When plants need temporary oil-free air
Most requests come at short notice, but many can be planned. Typical situations are:
Representative images of machine types we sell, service and rent. Models and capacities are confirmed against your duty.
- Breakdown of a permanent oil-free compressor, for example an airend or gearbox failure, or a cooler problem.
- Planned overhaul of an oil-free element, which can take the machine out of service for a period.
- Annual shutdowns in pharma, food and beverage plants, when the main compressor room is upgraded.
- Commissioning and validation of new lines before the permanent system is ready.
- Peak or seasonal demand, such as summer beverage production or extra shifts.
- Pipeline and vessel work where oil must not enter the system, such as drying, purging and cleaning.
- Replacing oil-injected rental air where the process cannot accept oil risk.
Start with where the air goes
The first question is where the rental air will end up. Air that touches product or primary packaging needs a much higher standard than air feeding actuators in a utility area. Write down:
- The users the temporary supply must cover, and whether any touch product.
- The ISO 8573-1 class your quality team requires at those points (particles, water, oil).
- Whether the air will pass through your existing dryers, filters and pipes, or straight from the rental package to the users.
- Any testing the air must pass before use, and who signs it off.
A rental package is industrial process or utility air. It is not breathing air or medical air, and it does not become a validated sterile utility simply by being oil-free. Where your process needs those, the extra treatment, testing and approvals must be planned separately.
Choosing the rental package
| Option | When it suits | Points to check |
|---|---|---|
| Electric oil-free compressor (dry screw, water-injected or similar) | Indoor or near-building use where site power is available; long hire periods | Power supply capacity, cable route, starter type, cooling air or water |
| Diesel portable oil-free compressor | No spare power, outdoor locations, breakdown cover, pipeline work | Fuel supply, exhaust away from intakes, noise, refuelling plan |
| Rental compressor feeding your existing treatment | Your dryers and filters remain in service | Inlet temperature to your dryer, capacity, tie-in point |
| Rental compressor with its own dryer and filters | Your treatment is out of service or too far away | Dryer type and PDP, filter grades, power for the dryer |
Our rental fleet covers roughly 50–2,000 cfm and 2–30 bar across diesel and electric machines. Tell us the flow, pressure and duty as early as you can.
Sizing flow and pressure
Size for the air you actually use, not the nameplate of the machine being replaced:
- Use logged flow data or the running hours and load pattern of your existing compressors where possible.
- Add the purge air of any desiccant dryer that the rental supply will feed (heatless dryers can use a significant share of the dried air).
- Allow for pressure drop in hoses, temporary filters and the tie-in. Long hose runs can lose more pressure than expected.
- Set pressure for the lowest-pressure point that matters. Each extra bar of discharge pressure costs about 7% more power.
- Decide whether one large unit or two smaller units give better cover against a single failure.
Pressures are best given in both units: 7 bar is 101.5 psig, 8.5 bar (123.3 psig) and 10 bar (145 psig).
Air treatment and hoses
Oil-free compression removes compressor lubricant, but rental air still needs treatment:
- Aftercooler and separator to take out bulk water; many portable oil-free units include one.
- Dryer – refrigerated for a typical pressure dew point of about +3 °C, or desiccant for about −40 °C where the process needs it.
- Filters – particulate and fine filtration, and sterile filtration at the point of use if your process requires it.
- Hoses and fittings – clean, dedicated hoses that have not carried oily air before. Hoses previously used with oil-injected compressors can release oil into an oil-free system.
- Receivers where pressure stability matters, or to give buffer during changeover.
Condensate from an oil-free compressor is free of compressor oil, but it should still be drained and disposed of in line with site rules.
Site set-up and changeover
- Survey: placement, access for the truck or crane, ground, ventilation, distance to the tie-in point and exhaust direction for diesel units.
- Tie-in: a valved connection, ideally fitted during a planned stop, so rental air can be connected without cutting into pipework under pressure.
- Isolation: non-return valves and isolation so rental and permanent machines do not back-feed each other.
- Purge and flush: blow through new hoses and filters to waste before connecting to users.
- Check: pressure, dew point and any agreed air-quality tests before releasing air to product.
- Operate: agree who reads gauges, drains filters and refuels; set a service schedule. On our hire jobs we service roughly every 300 running hours.
- Return: plan the switch-back and removal so production is not interrupted.
Risks that catch plants out
- Using a rental oil-injected compressor “just for a few days” on a product line, then finding oil in the system.
- Reusing hoses or filters that carried oily air.
- Diesel exhaust drawn into the intake of the rental unit or of your HVAC system.
- Undersized dryers in high summer heat, causing wet air downstream.
- No agreed acceptance test, so the quality team cannot release the air.
- Electrical supply too small for the rental motor’s starting current.
