Long-term compressor hire with brand-new machines

What makes a hire “long term”?

No fixed number of days turns a short hire into a long one. The difference is practical. A hire becomes long term once routine servicing, changes in season, total running cost and the eventual exit start to matter as much as the machine itself.

A compressor that does well in a two-week trial can still be the wrong choice for nine months of high use through an Indian summer. It may have marginal cooling capacity. Its filters may be hard to reach, or it may sit where a service van cannot get to it. Over a long term, the hire is really an operating utility. You are buying delivered air at the connection point: the right flow, the right pressure, the right air quality, available for the hours you need it, with support when something goes wrong.

Typical reasons for a long-term hire in India include:

• Construction, infrastructure and irrigation projects that run for one or more working seasons.
• A bridge until a new permanent compressor is delivered, installed and proven.
• A production contract or new line whose future demand is not yet certain.
• An extended overhaul or rebuild of the plant’s own compressor station.
• Remote sites (mines, pipelines, power and steel projects) where owning and maintaining a fleet is not the customer’s core business.

Why brand-new machines for long projects?

On a short job, a well-maintained fleet machine from our rental yard is the sensible choice. On a project lasting many months, we can supply brand-new compressors to site, and for long, high-utilisation duty there are sound engineering reasons to do so.

• Known starting condition. A new airend, engine or motor starts its life on your project. Wear, oil condition and filter loading all start at zero, which makes trends easy to read.
• Specification matched to the project. Pressure rating, flow, drive type (diesel or electric), controls and air-treatment interfaces can be chosen for your duty rather than taken from whatever is available.
• High-ambient margin. A machine selected for summer ambients of 40–45 °C (above 45 °C on open sites) and for dusty conditions runs cooler and trips less than one that only just copes.
• Cleaner exit options. If the project ends up wanting to keep the machine, a new unit with a documented service history makes a buy-out or transfer far easier to evaluate.

Whether a new machine or a fleet unit is right depends on duration, duty and how much the project values certainty. We discuss both openly and recommend one, without assuming that the larger commitment is the better one.

How to specify a long-term air supply

Write the requirement as a service, not as a machine. A useful brief covers:

The duty specification page covers this brief in more detail. If the flow is not known, measuring it for a week or two is worth doing before committing to a long-term package.

Choosing the configuration

For long hire, one large machine is not automatically the best answer. Common arrangements include:

• Single machine – simple and economical where a short stoppage is acceptable and the load is steady.
• Two or more machines in parallel – one can be serviced while the others carry the load. They also follow a changing demand better, because you can switch units off as the load falls.
• Duty plus standby – for round-the-clock processes where a stop costs more than an idle machine.
• Base plus peak – the plant’s own compressor carries the base load and hired units cover the peaks (see own the base, rent the peak).

Pressure bands from the fleet run from low-pressure plant air at about 7 bar (101.5 psig), through 10–14 bar (145–203.1 psig) for drilling, long hose runs and testing work, up to high-pressure units at 20–30 bar (290.1–435.1 psig) for deep drilling and specialist duty. Choose the lowest pressure that meets the real requirement at the tool. Choose the drive to suit the site: diesel where there is no reliable supply, electric where a suitable supply exists and the machine stays in one place. The diesel or electric page compares the two.

Keeping the supply healthy for months

Maintenance on a long hire has to be planned around the customer’s work, not squeezed in after it. On our hire jobs, each machine has an oil change and service every 300 running hours. At round-the-clock duty, that comes round in under a fortnight, so the visits are planned in advance with the site team.

1. Agree the service plan at mobilisation. Fix the hour-meter readings, service intervals, access and who records daily checks.
2. Daily operator checks. Record engine or motor hours, discharge pressure, discharge temperature (typically about 75–95 °C on an oil-injected screw), fuel level, coolant, and air-filter restriction indicators.
3. Scheduled service at 300 running hours. Change oil and filters, inspect belts and hoses, clean coolers, test safety shutdowns, and drain and check separators.
4. Seasonal attention. Before summer, clean coolers and confirm ventilation. During the monsoon, watch condensate drains and keep electrical enclosures dry.
5. Trend, do not just record. A slowly rising discharge temperature or falling pressure at the same load is an early warning. Act on it before it causes a trip.
6. Plan stoppages. Where the process cannot stop, schedule service on one machine at a time or bring in a temporary standby.

On one round-the-clock hire of a 450 cfm diesel compressor at a steel plant in Andhra Pradesh, our operators worked 12-hour shifts and the machine was serviced every 300 hours. A long hire works because of that kind of routine. Operators can be provided where the customer prefers not to run the machines with their own staff. See operation and shift management.

Comparing the cost over the whole term

The monthly hire charge is only one part of the cost. Over a long project, compare the full cost of delivering the same air service:

• Hire charge, and whether it changes with extension or with a change in capacity.
• Fuel or electricity. On a diesel machine running long hours, this is often the largest single item.
• Mobilisation, transport, crane or hydraulic offloading, and the return.
• Servicing, consumables, operators and supervision, whether included or charged separately.
• Air treatment, hoses, receivers and distribution.
• The cost of downtime if the supply stops, which tells you how much standby is worth.

