A Guide for Accurately Sizing Air Compressor Tanks

06/17/2015
by Matt Mazanec

There's no need to overthink the purchase or replacement of an air compressor tank. While it is critically important to ensure your compressor is running with an appropriately-sized tank, our team is here to help answer any questions — no matter how big or small — you encounter along the way. 

Some quick context: Air tanks are used to help the compressor cycle less, reducing maintenance costs in addition to reducing the amount of energy being consumed by the motor. 

Sizing guide

So how big should your tank be? Our team recommends having a minimum of 2 gallons storage for every cubic foot per minute (CFM) created by your machine. Ideally, we will recommend having 4 gallons of storage per CFM. 

Here's a sheet showing the correct conversions for recommended tank size based on the horsepower and CFM of your machine. 

Compressor Size  Capacity (CFM) Gallons per CFM Air Tank Size
5 HP 17 CFM 4 68
7.5 HP 23 CFM 4 92
10 HP 35 CFM 4 140
15 HP 51 CFM 4 204
20 HP 80 CFM 4 320
25 HP 100 CFM 4 400
30 HP 125 CFM 4 500
40 HP 170 CFM 4 680
50 HP 214 CFM 4 856
60 HP 245 CFM 4 980
75 HP 345 CFM 4 1380
100 HP 450 CFM 4 1800
125 HP 600 CFM 4 2400
150 HP 700 CFM 4 2800
200 HP 911 CFM 4 3644
250 HP 1150 CFM 4 4600
300 HP 1350 CFM 4 5400