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Industrial Tool and Equipment Buying Guides

This Industrial Buying Guide is designed to help you to make an informed purchasing decision. Check back on a regular basis for additional guides. Below is a partial list of industrial buying guides listed alphabetically by product:

Chillers | Generators | Small Engines | Tires | Tractors | Chainsaws | Log Splitters

Choosing the Right Generator
To choose the right generator, you will need to know the electrical requirements of the equipment you plan to operate. When it comes to generators, there are two wattage ratings that are important: steady-state wattage and surge wattage.

A 60 watt light bulb requires, as you would expect, 60 watts, and it requires that wattage both when you turn it on and while it is running. A fan motor on the other hand, might require 150 watts to get it started and 75 watts to keep it running. The extra wattage required to start a device is called the surge wattage and is typical of anything that has an electric motor.

If all you need is something to run a well pump, water heater and refrigerator, then a 5000 watt generator might do. It might cost you $600, but generators get even more expensive as you move above the 5000 watt range, i.e., $2,000 for 10,000 watt generator. For more demanding industrial applications, there are 400 kW generators that would cost as much as $50,000. A 5000 watt portable generator requires some space for fuel storage, will consume about a gallon of gas every two hours, are pretty noisy and require regular maintenance. Power inverters, on the other hand, are a very easy and inexpensive solution if you can keep your power demands below the 200 watt range. They can be can be a good alternative up to about 2,500 watts, although they tend to get expensive at that point, i.e., $600 - $1000 for a 2,500 watt inverter. They are also pretty quiet and are very low maintenance. That being said power inverters are only good for very small power requirements for a very short time.

Choosing a Tire
The first thing you have to do is to understand the kind of tire you need and what you expect from that tire. Regular and high performance all-season tires will satisfy most of us. But tires for SUVs and other trucks are different than those for cars and minivans. Ultra-high performance tires are a good idea only if you're willing to sacrifice some degree of all-weather versatility, treadlife and price to improve your car's acceleration and handling.

Choose a tire type and size to suit your vehicle and driving conditions:

Tire specifications: make sure your new tire specificaitons match those of your existing tire. This guarantees that you'll get a tire that fits your existing wheels, and has the appropriate load rating for your vehicle.

Standard all-season tires: are probably good enough for most of us. While they offer good traction in dry conditions, long tread life and a comfortable ride, they will lack the precise handling and grip of performance all-season tires. Treadwear is between 40,000 to 100,000 miles and wheel sizes generally range from thirteen to sixteen inches, with S and T speed ratings.

High-performance all-season tires: are best for those of us crave better handling and grip without giving up too much comfort and wear. They offer a tread life of only 40,000 to 70,000 miles, and are appropriate for wheel sizes from fifteen to seventeen inches. They carry speed ratings of H and V.

Ultra high performance tires: are for anyone who wants the best wet and dry braking and handling at the expense of tread life. Summer versions are not appropriate for snow or ice. Most models have no treadwear warranty at all. Wheel sizes range from sixteen to twenty inches.

Plus Sizing: The latest trend is plus-size tires and wheels. Drivers buy larger sized wheels and shorter, wider tires. Experts say it is safe to do this within a certain range, and upping your wheel size by an inch can improve handling. However, it's imperative to buy tires with the same or greater load rating for your car.

Tires Sizes: You can find out what size tires are right for your vehicle by consulting your owner's manual or by looking on the sidewalls of the tires currently on your vehicle. Tire sizes are represented by a ratio followed by a whole number. The ratio comprises the width in millimeters and the percentage of that width that makes up the profile (the distance between the rim and the outer edge of the tire); the whole number is the rim diameter in inches. A tire with a size of 215/60 16 is 215mm wide, 129mm (60% of 215) from the ground to the rim, and is intended for a 16-inch wheel.

Tire Speed Ratings: most manufactureres use letters to represent the maximum speed at which a tire should be driven. There are about twenty different speed ratings, but the most common are:

Q - 99 mph      - for snow and all season tires
S - 112 mph    - for snow and all season tires
T - 120 mph    - for snow and all season tires
H - 130 mph    - for performance tires
V - 149 mph    - for performance tires
Z - 169+ mph

Even if you have no intention of driving at speeds of 130 mph or more, tires with a high-speed rating are still better performers at slower speeds. While snow tires and most all-season tires perform well with a Q, S or T speed rating, performance tires should have at least an H speed rating.

