5 Best Barber Shop Air Compressor, According to testing

There are two types of air compressors used in a barbershop. The Cordless one uses only for applying hair color, and a corded big-sized air compressor uses for running blowguns for cleaning clippers and other barber tools.

There are varieties types of airbrush compressors available. They are corded and get power from the AC socket. You may use this kind of air compressor for spraying hair color with a pneumatic airbrush.

When choosing a bigger unit that will supply high-pressure air to your blowguns, first-step, you should figure out how many blowguns will run with this compressor.  If your barber station requires above 4 blowguns to use, a 20-gallon sized compressor unit is adequate for handling this—you May choose 10 or 15-gallon size. It won’t hamper your regular cleaning tasks.

What should you consider for Barber Shop Air Compressors?

A perfect-sized air compressor helps barbers blow up their clippers, blow up barber stations, and supply air to barber airbrushes for hair coloring. 

We said before any regular air compressor can be suited for the Barber shop. But there are fundamental features and options you should know before buying. 

Check The PSI And CFM Rating: 

Airbrush and air nozzle blowgun are the most uses tools in a barbershop. Airbrush working well between 5-50 psi. Air blow gun required 6-11CFM at 90 psi for powerful blow-up. 

When choosing an air compressor, keep in mind the number of PSI and CFM ratings. A 20-gallon air compressor is compatible for a barbershop, which can produce up to 5-6 CFM at 90 PSI. 

Tank size: 

Take the suitable tank size air compressor, capable of running tools continuously that take longer to complete. In a barber station, Barber uses 5 to 10 blow nozzle air guns for doing daily tasks. A 15-20 gallon size air compressor will perfect fit to supply airflow with proper air pressure.

Noise Rating: 

Every air compressor units come with a noise rating level, which indicates how much noise it makes in operation. Air compressors output noise measured in DB (decibel). The lower the number, the quietest is it. 

In our research 65 to below 80 DB noise rating air compressors are compatible for indoor use.  

What will happen next? If your customers feel disturbed by your air compressor noise, while it runs to put air into your barber application. Your business will go down day by day. 

This is the best solution to choose the quietest air compressor for powering barber applications. Which keeping the barber station environment quieter and makes customers happy. 

What Is The Best Barber Shop Air Compressor? 

1. Barber airbrush compressor – Master Airbrush 1/5 HP

If you need to run your pneumatic airbrush, a small-sized air compressor unit is enough to do it. While you have a central air compressor for supplying air to others barbers applications, you may connect your airbrush kit with the airline through a hose. 

It will be an excellent decision to choose a cordless airbrush kit, but they are rechargeable, not suitable for continuous run. You have to stop working while it is recharging. 

The most outstanding solution is to choose a Barber airbrush compressor unit if you have to power up an airbrush only. 

The master airbrush compressor will be the most significant unit for your pneumatic airbrush. It features a 1/2 HP motor, with its 3 litter air tank for keeping up with continuous airflow for the long run time. It has two cooling fans to protect it from overheating damage and ensure you a long-lasting run time. Oil-less and super-quiet operation allow completing your job done without bothering your customers.

2. Cordless air compressor for barbers:

The cordless air compressor is the essential tool in barbers’ arsenal, and it’s the alternative of using a corded airbrush compressor. The cordless air compressor for barbers allows spraying color independently -There was No hazardous air hose or power cord to interrupt barbers’ daily works.

After long research, we have identified the best cordless air compressor for barbers, and it is Roadtec cordless Air Compressor with an airbrush kit. The best and superb alternative of the master airbrush compressor – that we reviewed before.

The Roadtec cordless Compressor is the most updated than the competitors. And it features easy to operate and control options, with its upgraded trigger allow to on and off the tools without using a switch.

It’s a cordless air compressor, which means it is powered up with batteries, but the manufacturer didn’t mention the battery capacity(MAH). But they claimed it could run up to 1.5 hours after being fully charged. In practical, it survived 1 hour 23 minutes in new condition.

Features USB Type C charging port that allows to charge it with any mobile USB charger.

3. Quiet Air Compressor For Barber Shop – California Air Tools 10020C

If you are looking for an air compressor capable of producing adequate air flows to all of the barber applications. It would be an excellent choice to go for an air compressor quiet in operation with decent airflow. 

