Air receivers and tanks
Storage, separation and the vessel that stops your compressor short cycling.
Overview
The cheapest component in a compressed air system and the one most often undersized. A receiver stores air for the peaks, lets water drop out before the ring main, and stops a compressor starting forty times an hour.
Carbon steel for general duty, stainless where the air touches product, and negative pressure vessels for vacuum systems. All of them are pressure vessels and all of them are subject to inspection.
In this range
Key benefits
The cheapest fix on the system
A compressor that short cycles is usually not a compressor problem. More storage costs a fraction of anything else you could do about it.
Separation before the dryer
Air slows down inside a vessel and drops its water there. That is work the dryer then does not have to pay for.
Carbon steel, stainless or vacuum
Q235-B and Q345R for general duty, S30408 where the air touches product, and negative pressure vessels for vacuum systems.
Certified and documented
Material certificates and test records with every vessel, because an inspector who cannot see the papers will fail a sound tank.
What a receiver is actually for
Three separate jobs, and most specifications only think about the first. It stores air, so a short heavy demand is met from the tank rather than from a bigger compressor that idles the rest of the day.
It separates. Air slows right down inside a vessel, and water and oil fall out of it there instead of travelling into your ring main. Every litre that drops out in the receiver is a litre the dryer never has to handle.
And it damps. Without enough storage a small compressor starts and stops dozens of times an hour, and starting is what wears out contactors and motors. Correct storage turns forty starts an hour into six.
- Storage for short heavy demands
- Water and oil separate out here
- Fewer starts, longer motor life
- Pressure held steadier across the plant
- Automatic drain fitted and piped
- Safety valve and gauge as supplied
Sizing it, and where to put it
Six to ten litres of storage for every litre per second the compressor delivers is the starting point on a fixed speed machine. Then check starts per hour: under ten is comfortable, over twenty is a machine being worn out.
A variable speed machine still needs a receiver. It has removed the cycling problem, not the peak demand and not the separation, so the sizing gets smaller rather than disappearing.
Where one part of the plant has a large short peak — a blow off, a cleaning cycle, a burst of tools — a second receiver next to that demand is worth far more than the same volume back in the compressor room.
Datasheets in this range
Two pages each: what the machine is, what it is for, and the measured table. Built from this site, so a sheet can never say something the page does not.
Frequently asked questions
What size receiver do I need?
Start at six to ten litres for every litre per second the compressor delivers, then check starts per hour. If the machine cycles more than about ten times an hour it needs more.
Do I still need one with a variable speed compressor?
Yes. A VSD removes the cycling problem, not the peak demand or the water separation. The vessel gets smaller, not unnecessary.
Carbon steel or stainless?
Carbon steel for general plant air. Stainless where the air is in contact with food, pharmaceutical or medical product, because a carbon steel vessel eventually sheds scale into it.
Does a receiver need inspecting?
Yes, it is a pressure vessel, and the authority and the interval differ across the countries we trade in. We tell you which applies before the vessel ships.
Where should it go?
Close to the compressor for cycling and separation, and a second one close to a large local demand if you have one. The two do different jobs.
Can I use an old receiver I already have?
Only if it is in date for inspection and correctly rated for your pressure. Reusing a vessel with no documentation is how an installation fails an audit.
What fittings does it come with?
Safety valve, pressure gauge and drain connection as supplied. The automatic drain is specified with it rather than left as an afterthought.
How much water actually collects in it?
On a hot humid day, litres an hour from a mid sized compressor. That is exactly why the drain matters more than most people expect.
What is a vacuum receiver?
A vessel built for negative pressure rather than positive. It is a different design and an ordinary air receiver must never be used on a vacuum system.
Does a bigger receiver save energy?
Indirectly, yes. It reduces cycling, lets the compressor run in longer blocks and stabilises pressure, which usually allows a lower system setting.
Related products
Air compressors
Rotary screw, oil-free and piston compressors from 2.2 to 355 kW.
- Free air delivery
- 0.1 – 109.0 m³/min (9 – 882 cfm)
- Working pressure
- 2 – 1,000 bar g
- Motor power
- 2 – 355 kW
Gas compressors
Nitrogen, oxygen, biogas, LPG, natural gas, ammonia, argon and boil off gas.
- Free air delivery
- 10 – 3,500 Nm³/h
- Working pressure
- 1 – 210 bar g
- Motor power
- 4 – 250 kW
Oxygen and hydrogen generation
Making the gas on site instead of paying for cylinders and deliveries.
- Working pressure
- 4 – 5 bar g
Air blowers
High-volume, low-pressure air for aeration and conveying.
- Free air delivery
- 12.6 – 418.0 m³/min
- Working pressure
- 1 – 1,100 bar g
- Motor power
- 22 – 450 kW
Not sure which model you need?
Send us your air demand, working pressure and running hours. Our engineers will size the machine and send a written recommendation, no cost, no obligation.