New 2026 price points for degassing and refining equipment cluster into three bands: compact rotary degassers at roughly USD 8,000-25,000 for 200-500 kg aluminium-batch operations, mid-capacity in-line rotor stations at USD 30,000-60,000, and large foundry melt-treatment packages at USD 60,000-80,000+ once refractory lining, gas-train and PLC panels are added [S1].
The spread is driven less by pump and motor hardware than by the refractory specification (alumina-silica vs high-alumina vs magnesia spinel), rotor-shaft material (graphite vs SiC-coated steel), gas-train scope (argon, nitrogen, Cl-free flux) and the degassing unit's process-control level. A bare degassing-unit shell with a single-graphite rotor lands near the low end; a turnkey degassing and refining unit with rotary-degasser, heating, flux-injection and SCADA routinely sits in the upper band [S1].
Three equipment classes and their 2026 price bands
Rotary degassers built around a 200-500 kg aluminium crucible dominate the small foundry segment, with body-and-rotor packages priced at roughly USD 8,000-25,000 before the gas-train is added [S1]. The same product class shares most of its process architecture with the deeper procurement path discussed in the Degassing & Refining Unit Buying Guide 2026 — refractory, rotor and gas-train gates repeat across sizes.
In-line rotor stations (SNIF / MINT / AlPur family) sized for 10-60 t/h continuous treatment fall in the USD 30,000-60,000 band for the vessel, twin-graphite rotors and a basic 4-20 mA gas panel [S1]. Once integrated into a 1,000-3,000 kg hydraulic power unit driven tilting frame with PLC and emission hood, the same station lands at USD 60,000-80,000+ with the refractory, gas-train and commissioning absorbed [S1].
Lance-type flux-injection units for 500-2,000 kg ladles are the lowest-cost entry point at roughly USD 5,000-15,000 for the manipulator, lance and vibration drive, and are typically retrofitted onto existing ladle-transfer linear guides rather than bought as a complete station [S1].
Spec gates that move the number
Four specification gates are responsible for most of the price slippage between 200 kg and 3,000 kg stations: rotor-and-shaft material, refractory grade, gas-train scope, and the level of process automation. [S1]
Rotor-and-shaft material is the single largest per-station variable. Standard graphite rotors are baseline; SiC-coated or silicon-infiltrated SiC rotors extend service life roughly 2-3x in molten aluminium at 720-760 °C, and add 15-30 % to the rotor-and-shaft line [S1]. A foundry running 24/7 dual-shift melt typically recovers that premium inside one or two maintenance intervals.
Refractory grade is the second lever. Lining life is typically rated in number of heats or campaign hours before re-patching.
Gas-train scope is the third lever. A pure-argon train with a single rotameter and a needle valve adds roughly USD 1,500-3,000; a dual-gas (Ar + N₂) train with mass-flow controllers, O₂ analyser and chlorine-free flux dosing can add USD 6,000-15,000 on top of the station price [S1]. Foundries producing aerospace or extrusion-billet alloys with strict hydrogen and inclusion targets usually cannot meet the spec with a rotameter-only train.
Comparison: rotary vs in-line vs lance at 200 / 1,000 / 3,000 kg
Side-by-side at three crucible sizes, the 2026 cost-per-kg-treated favours rotary units at the low end and in-line stations at the high end, with lance units in a niche [S1].
At 200 kg batch (typical jobbing foundry), a rotary degasser with single graphite rotor costs roughly USD 8,000-12,000 turnkey, a lance-injection unit is roughly USD 5,000-8,000, and an in-line rotor station is not used at this size. Capital per kg per heat works out near USD 40-60.
At 1,000 kg batch (mid-size foundry, extrusion-billet caster), rotary units are USD 18,000-30,000, in-line rotor stations USD 35,000-55,000, and lance units USD 8,000-14,000. Hydrogen-target consistency favours the in-line station for foundries holding ±0.05 ml/100 g tolerances.
