Drilling Air Compressors Sized to Your Hammer

No. Pressure depends very little on hammer size. Most high-pressure hammers work at 17–18 bar and extra-high-pressure ones at 20–24 bar. What changes is air consumption: a 3.5-inch hammer needs about 8 m³/min, a 12-inch hammer more than 45 m³/min.

Start from the hammer’s working pressure, add loss along the hole and the line, and add about 1 bar for every 10 m of water above the hammer. Wells deeper than 150 m with high water inflow usually need 30 bar or more.

As a guide at 17–24 bar: 3–3.5-inch hammers need 8–12 m³/min, 4-inch 9–14, 5-inch 14–20, 6-inch 16–25, 8-inch 22–35, 10-inch 36–51, and 12-inch and larger usually need two compressors in parallel. Our solutions list gives the exact pairing for each job.

Yes. The gap between pipe and hole wall sets the upward air velocity that lifts cuttings. Too large a pipe makes the gap too small and wastes pressure; too small a pipe needs more air. We match the pipe to the bit: Ø60 for Ø90–105 bits, Ø76 for Ø115–130, Ø89 for Ø138–152.

Only if the compressor delivers the combined consumption at working pressure. For large hammers we recommend two compressors in parallel feeding one rig rather than one compressor feeding two rigs.