Buying guide · Decisions
How to use the CompressorFinder System Builder
The short answer: The CompressorFinder System Builder is a five-step wizard that takes your use case + location + tool list + existing equipment and returns a sized compressor, a sized dryer for your climate, an accessory checklist grouped by air-train position, a flow diagram with per-stage pressure drops, a cost band, and an installer-routable report you can email or print. This page walks through the workflow with two worked examples and the engineering reasoning behind each step.
Start the tool: /system-builder/ · Full disclaimer + methodology: /system-builder-disclaimer/
Step 1 — Use case
Pick the closest match from the four buckets. The tool ships with 16 use cases grouped as:
- Vehicle & on-site — auto body, automotive service, mobile service truck, framing crew, home garage.
- Industrial & production — manufacturing, CNC shop, sandblast, woodworking, agriculture.
- Specialty & regulated — breathing air, dental, lab/instrument, brewery/food, dive fill station.
- Large-scale & seasonal — snowmaking.
Your pick seeds the working pressure, SCFM per operator, ISO 8573-1 air-quality target, preferred lubrication (oil-less for medical), preferred compressor type, and dryer-required flag. You can override every input on later steps. If you’re not sure, pick “Home garage / hobby” — the tool is forgiving.
Want to skip ahead? Click “Start from a common scenario” above the wizard to pick a preset (Home shop, Service bay, Production line, Medical) that jumps straight to step 2 with reasonable defaults.
Step 2 — Location
Pick your US state. The tool looks up the ASHRAE 1% summer design dewpoint for that state and uses it to recommend the right dryer type. Texas in July averages ~75°F dewpoint; Montana averages ~56°F. Same compressor, different dryer.
You’ll see a live readout under the dropdown: “TX design dewpoint ≈ 75°F. High design dewpoint — a cycling refrigerated dryer will be most efficient.”
Step 3 — Demand (quick or precise)
Step 3 has two modes:
Quick estimate — enter operator count + hours per day. The tool uses the use-case default SCFM per operator (e.g. 14 SCFM/operator for auto-body, 1.5 for dental) × your count × 25% headroom.
Pick tools — far more precise. Switch tabs and you’ll see a searchable library of pneumatic equipment filtered to the tools that match your use case (Sata X 5500 / DeVilbiss DV1 spray guns for auto-body, Bostitch framing nailers for framing crew, Bauer SCBA fill stations for breathing air). Click to add to the cart, adjust quantity with the +/− controls, set the simultaneity slider for “what % of these tools run at the same time”, and watch the live total recompute. The simultaneity slider is the key insight: a five-bay service shop won’t have all five impact wrenches firing at once, so sizing for 100% of nameplate is over-spending by 30–40%.
Don’t see your equipment? Click “+ Add custom equipment (not listed)” to enter your own: name + SCFM + PSI + duty %. The catalog of common tools ships with manufacturer-cited consumption ratings, but custom entries weight identically.
The tool computes a max-PSI requirement from the highest-PSI tool in your cart (e.g. a truck tire inflator at 120 PSI sets a 120 PSI requirement even if all your other tools are 90 PSI). This drives a hard floor on the compressor recommendation: no compressor whose max PSI is below your requirement will be shown.
Step 4 — Existing equipment (optional)
If you already own a compressor and want to size an addition rather than a replacement, this step lets you declare it. You can add up to 3 existing compressors (SCFM at use-PSI + max PSI + age in years); the tool sums them and subtracts the total from your demand, then recommends a compressor sized to fill the gap.
Same for an existing dryer — declare its flow capacity in SCFM and the tool will only recommend a new dryer if the existing one can’t cover the demand.
You can also pick a topology preference: Auto (recommended — the tool decides), Simplex (one bigger unit), Duplex (two units with lead/lag sequencing), or Triplex (three units with full sequencing). The auto algorithm picks duplex above 40 SCFM + 8 hr/day and triplex above 80 SCFM + 12 hr/day.
Don’t have existing equipment? Click “Skip — build now” to jump straight to recommendations.
Step 5 — Recommendations
The output panel shows ten sections. We’ll walk through them in order.
Summary KPI band
Two big numbers at the top: your use case + state + design dewpoint + ISO class on the left; your SCFM + working PSI + operator count + hours/day on the right (plus the “net SCFM after existing” subtraction if you declared existing equipment).
