


Piston Displacement in Cu.Ft. Min.:

cyl. bor in in. x cyl. bore x stroke in in. x rpm
2200


Cu. Ft. Compressed Air:

cu. ft. free air x 14.7
(psig x 14.7)


Cu. Ft. Free Air:

cu. ft. compressed air x (psig + 14.7)
14.7


Gallons:

cyl. bor in in. x cyl. bore x stroke in in. x rpm
2200


Pump Up Time:

V (tank size in gallons) x (final tank press-initial tank press)
7.48 x atmos. press. (psia) x pump delivery (cfm)


Gallons:

cubic feet
.134