Helical and Rotary Blower: What’s the Difference?

Here at Wisco Supply Inc, we have everything you’ll need for your air system. We’ve got valves, compressors, lubricators, regulators, pumps, and many more types of components you may need for your operation. We even have lobe blowers; helical and rotary to be exact, but we sometimes get questions about the two. So we’ve decided to give a quick explainer about the differences between a helical and a rotary lobe blower.

Rotary Lobe Blower

First, we should probably touch on what a lobe blower is. A lobe blower is a device that utilizes two or more parallel pistons rotating in differing directions, with a medium (gas or liquid) flowing into, being compressed, an being discharged from the housing. The blower is powered by a motor of some sort, and can usually be set to a determined speed as required. The rotors never touch, despite popular belief, but a smaller gap is ideal. In the case of a rotary blower, the pistons are rotary-shaped, as the name would suggest. They also can convert large amounts of air, bu the psi is typically on the lower end. Rotary lobe blowers are easier to maintain but can be dangerous if there isn’t a safety valve in place. Overall, rotary blowers are simple and useful, but not very efficient and often are quite loud without a silencer. 

Helical Lobe Blower

A helical blower consists of a main rotor and a secondary rotor, with the main rotor resting in the flute of the secondary rotor. Helical blowers are more intricate, but also more efficient and produce higher pressure values than rotary blowers. This efficiency comes with a cost, as they are more expensive on average than rotary blowers, but are great for gas and air. 

No matter what you’re looking for, Wisco Supply Co. has you covered. Call us today to see which blower is right for you!