A pastry kitchen with one or two airbrushes, a cream injector and a depositor usually uses less than 300 l/min, or roughly 300 to 500 l/min with margins included. A 7.5 kW 4-in-1 screw compressor such as the K 75, which delivers 1.1 m³/min at 8 bar, covers that and a neighbouring bakehouse too, with dried and filtered air that you top up at the station. The small diaphragm compressor supplied with an airbrush is fine for decorating a few entremets, but it cannot keep up once injectors and depositors are added.
The needs of the whole bakery and patisserie are covered on our page on the compressor for bakeries and patisseries. Here we focus on the pastry kitchen.
What is air used for in a pastry kitchen?
- The airbrush, for colours, coloured cocoa butter and gradients on entremets.
- The velvet spray gun, to spray a mix of chocolate and cocoa butter onto frozen desserts.
- The cream injector, to fill choux, doughnuts and éclairs.
- The depositor, to place batters, mixtures, mousses or ganaches in consistent quantities.
- Demoulding of certain moulds by blowing, depending on the machine.
- Machine cylinders: cake cutters, guillotines, piping machines, bagging machines.
How much does each station use?
Typical values, for guidance only; the manual for each device is the reference.
| Station | Consumption | Pressure at the station |
|---|---|---|
| Airbrush | 10 to 30 l/min | 1 to 3 bar |
| Velvet spray gun | 60 to 150 l/min | 2 to 4 bar |
| Pneumatic cream injector | 30 to 80 l/min | 4 to 6 bar |
| Pneumatic depositor | 40 to 100 l/min | 5 to 6 bar |
| Cutting or bagging cylinders | 30 to 60 l/min | 6 bar |
All these pressures are below the 7 to 8 bar of the network. A pressure regulator with gauge at each station brings the pressure down to the value in the manual. On the airbrush above all, fine adjustment makes the difference between an even gradient and spatter.
The step-by-step calculation for a pastry kitchen
Example of a pastry kitchen with two pastry chefs working at the same time (guide values):
- Two airbrushes: 2 × 20 = 40 l/min.
- Velvet spray gun: 100 l/min.
- Cream injector: 50 l/min.
- Depositor: 70 l/min.
- Total: 40 + 100 + 50 + 70 = 260 l/min.
- Safety margin of 25%: 260 × 1.25 = 325 l/min.
- Expansion margin of 20%: 325 × 1.2 = 390 l/min.
The S 55, 0.6 m³/min at 8 bar, covers this demand if you add an air receiver, a dryer and filters. The K 75, 1.1 m³/min at 8 bar, comes with its 420 L receiver, dryer and filtration, and can also supply the bakehouse. A central production kitchen working for several shops, with a piping and bagging line, is more likely to need the K 110, 1.7 m³/min at 8 bar.
The velvet spray gun and the airbrush blow continuously for as long as the trigger is pressed, so count them at 100%. Our air receiver size tool checks the recommended receiver for your stations.
Small airbrush compressor or central compressor?
| Criterion | Mini airbrush compressor | Central screw compressor |
|---|---|---|
| Stations supplied | one airbrush | the whole pastry kitchen and bakehouse |
| Flow | a few tens of l/min | 600 to 2,200 l/min depending on the model |
| Air quality | variable, often with no dryer | dried and filtered air, topped up at the station |
| Continuous work | short, it heats up quickly | designed for full working days |
| Noise | low but right next to the station | 65 to 68 dB(A), in a separate room |
The mini compressor remains useful for a pastry chef who decorates now and then. Once an injector, a depositor or a velvet spray gun depends on the air, a central compressor in a separate room is more reliable, and it frees up space next to the workbench.
Which filtration for the airbrush and the injectors?
The air from the airbrush and the velvet spray gun carries colouring or chocolate onto the dessert, so these are stations in contact with the product. Our compressors are oil-lubricated: after the dryer and filtration of the K series, add a coalescing fine filter and then an activated carbon filter at the station, before the regulator. The fine filters are chosen for the flow of the stations, margin included.
For the injector and the depositor, check the manual. If the air only drives a piston or a diaphragm, it does not touch the cream, and K series air is suitable. If it pushes the contents of the hopper directly, it needs the same filtration as the airbrush. The ISO 8573-1 class for each station is set with our technicians, and our article compressed air in contact with dough, which filtration explains the method.
The traps specific to the pastry kitchen
- Water in the airbrush. Humid air spits droplets that mark the glaze. Air dried by a refrigerated dryer solves the problem; see our guide to the pressure dew point.
- A velvet spray gun that sets. The chocolate mix has to stay at the intended temperature; air that is too cold or pressure that is too high makes it set in the nozzle.
- The compressor inside the pastry kitchen. It heats the room, makes noise and draws in the flour and icing sugar floating in the air. Install it in a separate room, as described in our article on the compressor room.
- The blow gun on icing sugar or flour. Never blow these powders around: they form a combustible cloud and settle on the products. Vacuum them up.
- Workshop hoses. Keep clean hoses for the food stations only, and do not leave them on the floor.
For maintenance, the first service on a screw compressor is at 500 hours, then every 1,500 hours, and filter elements are replaced when their manufacturer says so. The service kits group the parts for each model.
Enter your stations in the configurator, or send us the list of your equipment with a quote request: we size the compressor and the filtration for each station with you.
For your trade: Air compressor for bakeries, patisseries and viennoiserie.