The amount of airflow an air compressor produces is One of the most important ratings you'll need to consider when choosing your compressor. To find out which air compressor can run which tools, you'll need to know the "LPM" requirements of the tools you'll be using. LPM stands for litres per minute and refers to the air that a compressor can output. Most air tools come with this LPM reading on their packaging to make it easy to match the air tool to the compressor.