Atlas Copco Compressor
Parts Supplier
Two-stage piston starting-air compressors — LT · LT KE series
Atlas Copco compressor codes seen in engine-room enquiries
Atlas Copco's marine starting-air compressors are two-stage, oil-lubricated LT piston machines in two builds. The air-cooled range (LT 3 to LT 20 in Atlas Copco's marine brochure) has a full aluminium V-block with a cooling fan; the water-cooled range (LT 25 to LT 125), which Atlas Copco markets as LT KE and states it developed with Bumhan of Korea, is cast iron with water-cooled air coolers. The letters KE appear in the type codes of both electrically driven builds, so the frame number after LT — not the letters — shows which machine is fitted, and confirming it is the first step on any enquiry.
LT series
LT is the two-stage oil-lubricated piston range built for starting air, with LE naming the lower-pressure piston range in the same programme and LF its oil-free counterpart. On the air-cooled LT, Atlas Copco fits a flexi-disc valve system with stainless-steel inlet and outlet valve plates, splash lubrication, a stainless water separator with check valve and a solenoid valve for auto drain and unloaded start; valve plates and assemblies, piston ring sets, gasket and seal kits and that solenoid valve are the recurring lines. The frame number in the type code is what the parts follow.
LT KE
Atlas Copco markets its water-cooled cast iron starting-air range as LT KE (LT 25 to LT 125) and states that it was developed together with Bumhan of Korea. It can be cooled with sea water or fresh water and carries water-cooled air coolers, auto drain valves on both stages, a built-in oil-water separator and a cooling-water inlet solenoid valve. Because the smaller air-cooled electric units also carry KE in their type code, state the frame number and the cooling actually fitted before valves, rings or cooler parts are quoted.
Valve, ring and gasket sets
On a starting air compressor the parts that decide whether the main engine turns are the valve assemblies, the rings and the gaskets, and they are ordered as sets against the compressor serial. Add the safety valve, the unloader and the oil level items to the same list, since a stripped machine is open only once.
Reading an Atlas Copco compressor code
An Atlas Copco marine type code such as LT 15-30 KE gives the series, the frame number, a pressure class after the dash and closing letters. In Atlas Copco's marine brochure every electrically driven LT, air-cooled or water-cooled, ends in KE, while the diesel-driven air-cooled units end in KHe or KHh. The frame number, not the letters, separates the air-cooled aluminium build from the water-cooled cast iron one, so the full code is read off the plate.
Where an Atlas Copco compressor enquiry actually gets stuck
Two things usually hold an Atlas Copco enquiry up. The first is reading KE as the mark of the water-cooled build: the letters appear on air-cooled and water-cooled electric units alike, yet the two are different machines with their own cooler, valve and ring parts, so the frame number decides. The second is ordering wear items individually instead of as the sets they actually come apart in: valves, rings and gaskets on a starting air compressor are stripped together, so a request for one item alone usually returns with a question about the rest of the set. Where the service air comes from a screw machine rather than a piston one (Atlas Copco's marine screw range is MAS), say so on the request: the wear items become the screw element, the oil separator and the filters instead of valves and rings.
- Valve plates & valve assemblies
- Piston ring sets
- Gasket & seal kits
- Cooler elements
- Safety valve & unloader
- Oil level items
- Complete overhaul kits by frame size and execution
Valve, ring and gasket wear travels together on a starting air compressor, so the request is built as a set against the compressor serial rather than one part at a time.
Reciprocating starting-air compressor — general arrangement
A licensed photograph of Atlas Copco equipment was not available at publication, so this technical reference illustrates the general arrangement shared by this equipment class.
Illustrative technical reference, not a photograph of Atlas Copco equipment or a Vessel Core installed reference — a licensed photo of this maker's equipment was not available. Vessel Core has no dealership, distribution or partnership agreement with Atlas Copco; it operates as an independent spare parts supplier.
Plate data that makes an Atlas Copco enquiry quotable
The compressor's own plate is the fastest route to a correct match. With the items below an enquiry can usually be priced in one pass; without them it comes back with a clarifying question first. How a plate photograph becomes a priced list is set out on the how we work page.