At 3,000 kg batch (automotive or aerospace caster, continuous melt-treatment), rotary units are uncommon because bath geometry is poor, in-line rotor stations are USD 60,000-80,000+ turnkey, and lance units are still USD 12,000-18,000 but used only as a supplementary inclusion-flux step rather than a primary hydrogen-removal station [S1].
Who this equipment is for — and who it is not for
Foundries and casters running 200-1,000 kg aluminium batches in gravity- or low-pressure casting are the primary fit for a compact rotary degasser with single-graphite rotor; the capex per kg treated is in the USD 30-60 range and the maintenance profile (rotor swap, refractory patch) matches small-shop throughput [S1].
Continuous caster operations above 10 t/h with strict hydrogen and inclusion limits are the fit for in-line rotor stations with twin-graphite rotors, mass-flow gas control and a full PLC/HMI panel; capex per kg is in the USD 20-40 range but the hydrogen floor is materially lower than rotary-only treatment [S1].
This equipment is not a fit for ferrous foundries, where the term "degassing unit" means a different machine class entirely (ladle vacuum-degassing, stream-droplet RH, etc.); the rotary/in-line aluminium units discussed here are not interchangeable with vacuum-degassing or RH degassers used in steel plants. The economics also break down for sub-100 kg jewellery or art-foundry batches, where a low-cost lance-injection unit or a small-batch rotary will outperform a USD 30,000+ in-line station by a wide margin [S1].
Operating cost and consumables that move the TCO
Operating cost is dominated by three line items: argon or nitrogen consumption, rotor and refractory wear, and the flux or Cl-free additive dosing, all of which scale with metal throughput rather than capital [S1].
Argon usage for hydrogen-stripping in molten aluminium is typically rated at 0.5-2.0 m³ per ton of metal per degassing cycle, depending on rotor speed, bath depth and the target hydrogen level. Nitrogen can replace argon for non-critical hydrogen control at roughly 30-50 % of the gas-line cost, but is not acceptable for alloys where nitride formation is a spec failure [S1].
Graphite rotor life is typically 200-500 cycles in standard alumina-silica service, and can be extended roughly 2-3x with SiC-coated rotors at the 15-30 % capex premium noted earlier; refractory lining life is typically 6-18 months in continuous service and is the main scheduled-maintenance line [S1].
Flux or chlorine-free additive dosing is a chemistry-and-throughput cost, not a capex item, and varies widely by alloy and cleanliness target. Foundries specifying the same degassing and refining unit for multiple alloy families typically run a higher flux budget than single-alloy shops, and this should be priced into any capex-vs-utility comparison.
Standards, sourcing and what to verify at the quote
The most common failure mode on a 2026 degassing-and-refining-unit purchase is a quote that prices the vessel and rotors but leaves the gas-train, refractory pre-heat station and PLC to add-ons; the headline USD 8,000-25,000 range for a 200-500 kg rotary refers to the complete turnkey station with gas-train and basic controls [S1].
Procurement best practice in 2026 is to lock four line items before signing: (1) rotor material and supplier (graphite grade and whether SiC coating is in scope), (2) refractory grade and lining life in heats or months, (3) gas-train scope including mass-flow controllers and O₂ analyser where specified, and (4) control-level scope including PLC brand, HMI screens, and whether the station ships with a pre-heat and bake-out cycle programmed [S1].
China remains the dominant manufacturing base for compact and mid-capacity degassing and refining units in 2026, with a 4-6 week lead time for a 200-500 kg rotary and 8-14 weeks for a 1,000-3,000 kg in-line station from PO to FAT. Comparable European-built stations typically add 30-60 % to the headline capex and extend lead time to 12-20 weeks, mainly on refractory and rotor-shaft supply. These ranges are general sourcing norms; specific quotations should be requested with the four line items above locked in scope.
For foundries also evaluating ancillary material handling, the sand reclamation unit and crossed-roller guide paths are adjacent capex lines and are often reviewed in the same procurement cycle as a new degassing and refining unit. Foundries comparing new-melt treatment to existing-melt retrofit, or weighing rotary vs in-line vs lance options, should also consult the Degassing & Refining Unit Buying Guide 2026 for a parallel spec-and-sourcing walkthrough.