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What size air compressor do I need

Updated: 21.10.2026

What size air compressor do I need is a question about the air the tool uses, and only then about how long the motor can rest. A 24 litre tank stores air. It does not make more air than the pump can supply. Six of the eleven amazon.co.uk listings in this set are handheld pumps with no useful receiver, and none of them will run a nailer. Prices and stars sit on the [air compressor comparison](/hub/compressors/air-compressor). This page is the choice of type before a brand. The listings were checked on 19 October 2026. It is not a lab test, and a qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

What size air compressor do I need is a question about the air the tool uses, and only then about how long the motor can rest. A 24 litre tank stores air. It does not make more air than the pump can supply.

Our top picks

Hyundai Hyundai HY7524X

Best overall

Hyundai Hyundai HY7524X
8.4/10about £149.95
View offer
Hyundai Hyundai HY5508X

Alternative

Hyundai Hyundai HY5508X
7.6/10about £129.99
View offer
Draper Draper 02115

Alternative

Draper Draper 02115
6.2/10about £102.27
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with the job, not the tank
  2. 2.Flow first, litres second
  3. 3.What 6, 8 and 24 litres can hold
  4. 4.Power, plug and coupling

Start with the job, not the tank

A tyre top-up and a spray gun use air differently, even when both pages say air compressor. A car tyre wants a short burst to the door-placard pressure, then it stops. The AstroAI shuts off at a preset and has no tank. Draper 02115 reviews, on the 6 litre at £102.27, say that receiver is too small for sustained spraying or sandblasting. garden-review.co.uk puts many nailers around 1 to 4 CFM, impacts around 4 to 6, and DIY HVLP around 7 to 10. If the only job is tyres, use the tyre inflator or air compressor page.

Flow first, litres second

Free air delivery at a stated pressure is not printed on any tank here. The Hyundai HY7524X bullets say 5.2 CFM and 150 L/min, and the air-flow field says 2.65 CFM. The HYCHIKA title says 160 L/min and the field says 60 L/min. The Draper’s 185 L/min, in both places, is displacement. garden-review.co.uk’s 65 to 75 percent of displacement is a rule of thumb, not a test of these units. The Hyundai 8 litre field says 2 cubic centimetres per minute against 4 CFM and 120 L/min. Do not average fighting cells. A default, once flow is unknown, is on the best air compressor UK page.
Hyundai Hyundai HY7524X

Testsieger

Hyundai Hyundai HY7524X
8.4/10about £149.95
View offer

What 6, 8 and 24 litres can hold

On this shelf the Draper is 6 litres at £102.27, the Hyundai HY5508X is 8 litres at £129.99, and the 24 litre machines are the Bimson at £114.99, the HYCHIKA at £124.84 and the Hyundai HY7524X at £149.95. A larger receiver holds a longer burst. It does not raise pump pressure or repair a missing flow figure. Owners of the 8 litre who wanted reserve wished they had bought the 24 litre. Twenty-four litres is still intermittent DIY. HSE’s INDG178 says a portable receiver under 250 bar litres is not likely to need a written scheme. A 24 litre vessel at 8 bar is 192 bar litres. A home hobbyist is not an employer. Work use or hire-out needs a competent person.

Power, plug and coupling

Every tank here is corded, 230 V and oil-free. Oil-free skips oil checks. It does not make the air safe to breathe, and it does not dry the air. Only the Hyundai 8 litre bullets state a 13 A UK plug. A Schuko-only lead is a problem on a UK socket. Machine Mart’s archived guide says a long extension drops starting voltage. The 8 litre lead is about a metre in reviews, and the Draper title gives 1.7 m. Hyundai and Draper use Euro connectors. A PCL user on the 24 litre planned to change the tails. The HYCHIKA and the Bimson do not state a coupling.

Common questions

Is a bigger tank a more powerful compressor?
No. Litres are the air stored in the receiver, not the rate the pump can deliver. In this set the 6 litre Draper and the 24 litre Hyundais are all intermittent DIY machines. A bigger tank can space the motor’s restarts out. It cannot turn a missing free-air figure into spray-gun capacity, and it does not make a 97 dB listing quieter.
Why do two flow numbers appear on one listing?
Because the bullet and the specification field were filled with different volumes. On the Hyundai 24 litre the bullets say 5.2 CFM and 150 L/min, and the air-flow field says 2.65 CFM. On the HYCHIKA the title says 160 L/min intake and the field says 60 L/min. Neither pair is labelled free air delivery. Do not average them, and do not treat either cell as the air your tool will get.
Is oil-free enough for a home garage?
Every tank kept in this folder says oil-free, so you are not choosing an oiled belt-drive machine here. Oil-free skips oil checks. It does not dry the air, and it is not breathing air. You still drain condensate, and you still set the tool to the pressure on its own sheet rather than to the compressor’s maximum.
When is a 6 litre tank a false economy?
When the work needs a continuous jet. Draper reviews say the 6 litre receiver is too small for sustained spraying or sandblasting, so the 1.2 kW motor keeps running. It can still be the right cheap tank for a puncture or a short blow-off, at £102.27, if you can live with the listed 97 dB.
What if my tools are PCL and the compressor is Euro?
Hyundai and Draper outlets in this set are Euro quick connectors. One Hyundai 24 litre reviewer planned to swap them for PCL tails already fitted to their tools. The HYCHIKA and the Bimson do not name a coupling. Buy the adaptor with the compressor, or pick the listing whose outlet you have already checked, rather than discovering it when the tank is full.

Related pages

Quiet air compressor for a garage

Air compressor

Best air compressor UK among these eleven listings

How to use an air compressor for the first session

Tyre inflator or air compressor for topping up tyres

Sources

Public UK sources below. amazon.co.uk listings checked on 19 October 2026.

  1. HSE: Pressure Systems Safety Regulations (PSSR) (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. HSE INDG178: Written schemes of examination (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. legislation.gov.uk: SI 2000/128 Schedule 1 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. HSE: HSG39 Compressed air safety (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. legislation.gov.uk: Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, regulation 4 (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. HSE: Noise at work for employers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Machine Mart archived guide: air compressors (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. garden-review.co.uk: DIY air compressor CFM rules of thumb (retrieved 19 October 2026)