- Full type code exactly as on the plate, e.g. LT 15-30 KE — frame number, pressure class and closing letters
- Frame number from the type code — it separates the air-cooled LT 3–20 from the water-cooled LT 25–125
- Compressor serial number
- Cooling method actually fitted — air-cooled with fan, or water-cooled, and whether the cooling water is sea or fresh
- Drive — electric motor or diesel engine (diesel-driven air-cooled units carry KHe or KHh)
- Photograph of the compressor plate and of the part being requested
Tools for this equipment: the pressure gauge selector for the stage gauges and the thread identifier for the pipe and drain connections. For the air receivers on the same system, the air receiver calculator works out the filling time from the receiver volume, the two pressures and the compressor delivery. Where the delivery itself is the question, the receiver fill test calculator gives it from a timed fill: the receiver volume, the pressure at the start and at the end, and the minutes it took.
Supply route review for Atlas Copco compressor equipment.
Two machines sharing the same leading letters, and wear parts that come apart as a set rather than one at a time — the full type code, the execution and the compressor serial get settled before anything else.
Full type code read before quoting
KE appears on both air-cooled and water-cooled electric units, so a request is read against the complete type code and frame number rather than the closing letters alone.
Cooling method confirmed
Air-cooled aluminium and water-cooled cast iron builds under the same LT letters take different valve, ring and cooler parts, so which is actually fitted is confirmed before quoting.
Wear items quoted as a set
Valves, rings and gaskets on a starting air compressor are stripped together, so the request is built as a set against the compressor serial rather than reopened part by part.
Safety and unloader items included
The safety valve, unloader and oil level items are added to the same list as the valve and ring set rather than raised as a separate, later enquiry.
Frame size read from the type code
Valve assemblies, piston rings and gaskets follow the frame number in the type code, so the code is read in full rather than assumed from the letters alone.
Estonian company, registered in Tallinn
Vessel Core OÜ trades from Tallinn as an Estonian company, Reg. 17028043, VAT EE102773714. A compressor component typically travels as hand-carry with a joining engineer; larger overhaul sets are crated. Supply route, handover option and documentation are confirmed in the quotation.
Atlas Copco compressor parts — questions from the engine room
Which Atlas Copco compressor codes come up most often in spare-parts requests?
The LT range leads — the two-stage oil-lubricated piston compressor built for starting air, with LE naming the lower-pressure piston range. It comes as an air-cooled aluminium build (LT 3 to LT 20) and a water-cooled cast iron build that Atlas Copco markets as LT KE (LT 25 to LT 125). Send the full type code — frame number and closing letters — exactly as stamped before a parts list is worked up.
Why is it important to confirm which LT execution is fitted?
The air-cooled aluminium LT and the water-cooled cast iron LT KE are different machines, yet the electrically driven units of both carry KE in their type codes. Valves, rings and cooler parts differ between the two, so the frame number and the cooling actually installed are confirmed before anything is quoted.
What parts are ordered together on an Atlas Copco starting-air compressor?
The valve assemblies, rings and gaskets that decide whether the main engine turns are ordered as sets against the compressor serial, since a stripped machine is open only once. The safety valve, unloader and oil level items are commonly added to the same list rather than ordered separately later.
What should an Atlas Copco compressor spare-parts RFQ contain?
A workable request lists the full type code with the frame number, the cooling actually fitted (air-cooled, or water-cooled and whether sea or fresh water), the drive, and the compressor serial number. A photograph of the compressor plate and of the part being requested settles most of the remaining questions in one pass.
Is Vessel Core connected to Atlas Copco?
No, and there is no agreement of any kind. Vessel Core holds no dealership, distribution, representation or partnership agreement with Atlas Copco, and quoting a component against one of its designations implies no approval by the maker and no claim of interchangeability.
Send the compressor plate and the strip-down list.
Send the full type code including execution letters, the frame size, and the compressor serial. We work back from that evidence to the correct parts list before a quotation is prepared.
