Who hires a compressor, and for what
| Situation | What is usually hired | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| Breakdown of the plant’s own compressor | Electric or diesel screw matched to the plant pressure, delivered with hoses to tie in | Days to a few weeks |
| Sandblasting, painting and coating | Diesel screw 375–900 cfm at 7–10 bar, with moisture separation for paint | Per job |
| Borewell and DTH drilling | High-pressure diesel 600–1,500 cfm at 200–400 psig, with operator | Weekly to monthly |
| Construction, breakers, rock drills, piling | Diesel 185–450 cfm at 7 bar | Monthly, for the project |
| Planned shutdown or expansion | Electric screw plus dryer as a temporary station | Weeks |
| Seasonal or peak demand | Own the base, rent the peak: a second machine for the busy months | Seasonal |
What “near you” means in practice
The yard is in Tarnaka, Secunderabad, and the service teams work across the city and the districts around it, so Hyderabad and Secunderabad sites are covered as a matter of course. Beyond that we hire across all of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and every district within about 300 km of Hyderabad, and we have supplied rental air for projects elsewhere in India. Transport is arranged by us; the machine arrives with the hoses, fittings and documents it needs to start work.
What is included in the hire
- The compressor, delivered, positioned and commissioned by a service engineer
- Delivery hoses, manifolds and fittings for the tools or tie-in point
- Air treatment (aftercooler, separator, dryer, filters) where the application needs dry or clean air
- Servicing every 300 running hours by our own technicians, parts included
- Breakdown support for the hired machine; a replacement if it cannot be repaired on site
- An operator, where you ask for one
Fuel, site security and a level standing area are normally the hirer’s; we say exactly what is and is not included before the machine leaves the yard, so there are no surprises on the invoice. The scope and exclusions page sets it out in full.
Getting the size right the first time
The commonest rental mistake is hiring by horsepower. Air tools and processes need a flow (cfm) at a pressure (bar or psig); a machine that is short on either will stall the work, and a machine that is far too big burns diesel for nothing. Send us the tools or the process, and we size the machine from the actual demand. If you prefer to work it out first, the compressed air demand calculator and the rental versus ownership calculator are free to use.
Diesel or electric?
Diesel where there is no power or the machine must move: sites, blasting, drilling. Electric where there is a supply and the machine will stand for weeks: plant breakdowns, shutdowns, expansions. Electric hire is cheaper to run and quieter; diesel is independent of the supply. The diesel or electric guide covers the trade-offs, including the generator option when the supply is weak.
Why the fleet matters
A hire company that brokers other people’s machines cannot tell you the service history of what arrives. Ours come from our own fleet, serviced by our own technicians every 300 running hours, and the engineer who commissions the machine on your site is from the same team that maintains it. When a machine on hire has a problem, the call goes to the people who know the machine.
How to hire, step by step
- Send the job: what the air is for, the pressure and flow (or the tools), the site location and the dates. WhatsApp 99590 60718.
- We confirm the machine, what is included, the hire rate and transport, in writing.
- Delivery, positioning and commissioning by a service engineer; a short handover on daily checks.
- Servicing every 300 hours on site; breakdown support throughout.
- Demobilisation and return at the end; the demobilisation and return page explains the handback.
Sizing a hire machine: The four numbers
Every rental enquiry comes down to four numbers, and getting them right is the difference between a job that runs and a machine that stalls the crew.
- Pressure at the tool or process, in bar or psig. Breakers and most construction tools want about 6–7 bar at the tool; sandblasting wants 7–10 bar at the nozzle; DTH hammers want 14–25 bar and deep, wet holes more; a factory tie-in wants whatever the plant runs at, usually 7–8 bar. Add the loss in the hose run – a long, undersized hose can drop a bar or more – and that is the pressure the machine must deliver at its outlet.
- Air flow, in cfm of free air. Add the consumption of the tools that will run at the same time, apply a realistic duty (a breaker does not run 60 minutes in the hour), and add a margin for leakage in site hose. For blasting, the nozzle size and pressure set the flow directly: a 3/8″ nozzle at 7 bar uses on the order of 200 cfm, a 1/2″ nozzle about 350 cfm.
- Hours per day and days of hire. This decides the fuel budget, the service visits (every 300 running hours) and whether a second machine or a standby is sensible.
- Air quality. Breakers tolerate wet air; paint, instruments, food and electronics do not. Where it matters, the hire includes an aftercooler and separator, a dryer and filters, sized for the summer ambient, not the catalogue.
The compressed air demand calculator does the arithmetic for a tool list; the pressure budget builder adds up the losses between the machine and the work.
Hose runs, manifolds and the last fifty metres
A 600 cfm compressor connected through 50 metres of undersized hose is a 400 cfm compressor at the tool. The hire includes hoses of the right bore for the flow, claw or flanged couplings that match your tools, and a manifold where several tools or a tie-in share one machine. For plant tie-ins we fit a non-return valve and an isolation valve at the connection, so your own compressor can come back on line without a shutdown. The hoses, manifolds and distribution guide covers bore sizes, pressure drop and safe routing.
