That 5 HP single stage IR is the one I have seen before and I am highly skeptical of those numbers. I will not accuse them of out and out lying let's just say I think they are being very reckless with the truth. A 3.5 HP compressor (commonly sold with a 6-7.5 HP "peak" motor
) will produce about 10-12 CFM at best and I don't think another 1.5 HP will produce 50%-60% more air! Those numbers are good for a two stage and are simply out of the ballpark for a single stage. Compressor companies are well known for stretching the numbers to the limit and I would think if someone were to press them on this one that those CFM numbers would turn out to be "tank assisted" and thus pure non-sense! I have always had a lot of respect for IR but lately I have seen some real non-sense from them such as ridiculous HP and "tank assisted" CFM ratings, mostly from TSC and I have to wonder if it is IR or the retailer doing this. I have dealt with air systems for over 30 years as part of my welding and mine machinery repair business(retired now
) and I have never seen a single stage(non-industrial)compressor get anywhere near that kind of performance and I would truly like to check one with a flow meter and make bets as to how close it would come to 18 CFM@90 PSI
