What it does that a $75 pressure switch can't

• Smart Drain — reads ambient temperature and humidity, drains only when condensate has accumulated. No wasted pressure.
• Optimized Drain Technology — expels condensate-laden air on demand using ambient/humidity feedback. Tested by Pecan Street Labs under DOE protocol with 100% moisture reduction. In many installations it eliminates the need for a refrigerated air dryer entirely — and unlike no-air-loss drains it never clogs, unlike timer drains it never wastes pressure.
• Active Controllable Start — holds the unloader open a few seconds on startup, just enough for the pump to warm up before loading. Lowers inrush current.
• Rupture Detection — halts the compressor if it detects a runaway leak. Saves the pump on a broken hose.
• Overheat & Overrun Halt — stops the compressor at 250 °F (121 °C) body or 30 minutes of continuous run.
• Precision Alternation (Dual Pump) — balances pump wear within ~5 minutes over service life.
• Compressor City link — one wire ties two controllers together for redundancy or CFM scaling.

Compare editions

Pricing for each edition is in the right panel above. Choose Single Pump or Dual Pump in the Pump Configuration selector; Dual Pump is not available with the integrated VFD edition.

Specifications

• Input: 12 V DC, 2 W typical
• Controller: ATmega328p, 20 MIPS
• Display: 20×4 LCD with blue backlight, seven info screens
• Pressure sensor: 304 stainless body, 1 % accuracy, <0.1 % FS/year drift
• Temperature: −40 to +125 °C pump head; 0 to 50 °C ambient
• Outputs: 6 relays, 10 A @ 250 VAC
• Configuration: DIP switches for °C/°F, drain, fan, simplex/duplex, master/slave
• Analytics: EEPROM stores lifetime hours, cycle count, fault history

Who already installed it

Automotive paint and body shops, machine and CNC shops, cabinet and woodworking shops, fleet maintenance and tire shops, dental compressed-air rooms, light manufacturing, federal facilities, and dairy and farm operations — any continuous-duty reciprocating compressor where moisture, drift, or downtime cost money.

How it integrates

The controller bolts onto reciprocating air compressors of any brand or age, single-pump or duplex, single-phase 120/240 VAC or three-phase 208/480 VAC. The pressure sensor (A) replaces the mechanical pressure switch and reads tank pressure to within 0.5 PSI across the operating range. The controller (E) drives the existing motor contactor (B) and steps in only when readings cross your set points, so the original starter, overload, and motor protection stay exactly where they are.

The smart drain (D) cycles on accumulated runtime, not a fixed timer, so it opens just long enough to clear condensate and closes before it bleeds tank pressure. The intercooler fan (F) is independently controlled when head temperature crosses threshold; the CompressorCity link (G) is a single-wire bus that lets multiple controllers share runtime, balance pump wear, and stand in for each other on failure.

Every variant uses the same operator interface, the same set-point structure, and the same diagnostic readout, so retraining is not part of the rollout. Installation runs about a working hour for a journeyman electrician with the existing panel still mounted; the supplied wiring harnesses bring labelled landings to every connection in the original control circuit.

Scale instantly with Compressor-City

Pair two or more controllers over a single one-wire link to share runtime, balance pump wear, and add N+1 redundancy without buying a duplex unit. The bus auto-discovers nodes on power-up: no addressing, no DIP-switch configuration, no commissioning step beyond running the wire.

Each controller publishes its runtime hours, head temperature, current draw, and fault state; each subscribes to the same data from its peers. The lead unit handles primary demand; lag units cycle in proportionally so no single pump accumulates disproportionate hours. The result is a bank that lasts longer per unit and recovers from a maintenance event without dropping the room below set-point.

On failure the system fails over, not off. The next-healthiest unit takes the call within one duty cycle and the failed unit is held out until a technician acknowledges the fault. The same hardware that runs a single 5 HP shop compressor scales to a four-unit 200 HP industrial bank without changing firmware or panel layout, across any mix of single-pump and duplex units and any inverter or VFD configuration in front of them.

FAQ

Compliance & origin

• Origin: Designed and assembled in Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA.
• Enclosure: IP67 rated (Components Kit, Pre-Wired Bolt-on, and Pre-Wired + VFD editions).
• Pressure sensor body: 304 stainless steel.
• Field-installed by: the included Quick Start Guide is written for an industrial maintenance technician or competent installer; the User Manual covers full configuration.
• Warranty: 1 year parts and labor from date of purchase.
• Support: ticket-based support direct from the people who built the hardware — open a ticket.

Installation