What a typical rental package includes
Every hire is scoped to the duty, but a complete oil-free rental package usually brings together:
- One or more oil-free compressors, sized with spare margin or a standby unit where continuity matters.
- A dryer and filter set matched to the agreed air-quality class.
- Clean, dedicated delivery hoses, manifolds and couplings.
- A receiver where pressure stability or changeover buffer is needed.
- Power cables and a suitable starter for electric units, or a refuelling plan for diesel units.
- Delivery, placement, commissioning and service visits during the hire.
Indian site conditions
In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, rental packages often run in compressor yards at 40–45 °C ambient, with dust in dry months and heavy rain in the monsoon. Plan shade and airflow around the package, protect electrical connections from rain, and check that dryers are rated for the real inlet temperature. Pharma sites in Genome Valley and around Hyderabad, and food and pharma parks near Vizag, Nellore and Sri City, usually require a permit, risk assessment and quality sign-off before rental air enters the plant; allow time for that in your plan.
How Reddy Compressors helps
Reddy Compressors, at Tarnaka in Secunderabad, has served industry since 2002 as an independent multi-brand specialist. We are not an authorised distributor of any brand. We have tie-ups with all major and reputed brands. We have our own rental fleet and also sell, service and supply spares for oil-free compressors from ELGi, Atlas Copco, Ingersoll Rand, KAESER, Chicago Pneumatic and others.
For temporary oil-free air we:
- Review your duty: users, flow, pressure, air quality and how long you need cover.
- Propose an electric or diesel oil-free package with dryers, filters, receivers and clean hoses as needed.
- Survey the site and agree the tie-in point and changeover plan with your team.
- Deliver, install and commission the package, and support the agreed checks before you release the air.
- Service the rental equipment during the hire, and support the switch-back.
Our service teams cover all of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and rentals are supplied across India, with project-based site support where feasible. For pre-planned shutdowns, contacting us early gives the best choice of equipment.
Breakdown support for pharmaceutical plants. When a compressor fails at a pharmaceutical plant, production and batch schedules are at risk within hours. We have supplied compressors on breakdown to leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Hyderabad and Telangana, so their plants could keep running while the failed machine was repaired. Tell us the duty, pressure and air-quality class, and we will advise the quickest suitable unit from our own rental fleet, plus the dryer and filtration to put after it.
What to send us
- Reason for hire: breakdown, overhaul, shutdown, commissioning or peak demand.
- Flow and pressure needed, or details of the compressor being covered.
- Air-quality class required and whether air touches product.
- Whether your existing dryers and filters will stay in service.
- Power available at the location, or whether diesel is needed.
- Start date, expected duration and site address, with photos of the placement area.
Frequently asked questions
Can I rent an oil-free air compressor in Hyderabad?
Yes. We rent oil-free compressors, electric and diesel, from our base in Secunderabad, with dryers, filters and hoses as needed. Service teams cover all of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and rentals can be supplied across India. Send the flow, pressure, air-quality requirement, duration and site power so we can check availability and propose a package.
Is diesel oil-free compressor air safe for food or pharma use?
The compression is oil-free, so no compressor lubricant enters the air. The engine is separate. The main risks are exhaust fumes being drawn into the intake, wet air and dirty hoses. Place the unit so exhaust blows away from intakes, add the right dryer and filters, use clean hoses, and test the air before release to product.
Can I use an oil-injected rental compressor with filters instead?
For non-contact utility air it may be acceptable. For product-contact air it adds risk: if a coalescer or carbon filter fails, oil reaches the process and can contaminate pipework that must then be cleaned. Many quality teams refuse oil-injected rental air on product lines. Check your risk assessment before choosing it.
What air dryer do I need with a rental oil-free compressor?
It depends on the use. A refrigerated dryer typically gives about +3 °C pressure dew point, suitable for most general and indirect-contact uses. Pharma process air, electronics and air going into cold areas usually need a desiccant dryer at about −40 °C. If your own dryers stay in service and have spare capacity, the rental compressor can feed them.
How long does it take to set up temporary oil-free air?
It depends on equipment availability, distance, site access and whether a tie-in point already exists. A planned shutdown can be prepared weeks ahead, with the tie-in fitted beforehand. Breakdowns are handled as quickly as equipment and site permits allow. Having a valved tie-in point and a rental plan ready is the best way to shorten set-up time.
Who maintains the rental compressor during the hire?
We service our rental compressors during the hire period as agreed in the contract. On hire jobs we service roughly every 300 running hours. Site staff usually carry out daily checks such as reading gauges, checking drains and, for diesel units, refuelling. We agree these responsibilities before the hire starts.
Related pages
Technical content reviewed by D. Srinivas Reddy, Managing Partner and service engineer, Reddy Compressors. Last updated 17 October 2026. How our engineering content is reviewed.