Demand breakdown (when you used Pick tools)
A collapsible table showing each tool you picked, qty, SCFM each, duty %, and effective SCFM. Click to expand. The math is shown explicitly so you can sanity-check it.
Rationale checklist
Four to six checkmark lines explaining how we got from your inputs to your topology + dryer pick. Each line cites the engineering reason (“Local design dewpoint 75°F → refrigerated-cycling dryer. Local design dewpoint of 75°F is high; a cycling refrigerated dryer is most energy-efficient at this duty.”)
System flow diagram (SVG)
A horizontal pipe diagram showing the recommended air train: compressor(s) → controller (when needed) → wet receiver → aftercooler → dryer → filter train → point of use. Each node has its own icon glyph + a pressure value above showing what PSI is at that point in the train. Pressure drops are labeled above each pipe connector (typical: aftercooler −2 PSI, refrigerated dryer −4 PSI, desiccant −7 PSI, filtration −3 PSI). If the final pressure at the drops is below your target, you’ll see a warning — the tool will tell you to size the compressor higher or relax the filter train.
The controller node carries a subtle “By CompressorController ↗” chip when an unloader or sequencer is recommended. This is a non-pushy cross-link to CompressorController.com — operationally where you’d source the controller, plus we wrote a comparison guide at /guide/compressor-controllers-comparison/ if you want to understand the controller class options first.
Cost band
Two KPIs: estimated build range (low: cheapest catalog compressor × topology count + cheapest dryer + bare-minimum accessory bundle; high: most expensive of the same) and annual energy estimate (compressor kW × duty fraction × 8,760 h × $0.13/kWh × topology count). Both are rough — see the methodology note below the band and the disclaimer.
Recommended compressors (8 cards)
Each card shows the brand, model number, hero image (when available), a PSI badge (terracotta — with a ⚠ marker if the PSI margin over your target is < 10), HP/SCFM/tank chips, a price (or “Pricing on detail page” when manufacturer-pricing-only), a score (0–100), and a “why this scored well” line. Cards are sorted by score; relaxed-fallback matches (when no compressor cleared the strict bar) get a dashed border and a “Closest match” badge.
Click any card to open the full catalog page for that compressor — full spec sheet, retailer list with verified prices, peer-comparison histograms, sources cited.
Recommended dryers (6 cards)
Same shape as compressor cards. Dryer-type match family (cycling refrigerated, non-cycling refrigerated, desiccant heatless, desiccant heated, membrane) is weighted heavily in the score — you’ll see refrigerated dryers prioritized for moderate-climate applications, desiccants for class 1 or 2 water + breathing air.
Recommended accessories (zoned)
Grouped by where each item sits in the air train: Pre-treatment (vibration mounts, flex connector, aftercooler, wet receiver, moisture trap), Dryer & filtration train (particulate filter, coalescing filter, carbon filter, oil/water separator), Distribution & control (aluminum piping, zero-loss drain, pressure transducer + logger), and Monitoring & safety (leak detector, CO/CO₂ monitor for breathing air, dewpoint meter). Each item carries a one-line rationale (“Required to hit ISO 8573-1 class ≤2 oil”). Discuss exact SKUs with your installer.
ISO 8573-1 explainer
Collapsible block that decodes your air-quality triplet (e.g. “1.2.1” → Particles Class 1 ≤ 20,000 particles/m³ · Water Class 2 PDP ≤ −40°F · Oil Class 1 ≤ 0.01 mg/m³). Useful for explaining the dryer + filter recommendations to a buyer who doesn’t already know the standard.
Send-to-installer report
Three buttons: 🖨 Print (window.print + a full print stylesheet that hides chrome + collapses card images + expands details + uses a 2-col card grid), ↓ Download .txt (saves a 2,000+ character formatted report to your machine), and ✉ Email this build (mailto: with subject + body pre-filled).
Below the buttons: up to 3 installer cards from our directory matched to your state first (and fallback to others if needed), each with a per-installer “Email build →” button whose mailto: addresses the company by name, mentions your state, includes the full report text in the body, and includes the live shareable URL for the build. You can click “Send” in your mail client without typing a thing.