The California 10020C is an ultra-quiet air compressor unit and easy to use functionality. And it is highly portable and easy to moving capability. But inside your barber station, it is not necessary to moving around. 

Let’s discuss the features and functionality of this Barber Shop air compressor. 

Tank size: The California air tools 10020c is a vertical tank air compressor. The Motor and pump unit sited on the top of the tank. The tank size is 10-gallon—the reliable size for contentious airflow to barber applications. Also, it makes with reliable steel materials. The vertical tank is always suitable for the tiny tight place.

Noise Level: Yeas, this air compressor is super quiet in operation, and it from the California air tools ultra-quiet category. Its noise level is only 70DB (decibel). The perfect air compressor unit and its ultra-quiet operation will provide you the decent airflow without splitting headaches when using.

4. Stealth 20 Gallon Ultra Quiet Air Compressor

The Stealth 20 Gallon is the best air compressor for barbershop use. The operational noise is 80% lower than the similar size units. The ultra-quiet noise rating makes it reliable for indoor use. This 20 gallon unit emits only 68 DB during its run. 

It boasts a 20-gallon air tank, and a 1.8 HP induction motor supplying the compatible power to the unit, as a result, it takes only 70 seconds to fill up the tank from empty. 

Specially designed for powering air tools like nail guns, spray painting, sanding.

We recommend this air compressor for barber shop according to its quiet operation, reliable performance, zero maintenance, and high airflow ratings. 

5. STEALTH Air Compressor 12 gallon

The STEALTH 12 gallon Air Compressor is our second pick on the list. It’s the most reliable air compressor unit for home shop compressed air supply, power up pneumatic air tools, car painting jobs, putting air to barbershop applications.

Its powerful air-flowing capability with a 12-gallon tank could provide continuous air to barber applications. And the operational noise is very low, only 68 DB. Which capable of powerup barber applications without bothering your customers. 

It features an oil-free pump, which makes you free from maintenance. It comes with two quick connect couplers, allowing you to connect two air hoses at a time. If you need to extend the connectors, you may use 3 or 5 air manifolds, that you need. 

6. 20-Gallon Air Compressor -PORTER-CABLE PXCMF220VW

The porter cable 20-gallon air compressor is the most popular and reliable for its optimum performance. Usually, the 20-gallon air compressors are used for continuous air supply to high-demand air tools. Now, welcome this PORTER-CABLE PXCMF220VW to your barber station as a barbershop air compressor. 

The porter cable 20-gallon air compressor boasts a twin Twin-V cast iron pump that is oil-free, ensured you the lower maintenance schedule. This a vertical air compressor, The motor and pump section sit on the top of the tank. The tank size is 20-gallon, the most outstanding solution to supply compressed air without repeatedly on-off. Two 7″ semi-pneumatic wheels for easy to move around at your job site. 

The unit Weighs 97-Pounds, which is not portable. You should install it in the underground basement or beside your barber station. And you may supply air through a long hose and air supply outlets.

6 Best Air Compressor For Barber Shop (Comparison Chart)

Barber shop air compressor setup – Easy steps to complete the installation

It would be quite hard to install an air compressor by yourself in your barbershop.

If you are a DIYer, you have to follow only a few steps to complete the whole installation.

Before beginning your installation, gather all necessary instruments and fittings.

Accessories list for setting up an air compressor in a barbershop.

• 1x air compressor 10-30 gallons. Depends on how much air do you need.

• 1x 3 or 4 way quick connect air hose splitter. If you need an individual hose line for every blowgun.

• Select the right size male quick coupler plug. One male quick coupler for one hose. And one female coupler for one hose.

• Collect 1/4 or 3/8 size air hose as needed.

• Don’t forget to twist thread seal tape on hose fittings.

How we test barber shop air compressors

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned two types of air compressors that are most common for Berbers, and they are cordless air compressor, this is used for applying hair colors. The other is a big compressor that is used for supplying compressed air to blowguns, which are actually used for blowing out dust and cleaning away barber tools like hair clippers, combs, and others.

We focus on the run time of each cordless barber compressor to find actual performance. Mostly, cordless airbrush compressors can hold you for up to 20 to 30 minutes on a single charge.

On the other hand, we test all the big air compressors to find how long each compressor can supply air while using around three to five blowguns and how fast they actually recover the tank pressure. Our expert found that a 30-gallon air compressor with an airflow capacity of 6 CFM is enough for around 5 blowguns.