Fuel, power and the site
A diesel unit on full load uses fuel in proportion to the air it makes; we give a litres-per-hour figure for the machine at your duty so the site can plan refuelling and bunding. An electric hire machine needs a supply sized for the motor’s starting current, a proper earth and a breaker of the right rating; we specify this before delivery and check it on commissioning. Either way the machine needs a level standing area with clear space around the cooler intake and exhaust, out of the direct sun where possible, because an air-cooled machine in a 45 °C afternoon with its cooler against a wall will trip on temperature. The electrical supply and fuel supply and refuelling pages set out the site requirements.
Servicing during the hire
Hire machines from our fleet are serviced every 300 running hours by our own technicians: engine oil and filters on diesel units, compressor oil and filters, separator checks, cooler cleaning in dusty conditions, belts, and a run under load with the readings recorded. The visit is scheduled from the hour meter, not left to chance, and the hirer does not pay separately for it. Daily checks – oil level, coolant, fuel, drains, the condensate from the receiver – are shown to your operator at handover and listed on a card kept with the machine.
Breakdown, redundancy and standby
If a hire machine develops a fault, our technicians attend it; if it cannot be repaired on site that day, it is replaced. For work where a stoppage is expensive – a drilling rig with a crew standing, a plant running on hired air during a shutdown – we advise on standby: a second machine on site, or two smaller machines in place of one large one so that half the air is always available. The redundancy and failure management guide weighs the options.
Long-term hire and own-the-base, rent-the-peak
For a plant with a steady base demand and a seasonal or project peak, the economical arrangement is often to own the base machine and hire the peak. The hired machine is sized for the extra demand only, runs for the months it is needed, and goes back; the plant does not carry the capital, the service cost or the floor space of a machine that sits idle for the rest of the year. For long-term hires we can also supply brand-new machines of the make that suits the duty, with the hire structured for the project’s life. The own the base, rent the peak and long-term hire guides explain how these arrangements are set up.
A worked example
A contractor has a sandblasting and painting job on structural steel in a yard near Patancheru: two blasters, each with a 3/8″ nozzle, working eight hours a day for six weeks, followed by spray painting. Two 3/8″ nozzles at 7 bar need roughly 400 cfm with both blasting; allowing for duty and hose losses, a 450 cfm diesel screw compressor at 7–10 bar covers blasting with a margin, and the painting stage needs an aftercooler, separator and filter so that no water reaches the paint. The hire is quoted for six weeks with one 300-hour service inside it, hoses and a two-way manifold, and an aftercooler and filter set for the painting weeks. If the contractor’s own 185 cfm machine is kept on site for touch-up work, it is not large enough to blast with even one nozzle at full rate, which is exactly the kind of mismatch the four numbers above prevent.
What to prepare before the machine arrives
A level, firm standing area with access for the delivery vehicle; clear space around the machine’s cooler intake and exhaust; the hose route planned and kept away from traffic; fuel supply arranged for diesel units, or the electrical supply and breaker ready for electric units; a named person on site for the handover; and, for plant tie-ins, the connection point identified and isolated. We walk through this list on the phone before delivery so the first day is a working day. The site survey and transport and mobilisation pages cover it in detail.
Hire across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and beyond
From Secunderabad the fleet serves Hyderabad’s industrial belts – Jeedimetla, Balanagar, Patancheru, Pashamylaram, Nacharam, Cherlapally, Shamshabad – and the districts around the city, then the rest of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and every district within about 300 km of Hyderabad. For projects further away, including elsewhere in India, we have supplied rental air on a project basis with a service plan agreed up front.
How Reddy Compressors helps
Own rental fleet, 50–2,000 cfm and 2–30 bar, diesel and electric, oil-injected and oil-free; special high-pressure DTH units up to 35 bar; more than 20 service engineers and technicians; operating since 2002 from Secunderabad.
What to send us
- The application, and the pressure and flow or the tool list
- Site location, start date and expected duration
- Whether power is available on site, and whether you need an operator
- A photo of the tie-in point, for plant hires
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum hire period?
Short hires for breakdowns and single jobs are possible; most hires are weekly or monthly. Tell us the dates and we will quote accordingly.
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Do you supply the hoses and fittings?
Yes. Delivery hoses, manifolds and the fittings for your tools or tie-in point come with the machine.
Can you supply an operator?
Yes, on request, for diesel units on drilling and site work in particular.
Do you hire outside Hyderabad?
Yes: all of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, districts within about 300 km of Hyderabad, and project-based hire elsewhere in India.
What if the hired machine breaks down?
Our technicians attend it; if it cannot be repaired on site, we replace it.
Is it cheaper to hire or buy?
For a defined project or a peak, hire; for a steady daily load, usually buy. The hire or buy guide and the calculator give you the numbers.
Who pays for fuel?
Normally the hirer, for diesel units; we quote the expected consumption at your duty so it can be budgeted. Fuel-inclusive arrangements can be agreed for some long-term hires.
Do you hire oil-free or high-pressure machines?
Yes: oil-free machines for processes that need Class 0 air, and high-pressure diesel units for DTH and borewell work, with special units up to 35 bar for deep, wet holes.
Can you tie a hire machine into my plant without stopping production?
Usually yes, through an isolation and non-return valve at an agreed connection point; the tie-in and changeover guide explains how it is done safely.
What happens at the end of the hire?
We demobilise the machine, record the closing hours and condition with you, and collect it; the hire is settled on the recorded hours and dates.
Related pages
Technical content reviewed by D. Srinivas Reddy, Managing Partner and service engineer, Reddy Compressors. Last updated 4 November 2026. How our engineering content is reviewed.