Choosing a Tractor
Nowadays, modern tractors feature everything from enclosed cabs, heating and air conditioning, televisions, global positioning systems, stereos and DVD players. Creature comforts along with increases in horsepower, four-wheel drives will be things that will have an impact on your decision to buy a tractor. Choosing a tractor is like choosing a computer. As with everything else, your choice is going to be a choice between quality and price. Like a computer, you decide what you want it for, select the software you'll need, then choose the best machine to run that software. With a tractor, it makes sense to start with a list of what things you want it to do, how often they need to be done, and how much time they will take. Make a list of the extra features that you think will make that job easier to do and compare the price with a barebones tractor. Some tasks may be important enough to demand that you get a specialized tractor that was built specifically for that task. Other tasks may be so infrequent that you can rent the tractor to do the job, or adapt implements that are less than ideal. Once you have a list of the implements that you need, figure out how big a tractor you need to use those implements on your place.

Choosing an Industrial Chiller
With the overflow of low cost foreign chillers into the North American market, choosing one of these chillers for your injection molding process appears to be a no-brainer. Not so fast. While these low cost chillers might be appear to be cheaper, they could end up costing you a lot more in the long run. Though pretty to look at, with a nice outer shell or cover, these chillers were not built to last, are unreliable, easily damaged, and hard to fix.

Before you decide to buy one of these chillers, here are some things to think about:

Construction
Parts & Labor
When you buy an imported chiller, more often than not, the parts or components that make up that system are manufactured offshore and cannot be found at your local refrigeration or electrical wholesaler. This is a major problem when the chiller breaks down and a component needs to be replaced. It's much better to go with a chiller whose components are 100% North American and are built using local labor. All the service parts will be readily available from local refrigeration and electrical wholesalers, which means that you won't have any problem replacing a defective part saving you time and money.

Material:
The material used to construct a chiller is critical for durable reliability. Many of the chillers that are imported into North America are often listed as being 100% stainless steel construction. This is not always the case. Some will have stainless steel frames and pumps, but plastic or fiberglass tanks that can crack. Make sure your chiller is 100% stainless steel and you can't go wrong.

Appearance: industrial chillers were not meant to be pretty. They were designed for industrial duty under industrial conditions. They are not easily damaged and don't rust.

Components: if you want a long lasting trouble free chiller, make sure that it has the following components. In order to reduce costs a lot of chiller manufactures will leave them out.
1. Oversized Condenser - one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to go with a chiller that uses an undersized condenser. This can be very hard on the compressor. While this can save you some money in the short term, choosing an oversized condenser makes for a long lasting compressor. Also try to pick a condenser that is designed to operate in extreme conditions, i.e., above 115° F plant temperature and as low as -20° F ambient temperature. There are a lot of chillers out there that rarely offers a condenser that can operate at this ambient temperature.
2. Oversized Evaporator - choose a chiller with an evaporator designed to operate with glycol solutions as low as -45° F, or at any temperature in between.
3. Properly Selected Compressor - the compressor should match the condenser/evaporator for the highest efficiency and lowest consumption of energy.
4. Pumps - choose a pump that is designed to operate in high ambient temperatures as well as pumping low temperature solutions, i.e., - 45° F.
4. Stainless Steel Components - make sure you ask if the chiller is 100% stainless steel. This is includes the tank as well as the pump and frame. Some manufactures will say that their chiller is 100% stainless steel and forget to tell you that the tank is plastic or fiberglass.
5. Liquid line solenoid - if your chiller is going to be used under extreme conditions, you should think about getting this device since it protects the compressor from migrating refrigerant.
6. Filter Dryer - once again this is another device that protects the compressor from debris and other forms of contamination in the refrigeration system.
7. Hot Gas By-Pass with Shut Off Valve - reduces the capacity of the chiller by approximately 60% which prevents the compressor from short cycling.
8. Crank Compressor and Heater - this is a must have feature as it boils the refrigerant out protecting the compressor.
9. Freeze Thermostat - this protects the evaporator from freezing in extremely cold temperatures.
10. Water Flow Switch - get this if your chiller is located in extremely cold temperatures. It protects the evaporator from freezing.
11. Evaporator Water Inlet Strainer - since most industrial environments are extremely dirty and dusty, this feature will protect the evaporator from dirt and debris in the water piping.
12. Non-Rusting Water Piping - our pipe can be plastic or stainless steel with galvanized steel fittings.
13. Chiller Control Panels are ESA and CSA approved.

