Quincy 553D80VCA46M 5 HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Air Compressor, 460V 3-Phase

Compressing air makes heat. That is not a side effect to be managed politely, it is the central engineering problem of the machine — heat is what thins the oil, fatigues the valves, and eventually decides how long the pump lasts. This compressor is built around getting rid of it, and the evidence is in the materials rather than the marketing: cast iron cylinders with aluminium heads, a high-efficiency fin-and-tube intercooler between the stages, and a mounted air-cooled aftercooler behind the pump.

It is a 5 HP two-stage machine turning at 942 RPM on a vertical 80-gallon receiver, with a magnetic starter, stainless steel reed valves and graphite gaskets, and this part number is wound for 460V, 3-phase plant service.

Two metals, two jobs

Cast iron and aluminium are in this pump for opposite reasons. Iron goes where the wear happens: it is hard, it holds a bore, and its mass acts as a thermal flywheel that damps the temperature spikes of each compression cycle. Aluminium goes on top, in the heads, because aluminium conducts heat several times better than iron does — and the head is where the hot discharge air actually leaves the cylinder.

Using one material throughout would mean accepting the wrong property somewhere. An all-aluminium pump gives up bore durability; an all-iron pump holds heat exactly where you least want it held. Splitting the job is a more expensive way to build a pump and it is the reason this class of machine survives a duty cycle that kills lighter ones.

Cooling in two places, for two different reasons

The intercooler sits between the compression stages. The first cylinder raises the air part of the way and hands it over hot; the fin-and-tube intercooler strips that heat out before the second cylinder receives it. This is not a comfort measure — compressing cool, dense air takes measurably less work than compressing hot air, so interstage cooling is what makes the second stage capable of reaching the 175 PSI maximum rating without cooking itself.

The aftercooler sits after the pump, and its job is about water rather than efficiency. Hot discharge air holds moisture that will condense the moment it cools, and if it cools in your pipework it condenses in your pipework. Dropping the temperature before the receiver forces that water out inside the tank, where a drain can deal with it, which is also why a compressor with an aftercooler is the sensible starting point for any air system feeding finishing tools.

The 460V build

For a given horsepower, current falls as the supply voltage rises. That is simply how electrical power behaves, and it is why larger industrial buildings distribute at 460V: the same power travels a long run on smaller conductors without excessive voltage drop, and the starter and overload devices handle a gentler load.

The practical warning is the same one we give on every 460V machine. The motor winding and the magnetic starter are fixed at the factory and this unit cannot be converted to another service voltage on site. Put a meter on the panel, or have your electrician do it, before the order is placed — assuming a large building must be at 460V is an expensive assumption to be wrong about once a crated compressor is standing on your floor.

Will It Fit?

• Supply: 460V, 3-phase, and nothing else.
• Circuit: breaker and conductors sized on site by a certified electrician; we publish no figure, because the correct one depends on your run length and local code.
• Plan area: 37" by 24", plus access to the belt guard and oil fill.
• Height: 74", with headroom above for lifting the pump at service time.
• Weight: 680 lbs dry, high on a narrow base — level slab, anchored.
• Ventilation: a machine designed to reject heat has to have somewhere to reject it to. Do not box it into an unventilated cupboard.
• Air connection: 3/4" tank outlet, into a header sloping away from the machine.

Site preparation is the buyer’s responsibility — confirming the supply, the slab and anchors, the room ventilation, and the permitting and inspection of the electrical work.

Perfect For

• Plants distributing at 460V that need a modest, long-lived compressor rather than another large one.
• Hot working environments — foundries, welding shops, southern summers — where cooling capacity is the limiting factor.
• Air systems feeding finishing work, where the aftercooler is doing real work on moisture.
• Long cable runs from switchgear to a remote compressor position.

What is in the Box

Vertical 80-gallon receiver, two-stage cast-iron pump with aluminium heads, 5 HP industrial motor, magnetic starter with thermal overload protection, high-efficiency fin-and-tube intercooler, mounted air-cooled aftercooler, stainless steel reed valves with valve bumpers, graphite cylinder and head gaskets, spin-on oil filter and oil sight glass. No air dryer is supplied. The EWK-4 Maintenance Kit needed for the extended warranty term is bought separately, alongside the compressor.

Specifications

You will not find delivered air volume or full-load current above. Both are held in our catalogue as bare numbers with no unit recorded, and we would rather give you the manufacturer’s published values on request than publish a specification we cannot evidence.

Certification, stated plainly

The receiver is manufactured to the North American pressure-vessel code and the unit carries a CSA mark. Our supplier data additionally references a North American third-party electrical listing. We are not printing that mark, because the record behind it is not clean and an unverified certification claim on a product page is worth nothing to an inspector and worse than nothing if it is wrong. If a named listing is a condition of your insurance or your local electrical code, ask us first and we will confirm the data plate.

Two items to settle before you order

Published information about this build differs on two points, and both are set out here in full. The manufacturer’s feature list describes a fully pressure-lubricated package built around a gerotor positive-displacement oil pump; the structured specification field on this page records the oil system as splash lubricated — two different designs rather than two wordings. The tank drain is the same: the feature list and detailed specification both record an electronic automatic drain, while a summary field records none. If either matters to your decision, ask us to confirm it against the shipping configuration before you order.

Shipping and delivery

Shipped as freight to the lower 48 states, crated on a skid. Have a forklift or a dock available on the delivery date; the carrier delivers to the truck and no further. Terminal pickup is offered and is often the simplest option for a shop without loading equipment.

Residential delivery addresses carry a residential fee, so tell us at order time if the address is not a commercial receiving point.

Inspect the crate while the driver is still on site. Photograph anything that looks wrong, check the skid, and record damage on the bill of lading before you sign it. A clean signature is very difficult to argue with later.

Warranty

The machine is covered by a 1-year factory warranty from Quincy for both consumer and commercial use, extending to the 3-year "No Bull" warranty with on-site service and labour when the EWK-4 Maintenance Kit is purchased at the same time and the compressor is registered with the manufacturer.

Our standing advice on any suspected fault: do not dismantle anything before you call. A pump that has been opened cannot be diagnosed, and that is the single most common reason a valid warranty claim is declined.