Episode 23: High Altitude, Low Airflow

Jason Reed

Welcome back to The Big Dog Podcast! I’m Jason Reed, here with Lisa Saunders. Today we’re talking about something that gets overlooked way too often—altitude. Not the kind you get on a plane, but the kind that messes with your rotary screw compressor when you’re up in the mountains.

Lisa Saunders

Yeah, and it’s wild how much elevation can throw a wrench in your system. I mean, you’d think air is air, right? But once you get up a few thousand feet, it’s a whole different ballgame. Less air density, lower pressure—your compressor just can’t grab as much air as it does at sea level.

Jason Reed

Exactly. It’s like, you take a compressor that’s rated for 1,000 CFM in New Orleans, and you drop it in Denver—suddenly you’re only getting, what, 600 CFM? That’s a huge hit. And people don’t realize it until their tools start choking out or production slows down.

Lisa Saunders

And that’s where those ratings come in—ACFM versus SCFM. I always mix these up, but, uh, ACFM is what the manufacturer says the compressor can do at sea level, right? Like, perfect conditions. SCFM is what you actually get at your site, factoring in your altitude, temperature, humidity—all that real-world stuff.

Jason Reed

Yeah, you got it. ACFM is the lab number, SCFM is the real number. If you’re not looking at SCFM, you’re basically guessing. And that’s how people get burned.

Lisa Saunders

I had this plant manager in Denver—he called me, totally frustrated. They’d just installed a brand new compressor, and it wasn’t keeping up. Everyone was blaming the machine, but nobody had factored in the altitude. Once we ran the numbers for Denver’s elevation, it all made sense. They needed a bigger unit, not a repair.

Jason Reed

Happens all the time. People forget that the air’s just thinner up there. It’s not the compressor’s fault—it’s physics. You gotta size for where you are, not where you wish you were.

Lisa Saunders

So, let’s talk about what actually happens inside the compressor at altitude. It’s not just about less air going in—the whole system has to work harder, right?

Jason Reed

Yeah, and it’s brutal. The compressor’s gotta spin faster, run hotter, just to hit the same pressure you’d get at sea level. And because the air’s thinner, it can’t cool itself as well. So you get more heat, less cooling, and everything’s under more stress.

Lisa Saunders

And it’s not just the compressor, either. Motors, fans, even the electrical components—they all have to be oversized. Standard specs just don’t cut it when you’re, like, 8,000 or 10,000 feet up.

Jason Reed

Right. I mean, we had this job at a gold mine in Colorado, up at 11,000 feet. Normally, a 200-HP compressor would’ve done the trick. But at that altitude? We had to go with a 350-HP unit, plus a 400-HP cooler pack, bigger fan, bigger everything. If we’d stuck with the standard setup, it would’ve overheated and shut down in no time.

Lisa Saunders

That’s a massive jump. And it’s not just about throwing more horsepower at the problem, either. You have to look at the whole system—air intake, cooling, even the starter and drives. If you miss one piece, the whole thing can fall apart.

Jason Reed

Yeah, and you can’t just order a “high-altitude compressor” off the shelf. It’s all about customizing—oversizing the right parts, making sure the system can handle the extra load. Otherwise, you’re just setting yourself up for trouble.

Lisa Saunders

So, how do you actually get it right? I mean, if you’re running a plant up in the mountains, what’s the move?

Jason Reed

First thing—don’t guess. You gotta size your compressor for your actual site conditions. That means factoring in your elevation, your temperature, your humidity. If you just go by the catalog, you’re gonna end up short.

Lisa Saunders

And that’s where local consultants come in. I know it sounds like a sales pitch, but honestly, having someone on-site who knows your area makes all the difference. Kaishan’s distributor network is built for this—they’ve got people who actually understand what it’s like to run equipment at altitude.

Jason Reed

Yeah, and I’ve seen what happens when folks skip that step. There was this facility up in the mountains—didn’t bother with a local expert, just ordered what they thought they needed. Compressor kept shutting down, overheating, constant downtime. They ended up spending way more fixing it than if they’d just sized it right from the start.

Lisa Saunders

It’s one of those things where you really can’t afford to cut corners. The right support means you get a system that actually works, not just on paper, but in your real-world conditions. And if something goes wrong, you’ve got someone local who can help—fast.

Jason Reed

Bottom line—altitude changes everything. If you’re not planning for it, you’re asking for trouble. But if you get the sizing and support right, your system’s gonna run smooth, no matter how high up you are.

Lisa Saunders

Alright, that’s a wrap for today. If you’re dealing with high-altitude headaches, don’t go it alone—reach out to your local experts, get the right advice, and keep your plant running strong.

Jason Reed

Thanks for tuning in to The Big Dog Podcast. Lisa, always good talking shop with you.

Lisa Saunders

You too, Jason. See you next time, everyone.

Jason Reed

Take care, folks. Don’t let that thin air catch you off guard.