aarongough
Stainless
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2014
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
Hey guys!
At the moment I am running my shop off a decent quality 5HP piston compressor, but I just hate how loud it is... A while back I got a good deal on a used Kaeser SM10 'aircenter' screw compressor, but it has sat for the last year without being wired up as it's 600V and everything else in my shop is 208V.
I'll be moving to a new shop next month and I'm trying to decide on which compressor should go with me. I can only take one as the new shop is smaller than my current one and I'm getting rid of unused equipment to make everything fit. Do I take the Kaeser, or try to find a smaller screw or something else?
I *need* a quiet compressor. I'm going to annoy neighbours (and myself) in the new building if I keep running the piston compressor, but I'm worried that this 10HP Kaeser might be 'too much compressor' and drive my power bills up significantly, or that it might not run enough (I keep hearing that screw compressors can have their lifespans shortened if they don't run enough).
Usually my 5HP piston only runs about once per hour, but 2-3 times a week I need to use my sandblasting cabinet which will keep the compressor running constantly for an hour or so while using the cabinet. The inconsistent demand for air leaves me in a weird place where 95% of the time even a small pancake compressor would keep up, but they other 5% of the time I could actually use more than 5HP...
So I guess my questions are:
- Will a 10HP screw drive my electrical bill up an unreasonable amount if I usually don't need that much air?
- Will running a screw compressor for only ~5 minutes per hour shorten it's lifespan?
- Are there other options I should look at?
That Eastwood scroll compressor that has been getting posted recently caught my attention pretty fast, but it's a little undersized for my sandblasting needs, I would have to get two of them... I did price out a 5HP screw new from Kaeser and came away from that with severe sticker shock, especially compared to what I paid for the 10HP...
If anyone has a 5HP screw in good condition and wants to trade up to a 10HP I would certainly consider that as well!
-Aaron
At the moment I am running my shop off a decent quality 5HP piston compressor, but I just hate how loud it is... A while back I got a good deal on a used Kaeser SM10 'aircenter' screw compressor, but it has sat for the last year without being wired up as it's 600V and everything else in my shop is 208V.
I'll be moving to a new shop next month and I'm trying to decide on which compressor should go with me. I can only take one as the new shop is smaller than my current one and I'm getting rid of unused equipment to make everything fit. Do I take the Kaeser, or try to find a smaller screw or something else?
I *need* a quiet compressor. I'm going to annoy neighbours (and myself) in the new building if I keep running the piston compressor, but I'm worried that this 10HP Kaeser might be 'too much compressor' and drive my power bills up significantly, or that it might not run enough (I keep hearing that screw compressors can have their lifespans shortened if they don't run enough).
Usually my 5HP piston only runs about once per hour, but 2-3 times a week I need to use my sandblasting cabinet which will keep the compressor running constantly for an hour or so while using the cabinet. The inconsistent demand for air leaves me in a weird place where 95% of the time even a small pancake compressor would keep up, but they other 5% of the time I could actually use more than 5HP...
So I guess my questions are:
- Will a 10HP screw drive my electrical bill up an unreasonable amount if I usually don't need that much air?
- Will running a screw compressor for only ~5 minutes per hour shorten it's lifespan?
- Are there other options I should look at?
That Eastwood scroll compressor that has been getting posted recently caught my attention pretty fast, but it's a little undersized for my sandblasting needs, I would have to get two of them... I did price out a 5HP screw new from Kaeser and came away from that with severe sticker shock, especially compared to what I paid for the 10HP...
If anyone has a 5HP screw in good condition and wants to trade up to a 10HP I would certainly consider that as well!
-Aaron