Refrigerated Air Dryer Sizing

Refrigerated air dryer selector get the right air quality at the right size.

Refrigerated air dryer sizing. Removing water from a compressed air system is crucial in the majority of applications as water can cause instrument tool damage product spoilage pipe corrosion and higher maintenance costs. As the ambient air temperature increases the refrigerated dryer dissipates heat less effectively which makes the cooling process less efficient leading to a. Then the incoming air enters an air to refrigerant heat exchanger where the air is cooled to 38º f by the liquid refrigerant. In a cooler environment the dryer can dissipate heat more effectively making the cooling process more efficient and increasing the dryer capacity.

When sizing a dryer it s important to understand how temperature and pressure affect water content in the air. To protect your piping tools and equipment it s best to use a compressed air dryer to dry the air. As the ambient air temperature increases the refrigerated dryer dissipates heat less effectively which makes the cooling process less efficient leading to a reduced dryer capacity. The refrigerated air dryer cools the incoming compressed air first in an air to air heat exchanger where the outgoing cool dry air pre cools the hot incoming air and condenses some moisture out.

Air dryers are not the only solution the air dryer suppresses the dew point which removes the bulk of the moisture in the. As a rule of thumb every 20 f rise in inlet air temperature may double the water load on a dryer. While all compressed air dryers can be affected by high ambient temperature because it raises the inlet air temperature see above refrigerated dryers are also affected more directly. If circulating good quality moisture free air in your compressed air system is important it is no less important getting the right sized equipment to do the job.

Understand the pressure limitations to your air dryer. Refrigerated air dryers are the most popular choice in removing condensate water from a compressed air system. Simply enter in your system speciations and select find a dryer and it will return results for dryers that match your. The water vapor content of air varies directly with temperature if temperature increases the air s ability to hold water increases.

If you want your air dried to proper specifications under all conditions then some research is required that may require you to adjust to a larger size. Although it seems obvious sizing a compressed air dryer is not as simple as merely matching the size of the air compressor. Use our dryer sizing tool below to find a refrigerated or desiccant compressed air dryer to fit your compressed air system. By inputting 5 parameters from your application.