What is the difference between horizontal and vertical air compressors?
Realistically, there isn’t much difference between horizontal and vertical air compressors, other than the way the hardware is arranged. The main idea is that it will help save floor space because the length of its tanks goes up and down as opposed to across. Typically the motor will sit at the base of the unit and the tank will ride above it. As a consequence, when left to sit in a given place, it takes up less horizontal space, although of course it takes up more vertical space.
The main advantage of vertical air compressors is for small businesses and offices that need compressed air but have limited floor space and would prefer to store it out of sight. A good example would be a dentist’s office (since they use a lot of pneumatic tools in dentistry) or a small workshop for rent. Most vertical compressors can be wheeled around in a manner similar to moving a wheelbarrow, and therefore can easily be placed in an unused closet or corner. This portability also makes them more popular if the compressor needs to be moved frequently.
Otherwise, apart from the matter of horizontal space saved, there is no other significant difference between a horizontal and a vertical air compressor. Air compressors of all types can be found in both vertical and horizontal styles, and the direction of the tank has no bearing on the overall operation of the compressor. Therefore, if space is not an important issue, then there is no need to focus specifically on the direction in which the air compressor tank is located. In fact, if you intend to hide the compressor under a work table or cabinet, then buying a vertical compressor would actually be a mistake.
Obviously, this is only an appropriate concern for air compressors that are large enough to warrant the concern, especially those with larger tanks. When dealing with compressors with very small tanks (two gallons, six gallons, eight gallons, etc.), it doesn’t really make any difference which way the tanks are facing in terms of horizontal floor space. This only becomes a real problem when dealing with tanks of about twelve gallons or more. Since reservoirs play an important role in maintaining even airflow and the like that is needed for sensitive work (such as dentistry), having a larger reservoir is common and important.
Since so many of the applications where floor space is an active concern also coincide with places where volume is an issue, many of the companies that specialize in quiet air compressors offer their products in a vertical formation. For example, busy offices or shared workspaces are places where both space and noise are common issues. Since air compression has never been a silent technology until recently, there are many small manufacturers who have chosen to specialize in the production of silent compressors. These specialized air compressors are also often vertical, simply because this complements many of the more common applications.
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