eaton screw compressor user opinions?

[rock]

I am looking at an Eaton screw compressor and would like to hear from anyone who has one or works where one is in use.

I need about a 10 hp to take the place of my two piston type compressors.

What kind of quality, service, reliability have you experienced with Eaton.

 

[Marshall Henderson]

Rock
I worked for an IR dealer as air compressor tech. I have never heard of an "EATON". At least I never ran across one in Iowa. Can you give more details on this unit, pics?

Parts could be a problem.

Just curious as to why you want to go to rotary in this HP range?

If I can help out, let me know.

Marshall

 

[dirty old man]

Eaton makes air compressors here in the USA, and they are online with a web site of their own.
But I don't recall seeing any screw type Eatons, I'm gonna hunt up their site again and check on that.
Dave

 

[Grey Rider]

Eaton (www.eatoncompressor.com) isn't far from where I live. Some day I hope to afford their 80-gallon 5hp horizontal

Anyway, here's their new screw compressors:

http://www.eatoncompressor.com/page/page/2499974.htm

Going on their marketing material alone , their products sure are impressive!

Ryan

 

[Cheenist]

We had two fifty horse screw compressors side by side. They were LOUD, hot and LOUD. They consumed huge amounts of electricity. This was back in the mid '80s. From the looks of this Eaton brand things have changed for the better!
Carl

 

[Marshall Henderson]

I love this site.
Learned something new today.
Marshall

 

[Ries]

I saw the Ingersoll version of this being demonstrated at the big national blacksmiths conference- they were using it to run air hammers, which take a lot of air when you are hammering, and often overwhelm 5hp compressors.
The guys who have it use a 10hp to run something like 8 air hammers.
http://air.irco.com/IS/product.asp-en-12858

It was small, and quiet.

I have heard from the oldtimers who ran big industrial models of rotary screws- 200hp or so- that they dont like to stop. They like to run all the time, and are quite happy doing so, unlike a piston model, but they get worn by start and stops.
Also that in the old days oil seperation was a problem.
That is, very hard to get it all out, because the really fine filters are disposables, and pricey, so you tend to let the filter changeouts slide, and get oily air.

I would ask the eaton guys specifically about these two issues, and make sure they will warranty cover a machine with frequent stops and starts, IF that is how you are going to use it.

It seems like in a big shop, where people are using air all the time, and where much of the use is air tools that get lubed anyway, there would be no problem.
But if I was spray painting, or doing a lot of plasma cutting, where oil in the air was critical, I would want referalls from satisfied users.

For what these things are good for, they are hot as snot- and maybe these new little ones are tougher than the 20 and 30 year old big boys my friends have run- but I would ask.

 

[surplusjohn]

Eaton is a good company, however I have no experience with there screws. BTW, Screws are only suitable for more or less continuous demand, motors trottle down but not off.

 

[GregSY]

Why don't they like to start and stop?

 

[Ries]

Hopefully somebody who knows more than I do will step in here- but as I understand it, they are happiest when being constantly lubricated- kinda like a turbo in a car- and in industry last the longest when left running 24/7.
They are very cost effective in such a situation, compared to a piston compressor which needs to stop and cool down at least 20% of the time.

I dont know if these new generation smaller models (5 to 15hp) are rated for intermittent use like in a typical small shop, or not- I just know they always used to recommend that you only go rotary when your air needs were large and constant, and go piston for smaller, intermittent loads.
Maybe this has changed- certainly the price has come down, as the smaller new rotaries are only $3 to$5 grand, compared to 25 grand and up in the old days.

I would like one for my shop if that is true- my current compressor is loud, and cycles all the time, waking me up all day long.

 

[GregSY]

The reason I ask is we are looking at (3) 1000HP compressors and are looking at recips and screws.
Turbos can suffer 'hot soak' of the bearings but if they have a flood lube system wouldn't this take care of that?

 

[olddude]

Ries,
We had five screw type LP compressors (we needed volume not PSI). when they run continously they gave no problems, provided that they had plenty of clean oil and regular maintenance was performed.
The cooling and unloading system were the weak points when they ran in the start/stop mode.

 

[Marshall Henderson]

Couple of thoughts from someone that has a fondness for the big old recips.

A rotary, at least the older ones, need to have around 60 psi pressure maintained at the discharge point to provide for oil flow. They have a minimum pressure discharge valve that helps to insure that oil moves thru the air end like it should. When they run unloaded they are always blowing off a little of that pressure.

Start and stop operations are tough on rotarys in general because of the size of the rotors and how fast they turn. The motor and drive train take a beating in getting everything up to speed, more so than the ig recips which run slower. Some medium size rotors can turn over 4,000 to 5,000 RPM. Thats a lot of iron to bring up to speed. Even a reduced voltage starter equipped rotary tends to stress the power train.

Oil carry over can also be a problem. Separators are high dollar and tend to be in service longer than they should be. As they get to the end of their life they tend to let more oil thru and at the same time the pressure drop across them goes up. Higher pressure drop costs money.

The newer IR Sieria two stage rotarys have oil pumps, intercooler between stages and an effiency that rivals the big old two stage double acting recips. Air end life is very good in the two stage rotarys. I know of one in Iowa that is over 12-13 years old in 24/7 service, still running just like it came from the factory.

For a shop that runs even 12 hours a day with a need of 20 HP or less I still would lean towards the smaller 2 or 3 cylinder recips. Go with two pumps and a control system that alternates the pumps in a start stop set up, or one pump that runs all the time with unloaders and a back up pump that is set up to automatically start for the times when you really need the air supply. This also gives you a back up if one pump has problems, one rotary has all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.

The turbos, ie IR "Centacs" are high end machines that are set up for flat out running. They are a base machine. From what I have heard the two stage rotarys are starting to take market share from the Centacs, less cost to run and maintain overall.

What I am working on for my home/farm shop is 2 rebuilt IR 71T2's set up to run at the 5 HP rating. 71T2's can be run up to 10HP, at 5HP they will just set there and run forever (longer than I will be here) , and be very quite also. Controls will be set up to allow either constant run with auxillary valve or start stop. They are rated at 175 PSI, I will probably run them at 145-150 PSI and then thru a aftercooler and then a drier. Yeah, I know, OVERKILL.

Sorry for rambling, tend to get on a roll when talking about air compressors.

Marshall

 

[Thermo1]

Greg,
If you are looking to run (3) 1,000 hp compressors, (did I read your post right), you are at the level of centrifugals as well as rotaries. The rotaries might give better efficiency, but the centrifugals will give you oil free air right out of the compressor. The centrifugals do have speed up gears and high speed bearings, which may be troublesome.

Thermo1