How To Choose The Right Dryer For My Air Compressor?

Air compressors use the pressure of a certain amount to compress air for various applications. The compressed air is used in a variety of applications and the type of air required for every industry is different. The compressed air usually accumulates water while it’s stored and the moisture is not good when the air is used. According to industrial air manufacturers, excess moisture from the compressed air needs to be removed before using it for the desired purpose.

As mentioned earlier, every industry uses different levels of dried air and that’s why there are different types of air dryers. The efficiency, cost, and complexity of all types of dryers are different. Depending on the type of manufacturing unit you have, your dryer requirement will differ. But, to choose the right one, you need to know every dryer so that you can choose one that not only fits your present needs but also stays useful in future. Everyone has future plans, right? 

Refrigerated Dryers

Some applications require dry air, but there is no critical point to reach. They require air that’s not too wet or which is sufficiently moistureless to be called dry. Such applications can use refrigerated dryers. A refrigerator dryer is a cost-effective option if you don’t need to follow standard dry air levels. Refrigerated dryers are of two types: 

Non-cycling dryer: The most on budget dryer for your compressor is a non-cycling refrigerated dryer. As the name suggests, the dryer is not operated in cycles. It operates constantly with hot gas bypass valves to lower the temperature of compressed air to 3° Celcius. The water drops out from the vapour state leaving the compressed air dry.

Cycling dryer: The dryer is a bit more expensive than the non-cycling one but then it’s energy-efficient. Your investment will be paid after some time. It comes with thermal mass and frequency controllers and works in cycles. It turns on and off as per the demand and that makes it a user-friendly and reliable option. 

Integrated Dryers 

Dry air levels are not the only thing that one needs to consider. Sometimes, the manufacturing unit is too small to contain a dryer and that is a serious problem because wet compressed air is of no use. To avoid the issue, the compressed air dryer manufacturers have designed integrated dryers. 

The integrated dryers are a blessing when there is a space issue. The manufacturers offer an integrated dryer with the air compressor itself and that makes everything so easy to go. You must not worry that an integrated dryer will not work properly, it works the best in removing moisture and has proved successful for many industries. 

Buying an integrated dryer compressor has to be an early choice so that you don’t end up buying a compressor first and then a compressor dryer afterwards. But, the best thing is, you don’t need to worry about the installation process or cost of such dryers and it saves your space as well.

But, before you finalize this one, make sure you have analysed your requirements and the back benefits of other dryers as well.

Desiccant Dryers

Refrigerated air dryers can cool air up to 3-5°Celcius, which is sufficient for a large number of applications. Still, it doesn’t cover all the applications and that’s where the need for a more efficient dryer comes in. 

Desiccant dryers can reach critical standards of drying with their ability to achieve up to -70°Celcius. They provide you with completely dry and clean air which is the demand for a number of industries. Such dryers are more expensive .

The dryer makes use of desiccant beads that absorb moisture from the compressed air. The beads are then dried with help of dry purge air or heat or sometimes both. Depending on the use of purge air, heat or both, the dryers are named heated or heatless desiccant dryers. 

These were the types of dryer options you have and their benefits. You can choose any of them after understanding what they do and what you need for your