Air compressors are more critical and handy than we think in general. They are widely used to fill up various materials using the potential energy stored inside the compressed air. Air compressors have multiple uses, and it should be known how to use them properly. You can get your air compressor at the nearest hardware store or on Amazon with a few brands that sell this product.
If you want to know more about air compressors and how they work, click here to learn more. This article will start off with what an air compressor is and how it works, followed by the various problems that one can face in its functionality. It is essential to know about its working principle and what exactly it is to understand the nature of the issues it poses.
Knowing all of this only makes it easier to solve and hence will be left with a fully functioning and non faulty air compressor. Therefore, without any further ado, let’s dive in!
What Is A Bostitch Pancake Compressor?

It is defined as a machine that transforms resources such as electricity into other forms of energy. They make use of resources of fossil fuels in general such as diesel, petroleum , etc, into stored forms of energy that are held inside a pressurized air chamber that is made denser by various methods. The compressor sends increasingly pressurized air into the storage chamber as you keep using it.
When the air compressor reaches its higher capacity limit, the air compressor turns off the activity of compressing air and uses the stored compressed air only when called for use. The converted form of energy in the tank can be used in several ways giving it a huge scope of application.
This potential stored energy is used and released as a more motile form of energy which leads to a decrease in the pressure of the air compression tank. When the air compressor reaches its lower capacity level, the tank is once again in operation and begins to fill the tank up with pressurized air on continued use.
Uses Of Air Compressors
They have a lot more applications than we think they do. They primarily help fill pressurized air cylinders, help in the supply of semi pressurized clear air to a deep sea diver for a long period of time. It also is used to supply clear air for institutional buildings in need of clean air as well as HVAC systems to go for.
It also allows in supplying moderately pressurized air for powering various hydraulic tools making use off air pressure such as jackhammers and produces large amounts of medium pressure air for high-scale factory processes such as oxidation of fossil fuels leading to the birth of various other products, coking, or cement plant baghouse purge systems.
The Forms Of Air Compressors
Usually, the typical air compressor reciprocates piston-type rotary vane or rotary screws. Centrifugal compressors are very typical in big scale operations. There are two main types of air compressor pumps – oil pumps and oil-less pumps.
Gas/diesel power compressors are widely used in remote areas with problematic access to electricity while noisy and require ventilation for exhaust gases.
These machines that are powered by fossil fuels usually are typically used in areas of production factories and other areas of high productivity. Typical factory/industry compressors are a hundred to two hundred and forty volt. The various shapes that they come in are pancakes, twin stacks, horizontal and vertical. According to ease of use and urgency, they can vary in terms of portability.
Common Bostitch Pancake Air Compressor Problems And How To Solve Them

- High increase in temperatures
If the machine that you own is behaving in an unusual way, it is highly likely that there is an issue with the machine in terms of heat more often than not. With overheating being the main issue, the various issues you are likely to face are that the compressor does not turn on.
If the compressor does not turn on as it usually does, there is an issue with the product, with the probable cause of overheating. If the product starts to take a long time to start between each use, then the reason might be that the parts inside seem to take more time to cool down between each cycle.
The first thing you do is completely switch off the processes of the air compressor, and it is best left for an expert to diagnose the problem.
- Electric Trips
The flow of electricity in the circuits is regulated by the circuit breaker, which apprehends the flow of electricity as a defense or protective measure for the quality and performance of the machine. If the electricity or power seems to trip at arbitrary points of time, this tells us that there is a problem lurking in the air compressor chamber.
The best thing you could do at this point is to reduce the activity on the air compressor. The circuit breaker trips mainly because of electrical or power overload. Give it a while to cool off, and it should be back to normal.
- Oil-related issues
One of the most common issues that people face with the compressor is the fact that it has to do with the oil or the fuel being used. Most problems related to performance have a lot to do with the badly lubricated or oiled components on the inside of the machine.
This can highly lead to fire hazards and other problems that are needed to be checked. Another common problem faced is also due to insufficient combustion oil which could lead to foul smells and odours.
Make sure to disassemble the entire thing so you can properly clean it out and hence remove any bad oil that is present inside.

- Increasingly reduced performance
When the components or the general performance of the machine is a lot lower and reducing by the moment, there is usually a more serious issue to be considered here. One has to examine and evaluate the product or machine properly. The most probable cause could be due to the fuel, the pathways of air, the condenser or its parts.