What Should You Know When Buying a Compressor for the First Time?
Knowledge is power. Enjoy this simple list to help first time buyers on selecting their first industrial air compressor to meet their needs.
If you have never bought a rotary screw air compressor before; do the following. Add up the air consumption of all the equipment at your shop. That will be the amount of air your desired compressor should provide. Most people, however, buy a bigger air compressor, as these machines tend to lose air during load-unload times. On the other hand, you can consider buying two equally sized compressors and use them on tandem. Unfortunately, that option may be too expensive for everyone, which leaves us with the option of buying one big machine that has the following features.
- After cooler – Your ideal air compressor must have an after cooler to cool the compressed air before it leaves to feed air tools. Air coolers also help eliminate moisture in the compressed air, which would otherwise condensate into water and reduce the machine’s performance.
- Variable Speed Drive – Variable speed drives in rotary screw compressors help match your equipment’s demands with the machine’s output. In effect, a variable speed drive helps save on energy consumption, since the compressor will lower or increase horsepower usage depending on demand.
- Integrated air dryer – This feature helps eliminate moisture and oils in compressed air, which in turn improves efficiency while prolonging the machine’s service life.
- Air Flow – It is always about the air flow when it comes to a compressor’s capability. As such, choose a machine whose air flow is huge enough to match the demands of your tools and equipment.