How to Choose a Compressed Air Dryer for Your Facility

How to Select an Air Dryer

Choosing the right compressed air dryer for your facility is crucial to ensure seamless operations. To select the ideal dryer, it should align with the air production rate of your compressor. This requires you to take into account several considerations:

• Pressure Dew Point: This measures the temperature at which air becomes saturated, causing moisture to form. Determining your ideal pressure dew point helps in picking a dryer that prevents condensation.
• Inlet Air Pressure and Temperature: Understand the incoming air’s conditions to ensure the dryer works optimally.
• Environmental Conditions: The location and conditions in which your air dryer will operate play a significant role. Whether it’s a high-humidity environment or one with fluctuating temperatures, your dryer needs to handle these variables.
• Ambient Air and Water Temperatures: These can impact the efficiency and performance of your air dryer, especially in processes where precise conditions are crucial.
• Maximum Air Flow (scfm): This represents the volume of air your facility processes. Ensuring your air dryer can handle this volume is essential for efficient operations.

For those looking to delve deeper into sizing considerations, read “How to Properly Size a Compressed Air Dryer,” which provides further insights. And if any of these metrics seem daunting, the team at Brabazon is always on hand to assist. Reach out to us for assistance. 

Brabazon’s Range of Compressed Air Dryers

Your operations deserve nothing but the best, and that’s why Brabazon boasts an expansive compressed air dryer selection. We’re proud to feature lines from esteemed brands such as Sullair and Pure-Aire. Whether you’re in the market for refrigerated cycling or non-cycling options or perhaps you’re considering heatless regenerative variations, our selection ensures that you find the perfect fit for your facility’s unique demands.

Step-by-Step Guide to Sizing a Compressed Air Dryer

Selecting the correct dryer for your facility involves more than just matching it to your compressor's nameplate capacity. Here's the process Brabazon's engineers follow when specifying a dryer for Midwest industrial facilities:

Step 1: Determine your actual compressed air flow (CFM)
Your dryer must be sized for the maximum CFM output of your compressor, not your average demand. Using a dryer undersized for peak flow will result in elevated dew points and moisture breakthrough.

Step 2: Identify your required pressure dew point (PDP)
General manufacturing: +35°F to +50°F PDP (refrigerated dryer). Outdoor piping in Midwest winters: 0°F PDP or lower (heated desiccant). Food, pharma, electronics: -40°F PDP (desiccant).

Step 3: Account for correction factors
Standard dryer ratings assume 100°F inlet temperature, 100 PSI operating pressure, and 100°F ambient temperature. If your conditions differ — which they almost always do — you must apply correction factors that effectively derate the dryer's rated capacity.

Step 4: Choose the right dryer technology
Refrigerated cycling or non-cycling for general use. Desiccant (heated or heatless) for critical applications. Membrane for point-of-use in low-flow applications.

Step 5: Consider total cost of ownership
Refrigerated dryers have low operating costs but limited dew point capability. Desiccant dryers achieve deep dew points but consume purge air (heatless) or electrical energy (heated) for regeneration. Brabazon helps you calculate the full 10-year cost of ownership so you make the decision that's best for your budget — not just the lowest upfront price.