BelAire 418VL Elite Iron Series 7.5 HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Compressor — 1-Phase
The number worth knowing about the 418VL is 900 RPM. That is how slowly its solid cast iron two-stage pump turns, and a slow pump is a pump that lives a long time: fewer strokes per hour on the rings and bearings, less heat, less noise, and a duty cycle a busy shop can lean on all day. Paired with automotive-style rod bearings and wrist pins — the same construction idea as an engine bottom end rather than a disposable compressor pump — it is the reason this Elite Iron Series unit costs more than a fast-spinning machine with the same tank on it.
It is also, unusually for 7.5 HP, a single-phase machine. Most compressors this size demand three-phase service. The 418VL runs on 208 Volt or 230 Volt 1-phase power, which puts a genuinely industrial pump inside reach of a shop that never had three-phase brought to the building.
The slow-turning pump, and what 900 RPM buys you
Compressor pumps wear at a rate set mostly by how many times they go up and down. Two pumps of the same displacement, one fast and one slow, do the same work — but the slow one accumulates a fraction of the cycles over the same years. The trade is size and cost: a slow pump must be physically bigger, which is why this unit weighs what it does.
The second effect is heat. A pump spinning hard makes it faster than the fins can shed it, and heat cooks the oil, hardens the rings and eventually scores a bore. Turning at 900 RPM keeps the assembly nearer the temperature it was designed around. The third is noise — slow machines are less tiring to work beside.
Everything in that pump is solid cast iron. Not a sleeve, not an aluminium head over an iron liner — cast iron, which is heavier, better at absorbing vibration, and considerably more tolerant of the grit and heat of a working shop.
An honest note on this model’s published airflow
We have to flag a contradiction rather than pick a side. BelAire’s own material for the 418VL gives this model’s delivered air two different ways: the specification block and product description say 23 CFM at 100 PSI and 21 CFM at 175 PSI, while the feature list on the same listing says 18 CFM at 100 PSI and 16 CFM at 175 PSI. Those are not close enough to be a rounding difference, and we are not going to average them, convert them or quietly print the flattering pair.
If the delivered airflow is the number your buying decision turns on — and on a 7.5 HP machine it usually is — ask us in writing before you order and we will get the figure confirmed against BelAire’s current spec sheet. Everything else on this page is consistent across every source we hold.
Will it fit, and will your shop feed it?
The tank stands vertically, so plan for height first: 72" tall, plus clearance above for the outlet plumbing and room to get a hand on the pressure switch. On the floor it takes about 37" by 24". Leave working room on the sides — the belt guard, the sight glass and the drain all have to be reachable.
Electrically, this is the model that needs the least from your building. It takes 208 Volt or 230 Volt 1-phase service and can be wired for either. BelAire declines to publish a breaker size or an amp draw for it and says to consult a certified electrician, which is the correct answer at 7.5 HP single-phase: the current is high, the starting surge is higher, and conductor and breaker sizing depends on your run. Have it hard-wired by a licensed electrician, and have that conversation before the pallet arrives rather than after.
Floor: level, solid and able to carry roughly 600 lbs concentrated on a small footprint. A vertical compressor on a sloping or soft floor works its feet loose.
Tank, controls and the parts you touch weekly
The receiver is an 80 gallon vertical ASME tank with a safety relief valve and a 3/4" outlet. Control is by start-stop pressure switch, so the motor runs only when the tank calls for it, and a magnetic starter is fitted as standard rather than sold alongside. The belt guard is fully enclosed — worth more than it sounds when the machine lives in a working bay with people moving past it.
The tank drain is manual — a habit rather than a feature: crack it at the end of the day, let the water out, close it. Standing water is the most common way an otherwise healthy receiver ends its life. The oil sight glass makes the other weekly check a two-second look.
BelAire names the CPXHT25 as the recommended dryer for this unit. It is not included.
Perfect For
-
Independent shops without three-phase power — this is the specific problem the 418VL solves.
-
All-day duty cycles — the slow pump and iron construction are aimed at hours, not at peak numbers.
-
Tyre, suspension and general mechanical work where impact tools run more or less continuously.
-
Serious home and collector workshops with a proper single-phase sub-panel and the ceiling height for a vertical tank.
What’s in the Box
A complete factory assembly: solid cast iron two-stage pump, motor, vertical ASME tank, magnetic starter, start-stop pressure switch, pressure gauge, fully enclosed belt guard, oil sight glass, manual tank drain and safety relief valve.
Not supplied: the CPXHT25 dryer, any filter or regulator set, and shop plumbing.
Specifications
Motor and electrical supply
| Rated power |
7.5 HP |
| Supply |
208 Volt or 230 Volt AC, 1-phase (wireable for either) |
| Magnetic starter |
Included |
| Breaker / amp draw |
Not published by BelAire — consult a certified electrician |
Pump and output
| Pump type |
Two-stage, solid cast iron, belt drive, splash lubricated |
| Pump speed |
900 RPM |
| Bearings |
Automotive-style rod bearings and wrist pins |
| Delivered air |
Two published figures, and they disagree. The specification block and description say 23 CFM at 100 PSI and 21 CFM at 175 PSI; the feature list says 18 CFM at 100 PSI and 16 CFM at 175 PSI. We are printing both rather than choosing. Ask us to confirm in writing against BelAire’s current sheet before you order. |
| Maximum pressure |
175 PSI |
Tank and outlet
| Tank |
80 gallon, vertical, ASME certified, with safety relief valve |
| Outlet |
3/4" |
| Drain |
Manual |
Size and weight
| Overall |
37" long × 24" wide × 72" high |
| Weight |
600 lbs |
Certification, stated plainly
The receiver is an ASME certified pressure vessel and carries a safety relief valve. That is the certification this product’s data actually claims, and it is the one that matters most on a tank holding 175 PSI.
Beyond the tank, no third-party safety listing is claimed for the packaged machine anywhere in the data we hold. Some insurers, plant standards and local inspectors care about that on hard-wired shop equipment. If yours does, ask before you buy and we will put it to BelAire in writing.
We would rather tell you that plainly than let a badge you assumed was there turn up missing during an inspection.
Delivery, unloading and damage
This is a freight shipment on a pallet, delivered anywhere in the lower 48 states. The freight charge is quoted live at checkout for your own destination.
Plan the unload before you buy. The carrier is not obliged to take the pallet off the trailer for you, so you need a forklift, a dock, or a pallet jack and somewhere flat to roll it — or you choose terminal pickup and collect it from the carrier yourself, which many buyers do. Deliveries to a home address are residential deliveries and attract a residential fee; flag it up front.
Then check it on the tailgate. Any dent, any shifted crate, any damage to the pump or guard goes on the bill of lading in writing before you sign and before the truck pulls away. That note is the whole basis of a freight claim.
Warranty
2 Year bumper-to-bumper factory warranty, consumer and commercial, covering the whole unit with no additional purchase required.
House rule, and it is the one that saves claims: do not disassemble the pump before the claim is opened. Once it is in pieces nobody can establish what failed first, and a warranty claim on a stripped pump is a very hard conversation. Ring us, tell us what it is doing, and let it be assessed intact.