Engineering
Its hard to find a chiller manufacturer with enough engineering experience. Most manufacturers haven't spent enough time developing their chillers which makes their engineering prone to failure. Try to choose a chiller manufacturer with over 25 years of experience manufacturing chilling systems for a variety of industries and unique conditions. Their chillers will be built with superior engineering making them easy to service, to install and to use.

Easy to Service - choose a chiller whose components are located for easy for service. Unlike many of the imported chillers, who save money by putting the cooling coil in the tank, or the evaporator in the tank, choose a chiller that makes it easy to access these components for easy and quick service. Otherwise, with the coil or evaporator in the tank, you basically have to throw away the whole tank.

Easy to Install - because some chillers are designed as cheaply as possible, they are often difficult to install. A well designed chiller might cost you more, but it will be easy to install saving you a lot of money on labor.

Easy to Use - User Friendly? On our ACP and WCP series we offer communication with the chiller over the web for troubleshooting diagonistics.

Efficiency
To offer low cost chillers, many manufacturing companies will avoid installing components that are energy efficient. Look for a chiller with a compressor, condenser and evaporator, that matches the highest efficiencies today (lowest energy consumption). The best way to lower your energy consumption is to get an oversized evaporator and condenser to give lower condensing temperatures at a higher suction temperature. This might cost you more in the beginning, but will be greater savings in the long run. Avoid those chillers using a standard condensing unit that condenses at a higher temperature, and that use a nominal designed evaporator for lower efficiency.

Service
You can always tell when a manufacturer offers a better chiller when their warranty is 2 years on parts and 5 years on compressor parts. Anyone who offers a 1 year parts and labor warranty and charges extra for the four year compressor is someone to avoid. Also look for a company that offers a 24 hour toll free number to answer your questions and promises quick and reliable delivery (immediately from stock or 2 to 4 weeks if otherwise).

the chiller manufacturer will need to know more about your process and what kind of equipment you already have.

Process: a manufacturer needs to know certain things about your process in order to size the process pumps and tank size.

1. What type of process or process equipment needs to be cooled?
2. Is there one large machine or many smaller machines to be cooled?
3. What is the lowest temperature required by the process?
4. What is the total flow required by the process?
5. Is the process flow varying or constant?
6. What is the maximum water pressure required by the process?

Plant Environment and Equipment: a manufacturer will also need know something about the facility or plant, its general layout, conditions and existing equipment in order to select the type of cooling equipment.

1. Is there an existing cooling tower, and if so, how much free capacity does it have?

• If there is enough free capacity on the cooling tower and the process requires 85° F (or higher) water, add the new cooling load to the existing cooling tower.
• If there is enough free capacity on the cooling tower and the process requires 60° F (or lower) water, a water cooled chiller should be used - add its condenser load to the existing cooling tower.
• If no cooling tower exists, and the process will be cooled by 85° F water or higher, a cooling tower system should be used.
• If a cooler temperature is required, i. e., less than 60° F, a chiller must be used.
• If chilling is required but there is no cooling tower, the chiller must be air cooled.

2. What are the existing conditions in the plant, i.e., is it a clean environment?
3. What is the maximum air temperature during the summer months?
4. Where is the chiller going to be located? Outdoor or Indoor, by a loading door.
5. What is your power source: voltage or hertz?
6. Do you expect to expand your process in the future? .

Here are some more things to consider when purchasing a chiller or even an entire chilling system

Material: The first thing you should think about when buying a chiller is the kind of material that is used to make the chiller. A popular trend in the construction of chillers today is the switch to stainless steel. Chillers can be supplied with stainless steel frames, panels, pumps, tanks, evaporators and in some cases water piping. There is no painting required if stainless steel is used saving our environment from the noxious paint and solvent fumes. Components: Try to make sure that the components of the chiller are standard "off-the-shelf" components from major corporations who specialized in the supply of refrigeration components like compressors, valves, electronics, pumps, etc. You want your chiller components to be available from local refrigeration electrical and pump wholesalers, not only from the manufacturer.
Efficiency: With the cost of energy as it is, the cost of buying a chiller has to be compared with the money you save on energy over the length of period that you plan on using the chiller. Check the EER rating (Energy Efficiency Ratio) of the chiller, the higher the number, the less energy will be used to drive the compressor. Note: that in order to achieve a higher EER rating, the chiller evaporator and condenser will need to be oversized which raises the cost of the chiller.
Operation: Chiller controls should be easy to read and use, the chiller should be "user friendly".
Maintenance: The major components on the chiller should be placed for easy access for inspection, service or replacement. Avoid small-compact units because they will cost you more in the long run as the whole unit has to be dismantled to get at a major component for inspection or service. Also, avoid chillers with a "cooling coil" in the tank, these units cost less to initially purchase but will cost you more in the long run to service since you can not get access to the cooling coil in a sealed tank.
Warranty: One way a manufactures stands behind their equipment is with the warranty offered. Nowadays 5 year compressor warrantees are standard with industrial portable chillers, 1 to 2 year parts warranty on the balance of the unit is available. 3 to 5 years on electronic boards, or life time flat fee for repair of electronic boards. Check out what is being offered before you purchase your next chiller or chilling system.
Price vs Service: Sometimes price is not the only consideration when it comes to buying industrial equipment such as a chiller. Good service, quick delivery, quality parts are also extremely important. Buying the cheapest unit might not be the best choice especially if delivery times are unreliable, service is questionable, i.e., you have to wait forever for the manufacturer to return your calls or your concerns are not met.

