When you're in the market to capitalize on an equipment sale to secure a rotary screw compressor for your shop, you need to know exactly what you're looking for. Rotary screw compressors are a great investment when you need a unit that can run consistently and non-stop. The rotor design inside these compressors allow the system to stand up to a high production and demanding environment. Here are a few things to consider as you start shopping.

Knowing What To Look For

Before you buy that first compressor, you need to understand exactly what you are getting. That means understanding a few of the fundamentals of compressor operation.

Duty Cycle - The duty cycle of the compressor indicates how long that compressor can run before the unit has to shut down to cycle and build the pressure again. In most cases, it is expressed in how many seconds the unit will run out of a minute. A duty cycle of 45 means it runs for 45 seconds out of every minute. Most rotary screw compressors have a nearly constant duty cycle because of the way that the system maintains pressure.

Power Phase - The power phase of the compressor is another important consideration. Although most commercial facilities have access to three-phase power on the power grid, some of them are wired with only single-phase systems. Talk with an electrician before you shop for equipment so that you know if your building has three-phase power. If not, you'll have to choose a compressor that runs on single-phase power supplies or have a three-phase system installed.

Air Requirement - Since a rotary screw compressor can run essentially non-stop, you're not going to have the same concerns about air tank capacity as you would with a standard compressor. You will, however, want to consider the actual air production. Make sure you know what you're going to be using the compressor for so that you can choose one that will produce sufficient pressure and volume for what you'll need. There are usually small metal plaques attached to most large equipment that will detail the actual air pressure requirements, so this makes it easy to determine exactly what you need. This ensures that you get a compressor with enough pressure capacity to keep your systems running.

Rotary screw air compressors are great for reliability and they make a valuable investment for operations that need to be consistent and constant. Before you invest in anything at the equipment sale, though, these tips will help you to ensure that you know exactly what you're getting. For more help, talk with an industrial equipment specialist like U.S. Lift & Warehouse Equipment Inc to help you understand all of the details.

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