No fees, no broker
K-Factor: Choosing the Right Rating for a Harmonic Load
A working guide for Ohio sellers: what decides the number and how the unit leaves.
What we buy
What we buy here
K-Factor: Choosing the Right Rating for a Harmonic Load is one of those subjects where the wrong assumption is expensive and the right one takes ten minutes. A demolition pickup is fast, dirty and often the most profitable, because the alternative is a unit in a rubble pile. A seller with a deadline should say so early, because the schedule is built around the date rather than the unit.
The last step is the one people rush, so confirm the unit is de-energised, isolated and grounded before anyone opens a door. Most of what a buyer needs to know is stamped on a plate the size of a postcard. The unit is the easy part; the site, the access and the paperwork are where the time goes.
Who we buy from
Six kinds of seller, one desk
- Recyclers
- Electrical contractors
- Equipment dealers
- End users
- Demo contractors
- Distributors
Fast offers
A nameplate photo is usually enough to price a unit the same day.
Dedicated logistics
We arrange the crane, the permits and the flatbed, not you.
No broker fees
You are dealing with the buyer, so nothing is shaved off the offer.
How it works
Six steps from your yard to the money
- 01
Take pictures
The nameplate, the cabinet interior and the tank in daylight. Three photographs are usually enough to place a unit in the right class and the right price band.
- 02
Send them to us
The form on this page, a text or an email all reach the same desk. Include the city, the access and any deadline the site is working to.
- 03
Review the offer
A buyer reads the photographs, asks one or two questions and sends a written offer with the assumptions stated, so nothing changes on the day.
- 04
We schedule freight
Crane, flatbed and permits are booked around your access. You get a date and a window, and we carry the cost of getting it right.
- 05
Testing on arrival
Winding resistance, megger and turns ratio, plus oil analysis where the unit is liquid filled. The results decide the final number, and you see them.
- 06
Get paid
Payment is released on the agreed terms once the unit is received and tested, by check or ACH. No retention, no sixty-day terms.
What we handle for you
The parts sellers dread, done for you
Rigging
Crane and forklift arranged around your access, not the other way round.
Oil containment
Bunds, absorbent and disposal handled before the unit moves.
Bill of sale
A clean title document for your records, signed on collection.
PCB paperwork
Pre-1979 units get the testing and the manifest they need.
Guide
The ratings
K-4 suits a load with modest harmonic content, which covers most office and retail buildings. K-13 suits a heavier concentration, which is typical of a data hall or a floor full of drives. K-20 and above suit the most demanding loads, where almost everything on the circuit is a rectifier.
A seller should be able to tell, from one phone call, whether the buyer has done this before. A purchase is a handover of risk as much as a handover of metal.
How the number is derived
The K-factor is calculated from the harmonic spectrum of the load, weighted by the square of the harmonic order. A unit built to a K-rating has a larger neutral, parallel conductors and a core designed for eddy losses. Two units of the same kVA can have very different K-ratings, which changes what each can carry.
A buyer who cannot say where the unit will go is a broker, and brokers add a day and a deduction. A buying desk earns its keep by answering quickly, because a seller with a unit in the way is not looking for a relationship.
Buying and selling
A K-rated unit is worth more than a standard unit of the same size when the buyer has a harmonic load. A standard unit in a data hall is a warranty problem waiting to happen, which is why buyers ask for the K-rating first. The K-rating is printed on the nameplate, so a photograph settles the question.
The practical rule
Checklist for k-factor: choosing the right rating for a harmonic load
Questions about k-factor: choosing the right rating for a harmonic load
Related guides
Get started
Get an offer in minutes
Five fields and a phone number is all we need to start. We reply the same business day, and a firm number follows the nameplate photo.
(614) 715-3047or send the form and we will call you.
Questions
What sellers ask before they call
Equipment types
Does k-factor: choosing the right rating for a harmonic load change what a transformer is worth?
A K-rated unit is worth more than a standard unit of the same size when the buyer has a harmonic load. The K-rating is printed on the nameplate, so a photograph settles the question.
Service area
Where does a seller start with k-factor: choosing the right rating for a harmonic load?
K-13 suits a heavier concentration, which is typical of a data hall or a floor full of drives. A unit described honestly sells faster than one described optimistically, because the second one gets renegotiated.
Payment
Is k-factor: choosing the right rating for a harmonic load part of what a buyer checks on site?
If more than a third of the load is electronic, specify a K-rated unit rather than gambling on a standard one. If more than a third of the load is electronic, specify a K-rated unit rather than gambling on a standard one.
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