Extra Air compressor

Does anyone have a spare air compressor in the event your main one has an issue? As we know, almost everything at a car wash relies on air and it's one of the few breakdowns that can potentially shut down an entire wash. Even though air compressor problems seem rare, I had an issue with mine today (Saturday) which gave me a thought that maybe I should invest in a portable spare.

Does anyone know how much CFM is required on a per ss bay basis or IBA? Trying to see if it would make sense to purchase a spare, but I'm wondering if a medium size air compressor would be enough.

It would be awesome to have one small enough to throw in the back of the truck and take to whatever location needed one in a rush.

I have a small backup compressor that I can wheel around to any location. Usually a air compressor problem is in compressor head and not the tank. My backup is a small cambell/Hausfiled I think with a small tank. I just plumb it into the large compressors tank and have never had a problem with it running 2 IBA and 4 SS bays for a few days while getting the main compressor fixed.

The left is a 7.5HP 80 gallon and the right is 5HP single-stage , which was the cheapest unit I could find that was rated continuous duty. The CH by itself is easily ably to run 6-bay SS and one IBA on the busiest days and never drop below the cut-in pressure. I'd rather have two of the CH units since they're so much quieter than the I/R, which is 2 1/2 times more expensive.

If you tee a smaller compressor in with a larger one, you can get through short busy periods. How big of a backup unit depends on the requirements of the equipment.

FWIW, in the last two months I've bought compressors from Harbor Freight and Home Depot, both oiled piston belt drive with 30 gallon tank. The Harbor Freight unit is both quieter and recovers faster, but I'm assuming the Husky is going to hold up better.

We added a spare last year and within several months our main unit failed completely and it took almost 3 weeks to figure out if it was worth repairing and then deciding to replace it and have the new one shipped. So YES, a backup compressor is necessary! We now have virtually the same setup as mep001.

However I find the biggest issues with air pressure is broken air lines, an extra compressor won’t help that at all. But it will prevent down time in the event of a compressor failure.

We went over 10 years with one unit, then it started sounding funny and leaking oil a little after having it rebuilt. So we decided to add the second and within weeks the first one failed. We had no down time for three weeks because we did.

So how much would you lose in income if you had to close for a week or two? Unless your close to somewhere you can buy one same day I would have a spare unit also rated for continuous duty. We got our I/R replacement from aircompressorsdirect.com. Cheapest price I found online and free shipping. It came in with a couple of dings and scratches and the aftercooler had a bent tube from where it banged into the truck wall on delivery. they sent us a new after cooler, touch up paint, and gave us a $75 discount, so I can’t complain about that company at all. They were significantly cheaper than any other company for the same model

I've got a wheeled 110V continuous duty rated (Campbell Hausfeld IIRC)that I use as a spare. At the washes I have the main air line teed with a quick connect fitting. If my compressor goes down I just plug in the smaller compressor connect the air line via the Tee and it will pump up the larger tank. It runs a long time when it kicks on but hasn't let me down

Sparkleclean said:

However I find the biggest issues with air pressure is broken air lines, an extra compressor won’t help that at all. But it will prevent down time in the event of a compressor failure.

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I know it's overkill, but I use copper pipe or steel braided hose for almost all air runs so I don't have to worry about a broken air line.

Greg Pack said:

If my compressor goes down I just plug in the smaller compressor connect the air line via the Tee and it will pump up the larger tank.

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I always tee the two compressors in, permanently if I can. If one has a much lower operating pressure I add a check valve to the smaller one. The Campbell Hausfeld unit runs 2-3 minutes each time it comes on but it barely gets warm on the busiest days.

We have always had a small standby air compressor. We also keep a few spare parts for the air compressors, pressure switches, belts, tank checks. When they normally fail is on a busy weekend.

MEP001 said:

I always tee the two compressors in, permanently if I can. If one has a much lower operating pressure I add a check valve to the smaller one. The Campbell Hausfeld unit runs 2-3 minutes each time it comes on but it barely gets warm on the busiest days.

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Can you expand on this some? Are you saying that if your bigger compressor failed and started to lose pressure, the check valve on the smaller compressor would start to open? Also what is the harm if the operating pressures are different?

The check valve is to keep the pressure of the larger compressor (175 PSI shutoff) from entering the tank of the smaller compressor (150 PSI shutoff). Yes, if the bigger main compressor fails for any reason (I bought the smaller one because the main one started randomly tripping its thermal overload) the check valve just opens and the smaller one supplies everything. The main risk is that the smaller compressor's popoff might open from the higher pressure of the main compressor, making it run continuously.

MEP001 said:

The check valve is to keep the pressure of the larger compressor (175 PSI shutoff) from entering the tank of the smaller compressor (150 PSI shutoff). Yes, if the bigger main compressor fails for any reason (I bought the smaller one because the main one started randomly tripping its thermal overload) the check valve just opens and the smaller one supplies everything. The main risk is that the smaller compressor's popoff might open from the higher pressure of the main compressor, making it run continuously.

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Thanks for the explanation, forgot about that popoff feature.

15 years ago, my main compressor seized. It was a busy Saturday, and the cars were lined up to the street.

I hurried to Home Depot....bought a $450 cheapie....and was up and running shortly.

The duty cycle on the "cheapie" was something like 1 on....3 off.

That compressor ran almost non stop for 5 days due to favorable car wash weather....until I was able to get a replacement pump for the main unit. The cheapie has been my spare since then. I sometimes wonder if/when it's needed again....how far can it go if needed?

BTW....having TWO 80 gallon tanks plumbed together really helps with steadying the demand......

Rudy said:

15 years ago, my main compressor seized. It was a busy Saturday, and the cars were lined up to the street.

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Happened to me almost 30 years ago when I ran a really old (even at that time) wash that only used air for foam brush. The compressor motor had just burned up. I had a cheap 12V tire inflator and a battery charger in my trunk, which I wired through the compressor switch. I got it done before the tank pressure ran down too far. It just barely lasted 'til Monday evening when I showed up with a new motor - the 12v compressor was seized and still smoking and there was still enough pressure in the tank to keep the foam brush going until I got the motor changed.

I notice that the quick disconnects themselves & also leaving blow nozzles on them tend to leak more than they should. Maybe we are buying the el cheapo versions of the quick disconnects. We would love to find a way to keep air leaks down to zero to save on our air compressors! We have maintained a backup for as long as I can remember. We have a small Quincy roofers 2 tube tank compressor that we should rebuild (new seals etc.) but are not sure what we would be getting into.

Steel disconnects tend to rust and leak, also the male end usually gets dinged up from rough handling.

MEP001 said:

Steel disconnects tend to rust and leak, also the male end usually gets dinged up from rough handling.

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Can I buy stainless steel versions of the disconnects? I am not seeing the SS up at my goto local Harbor Freight!

Update: Installed an 8 gal husky air compressor from home depot ($100) at my busiest location. I cut the supply of air from my main 80 gal compressor and let the little one run the wash. Worked great for its intended purpose but the compressor ran about 50-75% of the time so it was working hard.

Happy with the results and now I have some flexibility.

Quick disconnects: only purchase those with 6 balls down in the bore of the disconnect. 4-ball versions, like Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Lowes, will leak. Go to a hose supply house and get the 6-ball versions. They don't leak.