Schulz Audaz MCSV, 5 HP Vertical Two-Stage Compressor, Single Phase

The detail worth knowing before anything else: this unit is specified with a magnetic starter fitted. Compressors in this size class are very often sold without one, and the starter is not a convenience item — it is the component that drops the motor out cleanly on a voltage sag, a stalled restart against tank pressure, or a phase fault, instead of letting a 5 HP motor sit there cooking its windings. Buying one afterwards is a few hundred dollars and an electrician's visit. Having it already on the machine is the difference between a compressor you can wire up and a compressor you have to finish building.

Around that, the Audaz MCSV is a two-stage, solid cast iron pump on an 80-gallon vertical tank, delivering 20 CFM at 175 PSI from a 230V, 1-Phase supply. The pump is direct coupled to the motor — no belt, no pulleys, no flywheel to align or tension. It is a shop machine: enough stored air and enough pressure to run impact tools, a sander and a blow gun without the pump chasing its own tail.

Will it fit?

Because the tank stands upright, the floor footprint is small and the height is the number that matters. Plan for 24" by 28" of floor and 67" of clear height, plus working room around the intake and the cooling shroud — a vertical compressor pushed flat against a wall into a corner will run hotter than the same machine with air moving round it.

It weighs 480 lb, and all of that mass is standing up on a relatively small base. Site it on a flat, solid slab, not on a raised timber platform or a patched section of floor, and follow the manufacturer's instructions on isolation pads and anchoring.

Power is 230V single-phase. We will not print an amp draw or a breaker size for this model, and that is deliberate: our specification sheet for it says to consult a certified electrician rather than giving a figure, and a compressor circuit sized off a web page is how a nuisance-tripping installation happens. Sizing the supply, the breaker and the wire run is the buyer's responsibility, and it should be done by a licensed electrician who has seen your panel.

Direct coupling, and what it removes

A belt-driven compressor has a flywheel, a belt, a guard and a tensioning adjustment, and every one of those is a service item. Belts stretch, slip, glaze and eventually snap, usually at the least convenient moment, and a slipping belt quietly costs you output long before it fails outright.

Coupling the pump directly to the motor deletes that entire category. There is no belt to replace, no alignment to hold, and no transmission loss between what the motor produces and what the pump receives. It also makes the machine physically shorter and narrower, which is part of how the 80-gallon tank fits into a footprint this size.

Two stages, and the IC-TECH pump

Two-stage compression means the air is squeezed once, handed on, and squeezed again. Each cylinder does less work, so each runs cooler and lasts longer, and the pump reaches 175 PSI without living permanently at the edge of its capability. The higher storage pressure is the practical benefit: at 175 PSI an 80-gallon tank holds appreciably more usable air than the same tank filled to a lower pressure, which is what stops a heavy tool run from pulling the pump into a continuous cycle.

Schulz's IC-TECH® design integrates the two stages and, on the manufacturer's stated maintenance schedule, extends the oil change interval to every 300 hours. Forced-air cooling over the pump and machined steel internals are what allow that interval; corrosion-resistant coatings are there because a compressor lives in a damp environment by definition — it makes water for a living.

One thing to know about the oil system

This pump is oil lubricated and splash lubricated, and our specification data records that it has no oil sight glass and no low-oil shut-off. That is not a fault, it is a design level, and it has a consequence you should plan for: nothing on this machine will stop it or warn you if the oil level falls. Checking the level on a schedule is a manual job and it is not optional. If you want a compressor that polices its own oil, say so before you order and we will point you at one that does.

Perfect for

• Automotive service bays running air tools all day, where 175 PSI storage keeps the pump from short-cycling.
• Fabrication and body shops needing sustained 20 CFM for sanders and blasting-adjacent work.
• Workshops tight on floor space but with the ceiling height for a 67" vertical tank.
• Buildings with single-phase service only, where a three-phase machine is not an option.

What's in the box

The compressor as specified: two-stage cast iron pump direct coupled to the motor, mounted on the 80-gallon vertical ASME tank, with the magnetic starter, pressure gauge and tank drain fitted. There is no air dryer and no aftercooler on this unit — both are recorded as not fitted, and if your work needs dry air you should budget for a dryer separately. Hose, fittings and the electrical installation are not included.

Specifications

Certification, stated plainly

Our data records one certification for this machine: ASME, the pressure-vessel code covering the receiver. That is what we will state and it is all we will state. No additional third-party safety listing is claimed for the unit as a whole, so none is printed here. Institutional, municipal and insured commercial buyers frequently have a listing requirement written into policy or code. If that is you, tell us before you order and we will confirm exactly what appears on the machine's data plate.

Shipping and delivery

Freight only, to the lower 48 states, quoted live at checkout against your real address rather than guessed at here. At 480 lb this comes off the truck with equipment, not with people: a forklift, a dock, or a terminal collection you drive to yourself. Residential delivery carries a residential fee, shown at checkout before you pay. Pickup is available at Acworth, GA.

Check the shipment while the driver is still on site. Write any damage — a leaning tank, a bent shroud, a crushed corner, a missing carton — onto the delivery receipt before you sign it, and take photographs. A clean signature is very hard to argue with later.

Warranty

Coverage is 1 year, consumer and commercial, on the manufacturer's stated terms. If something fails, do not take the pump, the starter or the pressure switch apart before the claim is open — a disassembled unit is normally treated as outside warranty regardless of how sensible the diagnosis was. Call us at 866-774-7743 and we will tell you what the manufacturer needs to see first.