In mobile valeting and detailing, the van carries an on-board compressor that is limited by space, weight and the energy available: it struggles to supply a tornado-type air cleaning gun that uses around 300 to 450 l/min. In a fixed studio, a screw compressor on a 380 V three-phase supply, such as the S 55 (600 l/min) or the K 75 (1.1 m³/min), provides plenty of dry, filtered air. Our compressors are stationary machines: they equip the studio, or the base of a mobile detailer, not the van itself.
The page compressor for car detailing presents everything the trade needs. This article compares the two ways of working.
Why is compressed air the weak point of mobile valeting?
A mobile valeting van carries water, products, the vacuum and sometimes a generator. Compressed air is constrained in three ways:
- energy: a compressor able to keep up with a tornado-type gun needs several kilowatts continuously, which a compact generator or a battery struggles to supply for a whole day;
- space and weight: a screw compressor with its air receiver weighs several hundred kilos;
- air quality: a dryer and filters take up room, and many vans do without them, at the risk of marking the upholstery.
Mobile detailers know the result well: the tornado-type gun runs out of breath after a few minutes, you have to wait for the air receiver to refill, and the air comes out wet.
How much air do you need on a mobile job?
Let us do the calculation for a detailer working alone who cleans an interior with a tornado-type gun, then dries the seals with a blow gun:
- tornado-type gun used for long periods, counted in full: 350 l/min;
- 25% safety margin: 350 × 1.25 = 437.5 l/min;
- no expansion margin, since a van does not get any bigger: a need of about 440 l/min.
Over a 15-minute session, the tornado-type gun uses 350 × 15 = 5,250 litres of free air. A 100-litre air receiver going from 8 to 6 bar, the tornado gun's minimum pressure, gives back only about 100 × 2 = 200 litres of free air, around thirty seconds of work: the air receiver does not replace flow. It is the compressor that has to keep up, or the detailer who has to take breaks.
What can our compressors do in each case?
| Set-up | Power supply | AIRSTAHL solution |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed studio, 1 or 2 bays | 380 V three-phase | S 55, 0.6 m³/min at 8 bar, or E 75 on quotation |
| Fixed studio, 2 or 3 bays | 380 V three-phase | K 75, 4-in-1, 1.1 m³/min |
| Long job on a site with the right supply (fleet depot, dealership, vehicle hire company) | the site's 380 V board | M 75, screw on wheels, 1.0 m³/min at 10 bar |
| Van doing a round of private customers | on-board power | no solution in our range |
Let us be clear on that last point: our compressors, including the M series, are electric and connect to a 380 V three-phase supply. The M 75 is mounted on wheels with a 180 L air receiver, but it weighs around 240 kg: it moves around a site, it does not go into a van for a round. Our article on the screw compressor on 380 V explains the electrical connection.
The hybrid model: a fixed base and a van
Many mobile detailers end up renting or buying a small unit. They do the long jobs there (full interior restoration, machine polishing, ceramic coating) and keep the van for routine maintenance valets at customers' homes. In this model:
- the fixed compressor at the base does the heavy work: tornado-type gun running continuously, polisher, drying;
- the van keeps light equipment for simple jobs;
- quality air, dry and filtered, is reserved for interiors treated at the base.
For a one-person base, the studio calculation changes little from the mobile one, but you add the expansion margin: 350 × 1.25 × 1.2 = 525 l/min. The S 55, with its 600 l/min at 8 bar, is suitable. It runs at variable speed and is quiet, at 65 to 68 dB(A), which matters in a unit on a business park with neighbours on the other side of the wall.
And if the unit has no three-phase supply?
This is a common obstacle for a small unit. Our compressors run on 380 V three-phase. Before signing a lease, check that three-phase is present, or ask the landlord whether a connection is possible. Our article garage compressor on 230 V single-phase explains the limits of single-phase and the options. For a piston compressor, see also piston compressor, 230 V or 380 V.
Air quality, the advantage of a fixed studio
In a studio, you can install the complete chain with no space constraint: refrigerated dryer, automatic drain, fine filters with a coalescing filter and activated carbon at the bay. Our compressors are lubricated; it is this filtration that holds back the oil carried along with the air. The K 75 already includes the dryer and the filtration. It is a real selling point: an interior treated with dry air shows no tide marks and no greasy traces. See our article dry, filtered air so you don't mark the interior.
How do you decide?
Ask yourself four questions:
- What share of your turnover comes from full interior valets? If it is high, the tornado-type gun works hard and a fixed base makes sense.
- Do your customers have a site with the right supply? A vehicle hire company or a fleet manager may offer a space and a 380 V socket; compressor hire covers a one-off operation.
- Does the unit you have in mind have three-phase?
- How many bays in two years' time? This is where the 20% expansion margin really comes into its own.
To size your fixed base, enter your tools in the configurator, or describe your project in a quote request.
For your trade: Compressor for car detailing and valeting.