Schulz L-Series 20120HLV80BR-3 Two-Stage Air Compressor, 208V Three Phase

Twenty horsepower of two-stage compressed air usually costs you a bay. This one is 26" wide and 844 lbs. The L-Series pump is in-line rather than V-configured, which stacks the cylinders along the crankshaft instead of splaying them outward, and the result is an industrial compressor that lives along a wall in a working shop rather than commanding a corner of it. Length is 78" and height is 58".

It runs on 208V three-phase supply — the service a great many older light-industrial and commercial buildings actually have, rather than the one a spec sheet assumes — driving a solid cast iron two-stage pump on a 120-gallon horizontal receiver, rated to a maximum of 175 PSI.

Planning the space before the truck arrives

Take the three dimensions seriously, because at 844 lbs this is not a machine you reposition after the fact. The 78" length wants a clear run of wall. The 26" width is the number that makes this model work in a tight shop: it will pass through most roll-up and personnel access routes and it does not need to project into a walkway. The 58" height leaves the pump, the belt guard and the sight glass at a reachable working level, and clears shelving and mezzanine structure that a tall vertical machine would not.

Around that footprint, allow clear air on every side. A cast iron pump sheds its heat into the air moving past it, and a compressor boxed into a cupboard runs hot and dies early. Put it on level concrete. Keep the intake away from grinder dust and paint overspray — an air filter is fitted, and no filter enjoys overspray.

208V three phase, and the starter that is already wired

Buying the compressor that matches the supply in your building is almost always cheaper than changing the supply to match the compressor. Transformers, service upgrades and phase converters are real money and real installation time, and they keep costing you in losses afterwards. If your panel is 208V three phase, this is the version to order.

The magnetic starter is mounted and wired at the factory, so what arrives is a machine that needs a supply brought to it, not a machine that needs a control panel designed around it. Schulz does not publish an amp draw or a breaker size for this model and directs the branch circuit to a certified electrician instead. We repeat that instruction as written rather than estimating a circuit for a 20 HP motor — at this size an approximate answer is a fire risk and a warranty problem. Confirming that the service exists, and having the circuit, disconnect and grounding installed to code by a licensed electrician, is the buyer's responsibility.

Double-supported crank, reed valves, low speed

The in-line design carries its crankshaft on supports at both ends rather than hanging it off one. A two-stage pump loads its crank unevenly, because the two cylinders are different sizes doing different amounts of work, and a shaft held at both ends deflects less under that uneven load. Lower deflection shows up as lower vibration, and vibration is what wears bearings and works fittings loose over a decade.

The valves are the reed type: light, quick to open, sealing against a flat seat, and long-lived because there is very little mass being accelerated and stopped on every stroke. The pump turns at low RPM, which is the quiet part of the durability argument — a pump making the same air at fewer revolutions per minute accumulates less wear per hour, runs cooler and makes less noise. The block is solid cast iron with deep cooling fins, driven by notched belts inside an enclosed guard, with oversized main bearings and Swedish steel valves. Components are CNC machined for consistent clearances and powder coated against the corrosion that collects around a tank and its drain.

The aftercooler, and why it is on the spec sheet

This unit is fitted with an aftercooler. Compression concentrates the water already present in the air and heats the air enough to carry it as vapour; the air then travels down a cooling steel line and drops that water inside your piping and your tools. An aftercooler lowers the discharge temperature before the air reaches the receiver, so most of the condensate falls out at the tank drain instead of downstream. It is not a substitute for a dryer if you need genuinely dry air for finishing work, and an air dryer is not included here. A pressure gauge and an oil sight glass are fitted.

Perfect for

• Shops on 208V three-phase service that want to avoid a transformer or a converter.
• Tight floor plans where 20 HP of air has to fit against a wall rather than into a bay.
• Multi-bay service and fleet garages running continuous air demand through a full shift.
• Fabrication shops where moisture carryover into plasma and air tooling is a recurring problem.
• Sites with a dock or forklift — required for this machine, not optional.

What is in the box

From the manufacturer's own feature list: the WEG totally enclosed fan-cooled electric motor, the L-Series cast iron pump with oversized main bearings and Swedish steel valves, CNC machined components, notched belts inside the enclosed belt guard, powder coated components, a mounted and wired magnetic starter, an aftercooler, a pressure gauge, an oil sight glass, and the 120-gallon horizontal air receiver with a 1" tank outlet. An air dryer and an electronic drain valve are recorded as not included. Air piping, fittings and electrical hookup materials are not supplied.

Specifications

Ratings, stated plainly

The safety valve and the air tank carry an ASME rating — the pressure-vessel standard an inspector or an insurer normally requires on shop air equipment, and the claim Schulz makes for this machine. It covers the vessel and the valve, and that is where it stops. It is not a North American third-party electrical safety listing for the complete assembly, and those two things are routinely treated as interchangeable in compressor marketing when they are not. We hold no document showing such a listing for this model. If a facility standard, an insurer or a local inspector requires a nationally recognized testing laboratory mark on the whole machine, resolve that before you place the order.

Shipping and delivery

Freight only, to the lower 48 states. The manufacturer states this unit is too large for limited-access delivery: a loading dock or a forklift is required at the receiving site. Confirm that first, because a truck arriving at a site with neither has nowhere to put the machine. Delivery is curbside and unloading is the receiver's responsibility; collection from the carrier's terminal is the usual alternative. Delivery to a residential address carries a residential fee, quoted live at checkout. Pickup for Schulz equipment is available in Acworth, GA.

Inspect the crate at the truck before signing anything. Punctures, crushed corners, shifted banding and oil on the pallet all need to be written on the bill of lading while the driver is present. Signing a clean bill of lading is treated as confirmation that the shipment arrived intact, and arguing with that afterwards rarely works. Photographs at the truck take a minute.

Warranty and support

The unit is covered for 1 Year and the pump for 2 Year. Open the claim before you open the pump — once it is dismantled the manufacturer cannot assess the failure as it occurred, and that is the first thing a warranty process looks at. Call, text or chat with us on 866-774-7743 before taking anything apart and we will tell you what to record.