Direct-Drive Compressor vs Belt Compressor - Which One is Right For You?

Who doesn’t want to have the best air compressor for a home garage? When you need to pump up your car’s tire or repaint your car or cut metal with a plasma cutter, only the most reliable air compressor could do the job.

Air compressors come in 3 major types - reciprocating, rotary and rotary vane air compressors. Each type has its own set of engines, pumps, assembly and design. But what I’m showing you in this video are my air compressors of two different kinds and therefore have two different driving systems. In other words, I will be discussing the differences and advantages of these - air compressor belt vs direct drive and tips on how to choose an air compressor.

So what’s the difference between these two? A direct drive air compressor powers its system by utilizing its pump that is connected directly to the motor. It does not have a pulley system or a belt. Most of the home garage-type air compressors we use today are the direct drive types as these are not only portable and light but they require less maintenance and no need for pulley & belt replacements that commonly undergo wear and tear.

The belt drive air compressors, on the other hand, have belts that are wound to the pulley while the pulley is connected to the motor. And whenever the motor operates, this turns the belt and power is transferred to the compressor’s air pump. Since I have both of these types of air compressors, you can see for yourself which of these can be the best air compressor for home garage based on their air capacity, power and flexibility and these are the qualities you must look for in how to choose an air compressor for your specific needs.

To summarize my video content, I have shown here the air capacity of both so that you can know which of them could fit your needs. I have also presented here how to adjust the air pressure of each unit so that your machine won’t need to experience constant strain in reaching its maximum air capacity.

Nonetheless, I have also shown here which of these can be more flexible in terms of usage and that the belt drive wins in this category because it is much bigger, has a more powerful motor, and larger air capacity. However, the direct drive air compressor is also favored because this is best for light air requirements such as nail gunning, plasma cutting, light air spray painting, and the like.
So if you want to know what is it about air compressor belts vs direct drive and which of these could be suitable for your garage work, better watch this video and learn more.

[interestedlen]

Ah, nice one Pete, great review. Watching you in your workshop there, has just given me the push I needed towards building me new shed! A bloke cannot be happy in life without a shed. You're a star mate.

[donaldhalls]

Your right about horse's for courses, I prefer the belt drive because of the noise, can't put mine outside yet 🤣 all the best to you and your loved ones

[bobbyhay]

Hi Pete, I was thinking about buying a Air receiver tank just to get around the noise problem with a small domestic compressor of 24ltr to run a stapler .any ideas of what problem I would have in running a stapler with one of those tanks .the filling of the tank would be done by a small air pump I have access too. Thanks from UK.

[mr.bumpy]

can you put the little one into the big one join together to give you more air as possible

[MRPricks]

The belt drive are way better I've got a twin cylinder belt drive it's way quieter and run's way smoother but it was around $600.00 bucks took a while to save up but was worth it 🥳

[C-M-E]

Those damn electric motors and the overrating got so out of hand that about 10 years ago or so, at least here in the US, there was a class-action lawsuit about all the BS that was going on in the marketing specifically with electric power tools. Today it's still way over-inflated in the consumer class, where they advertise the 'peak' hp like it's supposed to be continuous duty hp, when in fact its pretty much half of advertised. I tend to look at the amps and the current, multiply the two to get the watts and divide by 742 to see how close the rated hp is to the claim. Haven't found one yet that's been made in the last 15 years that's accurate as stated. Matter of fact, the big compressor I got second hand was touted as a 5hp motor; in reality, it's more like 2.25kw, which puts it right at 3hp. At least it was mated up to a 3hp pump!

[j.w.perkins]

Pete, as we say in Texas, it's the difference between chicken salad and chicken sh*t! ....BAWAHAHA!!