BelAire 338H 5 HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Air Compressor — Horizontal Tank, 3-Phase, Starter Included

The 338H is the three-phase build of BelAire’s horizontal 80 gallon two-stage machine, and the magnetic starter is fitted at the factory rather than sold alongside. Those two facts travel together and they are the reason to choose this model: three-phase power at 230 Volt drops the recommended breaker to 30 Amp, and the included starter means the compressor arrives ready for an electrician to terminate rather than ready for a second order.

Everything else is what a working shop wants and rarely reads about: a belt-driven two-stage cast iron pump with stainless steel valves and an aftercooler, on a horizontal ASME tank that stands 49" tall, factory tested at 100% of working pressure.

Three-phase, 30 Amp, and why that is the headline

The same 5 HP of work drawn from a three-phase supply arrives as three smaller currents rather than one large one. In practice that means lighter conductors, a smaller breaker and a less disruptive installation. BelAire’s recommendation for this unit is a 30 Amp breaker — a circuit most commercial panels can accommodate without a service upgrade.

Three-phase motors also start more gently and run more smoothly than single-phase motors of the same rating, which matters on a compressor that will start and stop many times a day for a decade. Less starting stress means less heat in the windings and less shock through the belt and the pump.

BelAire records the amp draw as a figure to confirm with a certified electrician rather than publishing one, which is correct: the conductor size depends on the run length and on local code. Have it hard-wired professionally.

The starter is in the box, and that is not universal

A magnetic starter switches the motor’s current safely and drops the motor out on overload before a labouring machine damages its own windings. On this model it is included and wired. It is worth saying plainly because it is not true across the whole BelAire range — the single-phase horizontal model in the same family ships without one — and “starter included” is exactly the kind of line that disappears into a wall of identical bullet points on every site selling the same compressor.

Will it fit?

Horizontal tanks buy headroom. This one measures about 71" long by 24" wide and only 49" high, so it goes under a mezzanine, beneath a low ceiling, or along a wall where a vertical machine would foul the door track. The pump, drain, sight glass and belt guard all end up at a height you can actually work on.

You pay for that in floor area — a 71" run against a wall is a real commitment in a small shop. Set it on level, solid concrete: with the machine at roughly 470 lbs on four feet, a sloping or soft floor slowly works the mounts loose and pulls the pump out of alignment with it.

Leave clear space at the pump end. The aftercooler and the flywheel both need moving air, and a compressor wedged into a cupboard runs hot no matter what its specification says.

Pump, valves and the air that comes out

Two-stage compression takes the air up in two bites, with heat shed between them, and that is why this machine treats 175 PSI as a working pressure rather than a strained ceiling. BelAire’s figures put delivered air at 18.5 cubic feet per minute at 100 PSI and 16.6 CFM at 175 PSI — note how little is lost between the two, which is the practical signature of a two-stage design.

The valves are stainless steel. Valve plates are usually what decides a pump’s working life, because heat and carbon attack them first and a tired valve quietly costs you efficiency long before anything fails outright. The integrated aftercooler drops the discharge temperature before the air is stored, which keeps condensate in the tank bottom and the drain instead of in your tools. An oil sight glass makes the weekly check trivial; the belt guard is fully enclosed and high flow.

Perfect For

• Commercial shops on three-phase service with a ceiling too low for a vertical tank.
• Two- and three-bay workshops running impact tools and air hoists through the day.
• Buildings where panel capacity is tight — the 30 Amp recommendation is modest for a compressor of this size.
• Fleet, agricultural and light industrial maintenance with a continuous rather than occasional air demand.

What’s in the Box

A complete factory assembly: two-stage pump with cast iron cylinder and stainless steel valves, motor, horizontal 80 gallon ASME tank, magnetic starter included, start-stop pressure switch, pressure gauge, aftercooler, high-flow enclosed belt guard, oil level sight glass, 3/4" air outlet, tank drain and ASME safety relief valve.

No air dryer, filtration, regulation or shop plumbing is supplied.

Specifications

Motor and electrical supply

Pump and output

Tank, size and weight

Certification, stated plainly

An ASME certified pressure vessel with an ASME safety relief valve, and BelAire states that 100% of units are tested at full pressure before shipping. That is the certification the data claims.

It claims no third-party safety listing for the assembled machine. A factory pressure test is the manufacturer checking its own work, which is a genuine assurance but a different document from an independent listing — and independent listing is what some insurers, plant standards and municipal electrical inspectors ask for on hard-wired equipment. If that applies to you, ask us before you order and we will put it to BelAire in writing rather than guess on your behalf.

Delivery notes

Palletised freight, lower 48 states, priced live at checkout against your real destination.

The two things that catch buyers out are unloading and address type. Unloading is yours: the carrier delivers to the back of the trailer, so have a forklift, a dock or a pallet jack and a flat approach ready — or pick terminal pickup and fetch it. And a delivery to a house rather than a commercial address is a residential delivery, which carries a residential fee, so tell us when you order.

Inspect on arrival. Look over the tank, the pump and the belt guard, and record anything wrong on the bill of lading before the truck leaves. A signature with no exceptions on it ends the conversation.

Warranty

2 Year factory warranty from BelAire, with no additional purchase required.

Our own standing advice: if the pump develops a fault, do not open it before the claim is filed. A pump in pieces cannot be assessed — nobody can tell afterwards what failed first — and that turns a routine claim into an argument. Call us and let it be looked at intact.