A wise man (Jason McWilliams, Director of Sales at NFE) once said, “Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall. Torque is how much of the wall you take with you.” That’s a great way to sum up the difference between horsepower and torque. In the world of surface prep, when you’re removing flooring, torque is king, followed closely by tooling choice, and power.
Horsepower Gets You Moving. Torque Gets the Job Done.
Horsepower (HP) is all about speed, how quickly your machine can apply power. Torque, on the other hand, is about twisting force. It’s what gives your ride-on scraper the grunt to push through glued-down carpet, thick coatings, or tile that just doesn’t want to come up.
National designs Ride-on scrapers with the torque, size, and power to tackle any jobsite. Across our riders, the motor, hydraulic pump, wheel motors, and tooling have been designed to complement each other and deliver high production rates. When these are dialed in they deliver a high torque rate, which gives the machine more force to apply to the surface. Add the right tooling into the mix, and you eliminate the need to make multiple passes in the work.
In Removal Work, Speed Can Work Against You.
Typically, the harder the material, the slower the removal. Some soft goods like carpet and VCT can fly off the ground in wide open spaces with a fast machine. Fast Ride-on Scrapers are fun until it’s time to slow it down and get into the work. Keeping your blade in the work is about speed variability, but also requires high torque ratings and versatile tooling.
Ideally? You Want Both.
The sweet spot is a ride-on scraper that balances horsepower and torque. That’s how you get a fast-moving, responsive machine that also delivers the force you need to get through heavy material the first time.