Quincy 4152021980 QGS 10 HP 120 Gallon Rotary Screw Air Compressor with Dryer

Of the three QGS packages we list on the 120 gallon horizontal receiver, this is the only one whose specification table records an aftercooler as fitted. The two larger models on the same tank do not. That is a genuinely odd result — you would expect the extras to arrive with the power — and it makes the smallest machine in the group the one with the most complete air treatment on paper.

It matters because moisture removal works best in stages. Air leaves a screw element hot and completely saturated. An aftercooler takes the temperature down immediately and drops out the bulk water while it is still easy to catch; the refrigerated dryer then works on air that is already cool, which is the condition it is designed for rather than the condition it usually gets. On this unit both stages are present, and the result is drier air reaching your tools with less asked of the dryer.

Where 10 HP sits, honestly

This machine delivers 38.8 CFM at 125 PSI on a 100% duty cycle. That is the crossing point where a rotary screw starts to make sense over a large reciprocating compressor — not because the peak output is higher, but because it does not need to stop.

A two-stage piston compressor with a similar badge rating spends much of a busy day recovering. Its published output assumes a duty cycle it will not get in a working shop, and the moment two people pick up air tools the pressure sags and everyone waits. 38.8 CFM continuous does not sag. It will run a pair of technicians on impacts, ratchets and blow guns indefinitely, hold a sander or a small blast cabinet, and keep a tyre machine and a lift fed without complaint. What it will not do is feed a production spray booth or a large media blaster; those want considerably more air, and it is better to know that now than in week two.

Auto-Dual, and why a continuous-duty machine needs a stop button

The Auto-Dual control system lets you programme timed shutdowns. On a compressor built to run without stopping, that is not a contradiction — it is the necessary counterweight. Left to itself the machine will hold pressure in an empty shop all night, doing precisely what it was designed to do while nobody uses a cubic foot of it. Programming the idle out is the difference between a compressor that costs what it should and one that quietly does not.

The rest of the mechanicals

Drive is by long-life V-belt: a serviceable, inexpensive transmission with a periodic tension and condition check against it. Lubrication is premium synthetic rated for 8,000 hours, which keeps oil carryover down and puts real distance between fluid services. The motor is TEFC, sitting inside Quincy's standard quiet enclosure, and low-oil shutdown protects both the engine and the pump. An oil sight glass makes the weekly check a glance rather than a job.

Will it fit, and can you power it?

Dimensions are 76 inches long, 25 inches wide and 58 inches tall, and the unit weighs 850 lbs — the lightest package on this receiver, which is worth knowing if the floor it is going on has any question over it. The shape is long and low rather than tall, so the constraint is usually the run of wall you can give it plus service access at the panel end, not headroom. The receiver outlet is 1/2-inch and your header sizing should start there.

Electrically it is a 208-230/460V 3-phase unit with a magnetic starter fitted. There is no getting around a licensed electrician here, and Quincy makes that explicit: neither an amp draw nor a recommended breaker size is published for this model — both fields read "Consult Certified Electrician". We are not going to fill those gaps with estimates. Have the service, feeder and disconnect sized against the nameplate before the machine arrives. Supply, siting and permits are the customer's responsibility.

Perfect for

Two and three-bay independent workshops that have outgrown a piston compressor. Mobile tyre and fleet operations with a fixed base. Small fabrication shops needing dry air for plasma work. Serious home and collector garages with three-phase service and enough space for a long horizontal package. It is the sensible first rotary screw rather than the biggest one.

Specifications

You will notice no noise rating above. This product's data carries a sound figure with no unit attached to it, and we are not prepared to publish an unlabelled number as a specification on a machine that may end up in a working bay. Ask and we will read the current figure off Quincy's datasheet for you.

What's included

Drawn from the manufacturer's feature list and specification table: the QGS rotary screw compressor with long-life V-belt drive, the integrated refrigerated air dryer, the aftercooler, the 120 gallon horizontal receiver, the TEFC electric motor, the standard quiet enclosure, Auto-Dual control, air filter, pressure gauge, oil sight glass, low-oil shutdown on engine and pump, and factory-filled premium synthetic lubricant. An electronic drain valve is not part of the package, so plan a manual draining routine or budget for an automatic one.

Shipping and delivery

Delivered as freight within the lower 48 states, with the rate calculated live at checkout for your address — we deliberately do not print a shipping figure, because freight pricing moves and a fixed number on a page becomes a dispute rather than a service. Even as the lightest unit in this group it is well past what can be handed off a truck, so arrange a dock, a forklift, or terminal collection before it ships. A residential delivery address attracts a residential fee. Check the crate over on arrival and record any damage on the bill of lading before signing; once you sign clean, the carrier's records say it arrived undamaged.

Warranty

The recorded terms are 1 Year consumer and 1 Year commercial cover as standard. An extended 3 Year factory warranty can be added, and the True Blue 5-Year warranty is available where the unit is commissioned by a Quincy authorized start-up. Because that start-up is a condition of the extended cover rather than a nicety, arrange it alongside the electrical work. And if something does go wrong, stop the machine and talk to us before anyone reaches for a spanner — a compressor that has already been opened is a much weaker claim than one that has not.