Sharing & saving
Below the report buttons: Copy share link encodes your complete configuration into a base64-JSON URL hash like #sb=eyJ1c2VfY2FzZSI6.... Paste it into any browser and the tool reloads with your exact inputs and runs the recommend automatically. Use it to share a build with a colleague, archive a configuration, or compare two scenarios side by side.
The wizard also saves your last few builds to your browser’s localStorage so you can flip between them without re-entering inputs.
Worked example 1 — small auto-body shop in Texas
Use case: Auto body / paint shop. State: TX. On step 3, switch to “Pick tools” and add: 2× HVLP basecoat gun, 1× HVLP clearcoat gun, 1× DA sander (6″), 1× ¼-sheet sander, 1× ½″ impact wrench, 1× cut-off tool. Simultaneity: 60%. Result:
- Demand: ~28 SCFM @ 100 PSI
- Topology: simplex (one unit)
- Dryer: refrigerated cycling, +38°F PDP
- Compressor scoring: top 3 will typically be a 7.5–10 HP screw or two-stage piston
- Accessories: full filtration train (particulate + coalescing + carbon for paint quality) + auxiliary wet receiver + ultrasonic leak detector
- Build range: ~$13,000 – $32,000 + ~$2,800/yr energy
Click “Email this build” on the first installer card, hit send. They reply with a quote in 1–2 business days.
Worked example 2 — 16-hour duplex production line in Ohio
Use case: Manufacturing / production line. State: OH. Step 3 “Pick tools”: 8× pneumatic cylinders, 2× CNC tool changers, 4× conveyor reject jets, 1× 7″ angle grinder. Simultaneity: 80%. Step 4: prefer topology = duplex. Result:
- Demand: ~75 SCFM @ 125 PSI
- Topology: duplex with sequencer — controller node in the flow diagram carries the “By CompressorController” chip
- Dryer: refrigerated cycling, +38°F PDP (OH dewpoint 70°F)
- Compressor scoring: top picks will be 25–40 HP rotary screws (FS-Curtis, Quincy QGS, Atlas Copco GA, ELGi)
- Accessories: aftercooler, oil/water separator (EPA condensate compliance), aluminum piping, pressure transducer + logger (so you can baseline the VSD savings)
- Build range: ~$55,000 – $140,000 + ~$26,000/yr energy
- Suggested next read: /guide/compressor-controllers-comparison/ for the controller-class decision
Common questions
The tool recommended a compressor that’s smaller than I expected.
Check your simultaneity slider on step 3. If it’s at 100% (default for the “Quick estimate” mode), the tool assumes every tool runs at the same time — usually that over-sizes. The “Pick tools” mode defaults to 70% simultaneity which is closer to reality for a multi-bay shop.
The tool recommended a compressor that’s much bigger than I expected.
Your highest-PSI tool sets the floor. If you added a truck tire inflator (120 PSI) to a list of 90-PSI tools, the compressor needs to deliver 120+ PSI which excludes most light-industrial 175-PSI 2-stage piston units. Either remove the high-PSI tool or accept a bigger compressor.
I got “No compressor in the catalog hits these requirements exactly.”
You’ll see a “Closest match” section showing the next-best candidates with relaxed PSI, plus a list of relax suggestions (“Try dropping the working pressure”, “Reduce operator count”, “Switch topology to simplex”). Often the right answer is the simpler config.
The price band looks wide.
It is. The low end uses the cheapest catalog compressor (often a no-name or off-brand reciprocating unit) and the cheapest dryer. The high end uses the most expensive equivalent. Real-world quotes from an installer will land in the middle 30–50% of that range. Use the band as a planning sanity check, not a contract.
Can the tool size a system over 500 SCFM?
It can, but for systems above ~150 SCFM you should engage a CAC-certified compressed-air auditor. The energy savings from a properly-tuned VSD + sequencer + heat-recovery setup at that scale dwarf the catalog-shopping savings, and the engineering needs a real load profile from a pressure-transducer log — not a tool-list estimate.
Does the tool work for compressed gases other than air?
No. This is a compressed-air sizing tool only. Nitrogen, oxygen, CO₂, hydrogen, helium, natural gas, refrigerant, and process-gas systems have different compressor designs (oil-free required, material compatibility, leak-tightness regimes) and different regulatory frameworks. Talk to a process-gas engineer.
Where to go from here
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