Factory Acceptance Checks for a Variable-Speed Rotary Screw Compressor
A buyer's guide to defining pass or fail checks for a 15 kW variable-speed rotary screw compressor, using catalog air delivery figures as reference values and turning them into practical FAT questions.
For a 15 kW variable-speed rotary screw compressor, decide before the factory acceptance test whether pass or fail will be judged at a single duty point or across the speed range. A fixed-speed mindset can hide whether the drive and controls actually modulate as intended.
Ask the supplier to state the test conditions behind the catalog reference values of 2.04 m³/min at 8 bar and 1.93 m³/min at 8.6 bar, and treat those figures as reference values, not guarantees for the supplied model. In the request for quotation, require the measured delivery, pressure, power draw, and speed at each agreed point, with tolerances and instrument accuracy declared in advance.
Useful checks include: does delivery fall within the agreed band at both pressures; does motor power stay within the declared limit; does the controller respond smoothly to changing demand without hunting; and are safety trips, alarms, and unload behavior demonstrated? Define acceptance as recorded numbers against agreed limits, not a visual inspection.
Before requesting a quote, confirm with the supplier which duty points will be tested, the test standard and instruments used, the acceptance tolerances, and whether a witnessed test report will be provided.