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BelAire 318HL 7.5 HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Air Compressor, Single Phase

The 318HL exists to solve one specific problem: you want a genuinely commercial two-stage compressor, and your building does not have three-phase power. A 7.5 HP motor on single-phase supply is close to the practical ceiling for that situation, and it is why this model gets specified into body shops, farm workshops and standalone service buildings that would otherwise be stuck with a much smaller machine or a five-figure electrical upgrade.

The rest of it is straightforward industrial hardware: a belt-driven two-stage pump with a cast iron cylinder sleeve, an 80-gallon horizontal receiver built to the ASME code, a maximum pressure of 175 PSI, and a manual tank drain rather than an automatic one.

What 7.5 HP and 80 gallons actually cover

Compressor sizing is a question about simultaneity, not about horsepower on a badge. A single impact gun on a wheel-off, wheel-on cycle barely troubles a machine this size. The demand appears when two or three things overlap: someone is running a die grinder while the lift is going up and the blow gun is clearing a brake assembly. That is when an undersized compressor stops keeping up, pressure sags, and every air tool in the shop starts working badly at once.

Two things protect you there. The first is delivered airflow, and this pump is a two-stage design rated at a maximum of 175 PSI. The second, and the one people underestimate, is stored volume. An 80-gallon receiver filled to a high pressure holds a substantial reserve of air at your regulated working pressure, so short overlapping demands come out of the tank rather than out of the motor. The motor starts less often, and the compressor rides through peaks instead of chasing them.

Fewer starts is not a trivial benefit. Motor starting is when current, heat and mechanical shock are highest. A big tank and a two-stage pump between them are the reason a machine like this survives a decade of shop use while a small single-stage unit doing the same work does not.

The single-phase trade-off, told straight

Single-phase power is available everywhere, and that is its entire advantage. The cost is current. A 7.5 HP single-phase motor draws a great deal more than the same power on a three-phase supply, and BelAire's recommendation for this machine is a 60 amp breaker. That is a serious circuit. Before you order, confirm your panel has the capacity and a free double-pole slot of that size, because discovering it does not is an expensive surprise once the crate is on your floor.

BelAire deliberately does not publish a single amp-draw figure, listing it instead as something to confirm with a certified electrician. That is the right answer: the real number depends on your service, your conductor run and your local code, and it is the customer's responsibility to have it checked. A magnetic starter is fitted at the factory, which gives the motor proper overload protection and means you are not switching a motor of this size through a bare pressure switch.

This unit wires to either 208V or 230V single-phase service, so it suits both the common shop supplies without a parts change.

Confirm the delivered-air figure before you size your tools

Published figures for the 318HL differ at the same rating pressure. The manufacturer's feature list and the specification data for this model both state 22.3 CFM at 100 PSI. The product overview text supplied with this model states 25.3 CFM at 100 PSI.

If the exact delivered-air figure is load-bearing for your decision — because you are sizing this against a specific tool list, or against a plasma cutter's continuous draw — ask us to confirm it in writing before you order and we will get the number from BelAire's current data sheet. For most shop work the difference between those two figures will not change the outcome; if it would change yours, ask first.

Will it fit?

Horizontal tank, so it is long rather than tall: 71" long, 24" wide, 49" high, and 538 lbs. It needs a solid, level floor and enough clearance at the pump end for belt changes, oil checks and unobstructed cooling airflow across the flywheel. Do not box it into a corner cupboard; a compressor that cannot breathe runs hot and shortens its own oil life.

Perfect For

• Independent service shops and body shops in buildings with single-phase supply only.
• Farm and agricultural workshops a long way from any three-phase distribution.
• Serious home and collector garages where the panel can support a 60 amp circuit and the work is real rather than occasional.
• Tire and quick-service bays running several air tools simultaneously through the working day.

In the box

• Two-stage belt-driven pump with a cast iron cylinder sleeve
• 80-gallon horizontal ASME receiver with safety valve
• Magnetic starter, factory fitted
• Start/stop pressure switch controls
• Oil level sight glass
• Fully enclosed high-flow belt guard
• Pressure gauge
• Manual air tank drain

Not included: an air dryer. BelAire names the CPXHT25 as the recommended dryer for this compressor, sold separately. Note also that a low oil shut-off switch is not listed as fitted on this model, so checking the sight glass is a habit you need to actually keep.

Specifications

Air and pressure

Motor and supply

Tank and dimensions

Certification, stated plainly

The receiver is built and stamped to the ASME pressure vessel code and carries a safety valve. That is a genuine, verifiable claim about the tank, and it is the claim BelAire makes.

We do not hold a North American third-party electrical safety listing from an accredited testing laboratory for this machine, and a pressure vessel code stamp does not stand in for one. They are different documents assessing different risks. Some insurers, some corporate facility policies and some local electrical inspectors ask for the electrical listing by name. If yours is likely to, settle that question before you order and ask us in writing rather than assuming. We would rather answer the question than have the machine fail an inspection in your building.

Freight and receiving

This is a freight shipment to the lower 48 states, not a parcel. The cost is quoted live at checkout for your address.

You need a way to get it off the truck: a forklift or a dock at the delivery address, or collect it from the carrier's terminal yourself. Residential delivery is available and carries a residential fee. Inspect before you sign. Look at the skid for movement, the tank ends for dents, the belt guard for distortion and the deck for oil. Record anything you find on the delivery paperwork and photograph it before the driver leaves. A clean signature is very hard to argue with later.

Warranty

A 2-year bumper-to-bumper factory warranty covers the machine, with no additional purchase needed to activate it. Note the serial number down when you uncrate it and file it with the invoice.

Do not take the pump, motor or pressure switch apart before a claim is opened. Disassembling a component to demonstrate that it failed is the reliable way to lose the cover on that component. Report it first. Then keep to the manufacturer's oil interval, check belt tension after the first weeks of running, and drain the tank regularly — on this model that drain is manual, and neglecting it is the fastest way to shorten a receiver's life.