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BelAire 338VE Elite Series 5 HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Air Compressor, Vertical 3-Phase

Stainless steel valves. It is a single line on a specification sheet and it is the most consequential thing on this one, because valves are the highest-duty parts in any reciprocating compressor and they are what usually decides when the pump has had enough. The 338VE specifies them in stainless, pairs them with a solid cast iron pump and a triple-pass pump-mounted aftercooler, and stands the whole thing on an 80-gallon vertical tank that BelAire states is 100% factory tested at full pressure.

It runs on 208-230V 3-phase supply with a 5 HP motor and a magnetic starter already fitted, and it delivers 16.6 CFM at 175 PSI, which is also its maximum pressure.

Why the valves decide how long the pump lives

Count the duty cycle of a compressor valve and the number stops being abstract. Every piston stroke opens and closes it. A pump running through a working day accumulates cycles into the millions in a season, and it does so in the harshest environment inside the machine: hot discharge air, oil mist, and the moisture that compression keeps squeezing out of the atmosphere.

Two things end a valve. Fatigue, from being flexed relentlessly, and corrosion, from sitting in warm, wet, oily air between runs. Stainless steel is specified for the second problem in particular — it does not pit and scale the way ordinary steel does in condensing air, and a pitted valve does not seal, which shows up first as lost output and rising discharge temperature rather than as an obvious failure.

The practical effect for an owner is that the machine holds its output as it ages instead of quietly getting weaker. A compressor that has lost a fifth of its delivery to worn valves will still run, still build pressure eventually, and still feel roughly normal — which is exactly why the loss goes unnoticed until somebody measures it.

Two stages, and the cooling in between

Single-stage pumps squeeze the air once. Two-stage pumps squeeze it in a large cylinder, cool it, then squeeze it again in a small high-pressure cylinder. The intercooling between the stages is the point: cooler air is denser, denser air takes less work to compress further, and the second stage does its job without the discharge temperature climbing to where oil breaks down and valves suffer.

The triple-pass aftercooler then handles the air on its way out to the receiver, dropping its temperature so a good share of the moisture condenses at the machine rather than in your pipework. Together, intercooling and aftercooling are why a two-stage compressor of this size runs cooler and lasts longer than a single-stage machine of the same nominal power — and why the valves, the oil and the bearings all get an easier life.

Vertical, three phase, and where it goes

The receiver stands upright, so the machine occupies about 39" by 24" of floor and stands 77" tall, weighing 453 lbs. Height is the dimension to check before you order: measure your ceiling, any door header on the route in, and any duct or beam over the intended spot, and leave clearance above for the outlet fitting and its piping elbow. If it is close, ask us to confirm the height in writing first. Stand it on a level, solid floor; a tall machine on an uneven slab works its own mountings.

The supply is 208-230V 3-phase and BelAire recommends a 30 amp breaker. Actual amp draw is listed as something to confirm with a certified electrician rather than published as one number, because it depends on your service, your run length and your local code — and having it checked before delivery is the customer's responsibility. The magnetic starter is included and factory fitted, giving proper motor overload protection out of the crate. Check the flywheel turns with the arrow on the guard at first start: three-phase rotation follows the conductor order, and a backwards pump makes noise and no useful air.

Confirm whether the tank drain is automatic

Published descriptions of the tank drain differ. The manufacturer's feature list for this model describes an Elite Series automatic tank drain, expressly not electronic. The product overview text supplied with the same model describes a manual tank drain valve. The specification data records no electronic drain valve, which is consistent with either.

Automatic and manual are not variations on a theme — one empties the condensate for you, the other requires you to do it at the end of every working day, and undrained water is what destroys receivers from the inside. If automatic draining is a requirement rather than a nice-to-have for your installation, ask us to confirm it in writing before you order, and until then plan on draining it yourself.

Ask us for the 100 PSI airflow figure before you size a tool list

The delivered air at 175 PSI is not in doubt and is published above. Published figures for delivery at 100 PSI differ by a small but real amount, so that row is left for confirmation rather than carrying one of them. If you are sizing a tool list against it, ask us and we will get the figure in writing from the manufacturer before you commit.

Perfect For

• Commercial shops with three-phase service that want longevity rather than the largest headline output.
• Operations running the compressor hard and continuously, where valve life is a genuine running cost.
• Buildings short on floor area but with the headroom for a vertical tank.
• Paint, body and finishing work that benefits from aftercooled air reaching the drying and filtration stack.

In the box

• Two-stage pump, solid cast iron
• Stainless steel valves
• Triple-pass pump-mounted aftercooler
• 80-gallon ASME certified vertical air tank, 100% factory tested at full pressure
• 5 HP three-phase motor with magnetic starter included
• Start-stop pressure switch control
• Low oil switch and oil level sight glass
• Fully enclosed high-flow belt guard
• Pressure gauge
• Tank drain — see the contradiction note above regarding its type

Not included: an air dryer.

Specifications

Pump and air

Motor and supply

Tank and dimensions

Certification, plainly

The receiver is an ASME certified pressure vessel and BelAire states it is tested at full pressure at the factory. Those claims are real, they are checkable, and they concern the tank.

We do not hold a North American third-party electrical safety listing issued by an accredited testing laboratory for this compressor. That is a separate assessment of the motor, the starter and the control wiring, and a pressure vessel certification tells you nothing about any of them. Certain insurers, corporate facility standards and local electrical inspectors require that listing specifically. If yours might, settle the question and ask us in writing before you order rather than after the machine is standing in your building.

Delivery

Freight only, within the lower 48 states, with the cost quoted live at checkout for your actual delivery address.

Arrange the unload in advance: a forklift or a dock at the delivery address, or take terminal pickup and collect it yourself. Residential delivery is available and carries a residential fee. Because this one travels upright, inspect for lean and tipping as well as the usual dents in the tank ends, distortion in the belt guard and oil on the trailer deck. Record whatever you find on the delivery paperwork and photograph it while the driver is still on site, then sign. Damage raised after a clean signature is extremely hard to recover.

Warranty

A 2-year full factory warranty applies. Take the serial number down as soon as the machine is uncrated and keep it filed with the invoice.

Do not take the pump, motor or pressure switch apart before a claim is opened — dismantling a component to prove it failed is the most reliable way to lose the cover on that component. Report it first. Beyond that, keep to the manufacturer's oil interval, re-check belt tension after the first weeks of running, and drain the receiver at the end of the working day while there is still pressure behind the water.