The number belongs with its pressure
A compressor page can show one output figure at 40 PSI and another at 90 PSI. That is not two competing specifications for the same condition. It is the manufacturer publishing output at two named pressure points.
The CAGI compressor-performance guide explains that compressor flow changes as discharge pressure changes. That is why an output number should be read as a pair: value plus stated pressure, with the manufacturer’s original label still attached.
Air Tool Match uses that rule literally. A tool record at 90 PSI may be compared with a compressor CFM record at 90 PSI. A 40 PSI compressor figure stays visible in source material, but it is not substituted into a 90 PSI comparison.
What the product pages show
Several manufacturer pages make the pressure context explicit. The Makita MAC2400 page publishes 4.8 CFM at 40 PSI and Performance (90 PSI) of 4.2 CFM. The same model therefore gives a reader two different published values, each tied to a stated pressure.
Other pages follow the same pattern with different model designs and values:
| Manufacturer model | Published figure at 40 PSI | Published figure at 90 PSI | Source wording to retain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Makita MAC2400 | 4.8 CFM | 4.2 CFM | Performance at each stated pressure |
| California Air Tools CAT-2010A | 3.10 CFM | 2.20 CFM | Air flow at each stated pressure |
| Campbell Hausfeld VT6271 | 11.5 CFM | 10.2 CFM | Compressor CFM at each stated pressure |
| Metabo HPT EC914S | 5.1 CFM | 4.0 CFM | Air delivery at each stated pressure |
The table is not a ranking and it does not make models interchangeable. Its job is to show the reading pattern: an output value carries a condition. Open the manufacturer page for the exact wording, model configuration, and any additional specifications before relying on it.
Why a single CFM headline causes confusion
If a product card says only “4.8 CFM,” the reader does not yet know whether that is the 40 PSI figure, the 90 PSI figure, or another stated condition. The missing part is not minor metadata. It changes what can be compared.
Here is the difference in record form:
Incomplete note: MAC2400, 4.8 CFM
Usable record: MAC2400, 4.8 CFM at 40 PSI, manufacturer page checked 2026-09-20
Separate record: MAC2400, 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI, manufacturer page checked 2026-09-20
Those last two records belong to the same compressor but are not duplicates. They are distinct conditions published by the manufacturer. A comparison engine that drops the PSI can accidentally pair the 40 PSI output with a 90 PSI tool figure and present an answer that looks precise but no longer matches the source conditions.
How the matcher handles the two conditions
The current dataset stores one selected compressor output condition per record. Its initial comparable entries are explicitly CFM at 90 PSI, because the tool records currently used in the matcher are also published at 90 PSI. That creates a narrow but inspectable comparison set.
The rule is not “90 PSI is always the right number.” The rule is “do not mix stated pressure conditions.” If future source-backed tool records use another pressure, the data model can store that condition. Any new comparison rule still needs to preserve its exact labels and show why the two source records were eligible.
For example, this is a valid calculation shape for the site:
Tool field: 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI
Compressor field: 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI
This is not eligible in the current matcher:
Tool field: 4.2 CFM at 90 PSI
Compressor field: 4.8 CFM at 40 PSI
The values may be from the same product family or even from one source page. That does not turn them into the same pressure condition.
Do not turn the table into a performance promise
It would be easy to read a larger 40 PSI number as a general claim that one compressor is “better” or that it will run a particular tool. The source pages do not establish that conclusion by themselves, and neither does this article.
The values here do not account for the working pattern of a tool, receiver capacity, compressor duty cycle, receiver condition, hose or regulator losses, electrical supply, installation, ambient conditions, or pressure safety. They also do not establish the output a particular system will deliver at a visitor’s point of use.
Use the figures as a source-reading check. For an equipment selection or operating decision that depends on those excluded factors, verify the model and application with the manufacturer or a qualified professional.
A quick reading checklist
Before adding a compressor figure to a note or comparison, ask:
- What exact model does the page identify?
- What does the manufacturer call the output field: CFM, SCFM, air delivery, or something else?
- What PSI is printed beside this particular value?
- Does the tool record use the same stated pressure?
- Is the source URL and checked date saved with the value?
If the answer to the third or fourth question is missing, the safe output is not comparable. If the compressor uses an unlike label such as SCFM, the current site also stops rather than converting it. The companion guide CFM, SCFM, ACFM, and Delivered SCFM explains that boundary.
Sources checked
- CAGI compressor-performance guide
- Makita MAC2400 product page
- California Air Tools CAT-2010A product page
- Campbell Hausfeld VT6271 product page
- Metabo HPT EC914S product page
Checked 2026-09-20. Product pages can change. This page retains the values only as examples of the pressure-condition pattern, not as a buyer’s guide.