Long hire is sometimes compared with buying outright. That comparison is covered on the hire or buy page and the rental versus ownership calculator. As a rule of thumb, an uncertain duration, an uncertain demand or a remote site favour hire. A stable demand known to continue for many years favours ownership.

Extensions, exchanges and the exit

Long hires rarely end exactly when planned. Permanent equipment arrives late, projects slip, and production demand changes. Build these into the arrangement from the start:

• Review date. Agree a point, well before the expected finish, to confirm extension, reduction or off-hire.
• Capacity change. Agree how a machine can be added, removed or swapped for a different size if demand moves.
• Exchange. If a machine develops a fault that cannot be fixed on site, it can be replaced with another unit to keep the supply going.
• Transition overlap. When a permanent compressor is being commissioned, keep the hired supply connected until the new station has been proven under real load.
• Off-hire condition. Record hours, condition and accessories at return, as you did at delivery. See demobilisation and return.

Long-term projects we have supported

Our team across Reddy Compressors and Reddy Generators (same management) has delivered long-duration temporary air in several sectors. The projects include:

• A natural-gas development at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, from 2008 to mid-2009. We supplied and commissioned a temporary package for an international oilfield-services contractor. It comprised three compressors rated 1,100 cfm at 300 psig (20.7 bar), two rated 1,000 cfm at 275 psig (19 bar) and one rated 750 cfm at 150 psig (10.3 bar), with generators, distribution boards, operators and a technician on site.
• A power-plant project with two 450 cfm units at 150 psig (10.3 bar) and one 400 cfm unit at 100 psig (6.9 bar) on hire.
• Three 450 cfm compressors on a lift irrigation project in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh.
• A 400 cfm compressor with a 25 kVA generator for an infrastructure contractor at Raichur, Karnataka.

How Reddy Compressors helps

We are an independent multi-brand business based at Tarnaka, Secunderabad, serving industry since 2002. We sell, rent and service ELGi, Atlas Copco, Ingersoll Rand, KAESER, Chicago Pneumatic and other makes. We are not an authorised dealer for any of them. We have tie-ups with all major and reputed brands. For long-term hire we:

• Supply from our own rental fleet of diesel and electric compressors, 50–2,000 cfm and 2–30 bar, oil-injected and oil-free.
• Supply brand-new compressors to site for long-term projects where that suits the duty.
• Look after the machines with over 20 service engineers and technicians, with servicing every 300 running hours on hire.
• Provide operators where needed, and diesel generator sets through Reddy Generators for sites without power.
• Service sites across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and supply equipment across India with project-based site support where feasible.

See the temporary air engineering centre for the full rental range. Call +91 99590 60718 or +91 92468 88812, or email reddycompressors@gmail.com.

What to send us

• Project location, expected start date, expected duration and review date.
• Air demand: tools or process, flow in cfm or m³/min, and pressure in psig or bar.
• Air quality needed: general, dry, filtered or oil-free.
• Running pattern: shifts per day, and whether duty is round-the-clock.
• Power available on site, or whether diesel is needed.
• Whether you need operators, standby, hoses, dryers or a generator.
• Whether you prefer new machines, fleet machines or an option to buy later.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a compressor hire need to be to count as long-term?

There is no fixed cut-off. In practice, a hire is long term once servicing, seasonal changes, running costs and the eventual exit plan become important. Usually that means several months or a full project season. At that point, plan the arrangement as an operating utility, with a service schedule, a review date and an agreed path to off-hire or permanent supply.

Can I get a brand-new compressor on long-term rental?

Yes. For long-term projects we can supply brand-new compressors to site, chosen for your flow, pressure, drive and site conditions. On short jobs a well-maintained fleet machine is usually the better value. Tell us the expected duration and duty, and we will recommend whether a new unit or a fleet machine makes more sense for your project.

Who maintains a hired compressor on a long project?

We do. On our hire jobs, every machine receives an oil change and service every 300 running hours. The visits are planned in advance with your site team so that work is not disrupted. Your operators, or ours if provided, carry out simple daily checks such as hours, pressure, temperature and fuel, which help us spot problems early.

Is long-term hire cheaper than buying a compressor?

It depends on duration, certainty and use. Hire usually wins when the project length or demand is uncertain, the site is remote, or you do not want to maintain the equipment yourself. Buying usually wins for a stable demand that will continue for many years. Compare total cost, including fuel or power, transport, servicing and downtime, not just the monthly charge.

What happens if a hired compressor breaks down during a long-term hire?

Our service team attends to diagnose and repair the machine on site. If it cannot be fixed there, the unit can be exchanged for another to keep air flowing. For processes that cannot stop, agree a standby machine or a split supply across two units at the start. A single stoppage then does not halt production.

Can you supply long-term hire compressors outside Hyderabad?

Yes. Our service teams cover the whole of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and we supply rental compressors across India with project-based site support where feasible. Past long-duration work includes gas development at Kakinada, lift irrigation, power and steel projects, and infrastructure work in Karnataka.

Related pages

• Temporary air engineering centre
• Hire or buy a compressor?
• Seasonal compressor hire
• Operation and shift management
• Portable compressor fleet management
• How to brief us on a rental