ABAC AB5-2180V4NS 5 HP Two-Stage Air Compressor - 80 Gallon Vertical, 175 PSI, 14.6 CFM, 230V Single-Phase

The ABAC AB5-2180V4NS puts a two-stage hybrid pump with steel cylinders on a full 80 gallon vertical tank, giving your shop more stored air and longer tool run times between pump cycles. It delivers 14.6 CFM at a maximum 175 PSI on 230V single-phase power, and it ships without a factory magnetic starter, which is the one thing separating it from the rest of the 80 gallon AB5 range and the reason it lands lower on price.

Key specifications

• Model: AB5-2180V4NS (part number 8090304554)
• Motor: 5 HP, 230V / 1-phase / 60 Hz
• Pump: PAT 49 two-stage hybrid design with steel cylinders
• Air delivery: 14.6 CFM at max pressure
• Maximum pressure: 175 PSI
• Tank: 80 gallon vertical
• Finned pump cylinder and aftercooler to promote cooling
• Fully enclosed metal belt guard, start/stop pressure switch control
• Connections: 3/4 in NPT discharge, 3/4 in NPT ball service valve, 1/4 in NPT knurled drain valve
• Weight: 393 lbs | Dimensions: 27.1 x 29.3 x 68.2 in
• Warranty: 1 year

What the NS build leaves to you

NS stands for no starter. The pump, the motor and the tank are the same hardware the rest of the 80 gallon AB5 range runs on, but the magnetic starter is not fitted at the factory, so the machine arrives expecting the starter, the overload protection and the disconnect to be on your wall already. That is a sensible trade for a shop that has the gear, an electrician on call, or a panel laid out for it, and a poor one for a first compressor. A 5 HP single-phase motor pulls a hard inrush every time the pressure switch closes, and with no overload in the circuit that current works on the motor windings and the switch contacts until one of them gives out. Price a correctly sized starter into the job before the pallet arrives rather than after.

How it compares

The AB5-2180V4 is the same 14.6 CFM machine with the starter fitted at the factory, the safer buy where the compressor cycles dozens of times a day and the motor and pressure switch need protection from repeated inrush current. The AB5-2180V4FF Full Feature build adds a pressure actuated automatic tank drain and a low oil level switch on top of that. Where floor space matters more than stored air, the 60 gallon AB5-2160V4 delivers the same 14.6 CFM at 301 lbs in a 22.5 x 29.6 x 68.9 in footprint. For more air on the same 80 gallon tank, the AB5-2180VP steps up to the T39 pump and 16.6 CFM.

Typical applications

ABAC lists this two-stage belt drive range for automotive, industrial, agriculture and farm, and food and beverage work. In a shop that means impact wrenches, DA sanders, grinders, spray equipment, and fastening in body and repair bays, tire service, production woodworking, and metal fabrication. The 80 gallon receiver is the reason to take this over a 60 gallon machine on the same pump: more banked air means longer tool runs and fewer pump starts across a shift, and back to back tool use stops short cycling the compressor.

Installation and sizing

ABAC asks for a minimum of 12 inches of clearance on every side of this machine, both so the finned cylinder and the aftercooler can shed heat and so the belt guard, the service valve and the drain stay reachable. Discharge is 3/4 in NPT, wide enough to feed a shop loop without choking the first run of pipe, with a 3/4 in NPT ball valve at the service point and a 1/4 in NPT knurled drain valve at the bottom of the tank. Plan the delivery around the size of it: 393 lbs and 68.2 in tall is a pallet jack or forklift job, and the floor it needs is 27.1 by 29.3 in plus clearance on all four sides. Give the motor its own branch circuit sized to the nameplate and confirm the panel carries a 5 HP 230V single-phase load. Drain the receiver at the end of each shift, because a two-stage pump moving 14.6 CFM puts a surprising amount of condensate into an 80 gallon tank over a working day.

A two-stage compressor pushes warm, wet air down the line, so most shops pair one with a refrigerated dryer rated above the compressor's 14.6 CFM output, such as the ABAC COOL 25. Part of ABAC's 2-Stage Hybrid Pro range from the Atlas Copco group, the AB5-2180V4NS is the value path to an 80 gallon 5 HP two-stage compressor on a standard single-phase circuit. Browse the rest of our piston air compressors and our refrigerated air dryers.