When Should A Refrigerant Dryer Be Used?

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Refrigerant Dryer

There are several types of compressed air dryers on the market, and many different applications for drying compressed air. Many industrial and commercial applications for compressed air will be for hand tools or the operation of pneumatic cylinders and valves in an indoor applications. These are referred to as “power” applications. For the most part, these applications require the air to be free of condensate (free liquid), which will impede the tool’s performance and cause corrosion, shortening the life of the tool. Refrigerant air dryers are usually selected for these applications. They remove water vapor from the compressed air by means of cooling the incoming air to a level within the design dew point range, separating the condensate, and then draining it off.

Dew Point Requirement in Power Applications

In most refrigerant dryers (usually 15 CFM capacity and larger), the compressed air is re-heated after the separation stage, providing a

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Why do I Have Water in My Compressed Air Line?

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When air is compressed to approximately 1/7 of it atmospheric volume (for 100 PSIG applications), there is a rise in temperature during the compression phase. This temperature rise allows water vapor in the air to be held in suspension during the compression stage. As a general rule of thumb, air will hold almost double the amount of water vapor in suspension with every 20ºF in temperature rise. This temperature rise is normally anywhere from 170 to 400ºF (76 – 205ºC) depending upon the type of air compressor being used. After compression, the air will cool as it travels through piping, air receivers, and other devices. As the air cools, at some temperature level, (dependent upon the relative humidity of the air at the compressor intake), it will reach its saturation level (100% RH), and further temperature reduction past that point will result in condensate forming in the air line. Most … Read the rest

Protecting Your Regenerative Blower Investment

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Motor Thermistors

In applying your regenerative blower, it is therefore necessary to know the operating conditions for the blower. Most blowers (including APPL’s standard models), include motor winding embedded thermistors for protection of the motor.  On small single phase units, these thermistor leads (in the motor terminal box) should be wired in series with the 115V hot lead supplied to the blower. On larger single phase units (over 15 amp service) and on 3 phase models, the thermistors may be used for pilot duty service only. With these voltages, a motor starter must be used and the thermistor should be wired in series with the contactor control coil circuit. If a VFD is used, an input for is usually provided for a motor fault to which the thermistor could be wired. In addition to the winding embedded motor thermistors, standard starters and VFD’s provide overload protection which will protect the

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About Regenerative Blowers

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Several descriptive names have been used for “regenerative” blowers by different manufacturers, which may include “side channel”, “vortex”, or “ring compressors”. These are basic descriptions of the blowers based on the dynamic motion of the air stream inside the blower housing as it turns in a spiraling effect. As the impeller blades pass the inlet port in the blower, a low pressure area is generated that draws air/gas into the voids between the impeller blades. The air captured in these voids is thrown by centrifugal force from the base of the impeller to the housing perimeter, then is returned by side channels back to the root of the impeller. The shape of the housing side channels creates a spiraling effect in the air, and the process is repeated. With each rotation of the impeller, many complete air movement cycles take place creating a vortex, and pressure is regenerated each time

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Oil-less Air Compressors for Zero Oil Contamination

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A variety of air compressors are available in the market of which oil-less air compressors are used to provide oil-free compressed air. They are used in critical operations, where products or processes could become contaminated if subjected to small amounts of oil. Contamination may result in costly scrapping of product and/or production downtime to clean or purify the system. Oil-less compressors may also be used with additional purifying filtration and safety controls to produce air for breathing applications in industry and medical systems.

oilless compressors

Oil-less reciprocating air compressors consist of dry compression chambers using synthetic self-lubricating guide rings and piston rings. The lower end running gear employs sealed main ball bearings and sealed connecting rod bearings so no oil is used in the crankcase. The complete absence of oil in this design eliminates the possibility of oil migration from the crankcase to compression chambers, which may be a concern in … Read the rest