Often, when it’s about selecting the air compressor for service shops, there’s an option between sizes and the variety of compressors. The biggest question is whether you should go for reciprocating compressor or the advanced lubricated screw? However, on the basis of the way you employ the compressed air, and the way the compressor has been installed, the cost of operating might be a little different for 2 options.
The reciprocating compressors employ pistons for compressing air to line pressure that is needed. They are just the simple units which are often installed on the small size receiver tanks and they generally run in the mode of starting and stopping on the witch for mechanical pressure. You could definitely tell when they run as the pistons would make noise.
The cooling system of the units are nothing but fins through which the pulley mounted fans blow streams of cool air. The air which is produced through such in it is generally oily and very hot, difficult to be cleaned and dried until and unless some kind of auxiliary filtering and cooling technique is used. When one looks for efficiency of the units, you would realise that the full load consume additional power per each unit output than the screw compressor. But, such units aren’t created for running continuously at the full load, average load of more than 60% of capacity of the compressor with damage as well as overheat.
On the contrary, the screw compressors are quite expensive as well as complex units. They could be easily mounted on similar size storing tanks. The units often run in different modes, loading and unloading which means they would continuously run, alternatively produce air at running unloaded with nil output of compressed air. The screw compressors work quietly rather than reciprocating the units.
They have good system of cooling just like the automotive radiators through which the cooling air passes through a fan. The units are designed for running at a full load and produces cleaner as well as cooler air that may be sent directly to the air dryer for removing the water vapors. The unit generally consume very less power at a full load rather than the reciprocating units which makes them efficient in such a condition.
The air compressors which run in the service shops hardly run constantly at a full load.