Selecting a Small Engine
Whether you are looking for a small engine to replace your existing engine, or you're buying it for your latest invention, you need to know what horsepower you are replacing or require, what application you are going to use it for, crankshaft size, and the dimensions of the engine you are replacing or adding to a piece of equipment.

It is imperative that you think about what you are using the engine for. If you are just going to be using it around the house, a standard engine should be sufficient. But if it is going to have an industrial application, think about an engine with a cast iron cylinder sleeves which should be able to handle all the rough and strenuous conditions.

Here are seven other things to consider:

1) Electronic Start or Manual Start, i.e., by pulling a rope,
2) Overhead Valves (OHV) which make the engine operate with greater efficiency,
3) V-twin design which means less engine vibration and better engine performance,
4) Low oil level system which prevents the operation of the engine when it is low on oil,
5) Mechanical Governor for automatically adjusting the speed for the load, (more reliable than a pneumatic governor),
6) Splash Lubrication System for distributing oil to moving engine parts extending the life expectancy of the engine,
7) Gear Ratio for matching engine speed with the application.

Buying a Chainsaw
The chain saw is typically thought of as only a tool for the lumberjack or for cutting down large trees. Electric chain saws, however, have changed that perception. A chain saw is a handy tool for anyone who works with wood or small trees. Made using lighter materials, chain saws are also becoming much lighter, more reliable and powerful at the same time. Whether you're in the logging business, a tree owner, an occasional woodcutter or a limb trimmer, a chain saw will save you time and a lot of hard work. As always efficiency, power and performance are key features to consider when making your buying decision. Weight, ease of use and maintenance are also important issues. It is also a good idea to think about the types of jobs that you will be using the saw for and whether a gas or electric saw would be the best solution for you.

Electric Chain Saws
An electric saw is probably your best bet if you are only an occasional user with light work requirements. Electric saws are lightweight and easy to start, not as noisy, emit no exhaust and require little maintenance (no spark plugs, no air filter, no gas/oil mixture). The biggest disadvantage is the lack of mobility or portability. You will be restricted to locations where there is electricity. Think about getting a long and durable extension cord. Just remember that electric saws have less power and will increase you sawing time. They may be ideal for prunning and limbing, but were never designed for cutting down large trees.

Gas Chain Saws
The power and freedom of a gas operated chainsaw is a temptation that most of us should ignore. Gas powered saws are heavier than electric saws, require more maintenance and mechanical know-how and are usually more expensive. With more power, they are also more dangerous and should be used with caution. Gas operated saws are idea for farmers, landscapers, tree growers, orchard owners and others who saw regularly but are not professional lumberjacks. Gas chain saws are also designed with more powerful engines and feature longer bar lengths for heavier jobs.

Cutting Bar
A chain saw's bar length will determine the cutting tasks the saw can perform:
14in. - Usually light-duty use
16in. - General-purpose use
18in. - Large jobs on the farm or rural use
20in. - Heavy-duty cutting of large-diameter wood; frequent use

Engine Size
The larger the cutting job, the longer the bar length and bigger the engine. An engine's power is often stated in horsepower (HP), while its size is listed in either cubic centimeters (cc) or cubic inches.

Additional Features
Anti-Vibration System - Reduces engine vibration through the handle
Chain Brake - Stops chain in the event of kickback
Chain Oiler - Automatically or manually lubricates the chain
Clean Air System - Reduces the amount of dust and debris that enters the engine.

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