Industrial Compressed Air Accessories

[iron_worker]

Hey all,

I'm working for a consulting company as a mechanical engineer. Currently I'm working on an underground mining project. We are looking to purchase a filter, water trap, and dessicant air dryer which is capable of a dew point of -30C or so. The air requirements are fairly low at around 5cfm (just a couple of air actuated valves).

Just wondering if anyone has experience with equipment such as this and what manufacturers can supply such equipment. Keep in mind this has to INDUSTRIAL quality and is going underground. So no HF cr@p will do here lol. The client expects these products to last 15-20years with as little of maintenance as possible.

Any reccomendations?

Thanks,

IW

 

[Jim Johnstone]

What is the reason for only spec'ing a dessicant dryer rather than a refrigerated dryer?

 

[iron_worker]

I don't have experience with a refrigerated dryer but as I understand it .... when you want a dew point below 0C (32F) it becomes much more difficult due to icing problems since you will be "freezing" the moisture out of the air.

The dessicant dryers absorb the moisture from the air and do not suffer from this problem. Although they need to be able to "regenerate" ...which in some cases involves using a heater/blower to dry out one stage while the other stage works. Or in other cases they can use purge air from the compressed air system to create a vaccuum and draw fresh air through the dessicant beds.

Anyway, if there is a refrigerant type dryer that is comparable to the dessicant type then I'm all ears.

Thanks,

IW

 

[speed bump]

15-20 years in an underground mine with (as I read it) no maintenance? What kind of mine are we talking? In a metals mine forget it, coal mine maybe but I wouldn't plan on it.

In your situation I would figure out which makes of equipment they already have and who can do local service for the equipment because -22°F isn't that hard to find.

To get you started here is Sullairs page.
http://www.sullair.com/corp/details/0,,CLI1_DIV61_ETI5977_SIT64,00.html

 

[Virgil Cain]

Hey all,

I'm working for a consulting company as a mechanical engineer. Currently I'm working on an underground mining project. We are looking to purchase a filter, water trap, and dessicant air dryer which is capable of a dew point of -30C or so. The air requirements are fairly low at around 5cfm (just a couple of air actuated valves).

Just wondering if anyone has experience with equipment such as this and what manufacturers can supply such equipment. Keep in mind this has to INDUSTRIAL quality and is going underground. So no HF cr@p will do here lol. The client expects these products to last 15-20years with as little of maintenance as possible.

Any reccomendations?

Thanks,

IW

A dessicant air dryer is of course going to require periodic maintenance. A dessicant is like a sponge and at some point becomes saturated. At that point the dessicant much be renewed or replaced.

 

[iron_worker]

I didn't mean NO maintenance. I mean scheduled maintenance should be at a minimum and they expect that unscheduled maintenance (aka breakdowns) to be *very* rare as downtime in a mine is worth hundreds of thousands every hour.

This is a uranium mine, btw.

I will check out Sullair, Thanks.

IW

 

[MFGENG]

We use Kaesers, have worked great for years. Not sure how much they have for your application though.

 

[7echo]

We have an Atlas Copco that has given good service and parts are delivered in one day. I think they will be able to answer your questions, they do lots of big industrial stuff.

http://www.atlascopco.us/usus/

 

[rlitman]

Wilkerson is a big name in dryers. They have a regenerative dryer that claims -40F:
http://www.wilkersoncorp.com/products/dryers_reg.shtml

 

[Torque1st]

Look in the closest city telephone book for hydraulic or pneumatic suppliers. They will be the ones supplying the equipment.

 

[19swinger70]

Kaeser screw compressers are tough and can run 24/7 with regular p.m.

 

[W-Cummins]

5cfm is a rather small unit but they are out there that small. A non heated unit will require some of its supply as regen air so you will need more than 5cfm of air to run one. I have a Parker-Hannifin, Zander model KMT8 50cfm and they make a KMT-1, 4cfm and KMT-2, 8cfm models that would probably work for your application. They do require maintenance but it's not too bad.

William....

 

[iron_worker]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions.

I am making a list and I will check them all out.

IW

 

[mrb]

if its such a critical application I would install 2 paralleled with isolating valves so if one breaks it can be taken out of service and the second unit brought into service with no downtime.

 

[Virgil Cain]

I didn't mean NO maintenance. I mean scheduled maintenance should be at a minimum and they expect that unscheduled maintenance (aka breakdowns) to be *very* rare as downtime in a mine is worth hundreds of thousands every hour.

This is a uranium mine, btw.

I will check out Sullair, Thanks.

IW

My point on the dessicant dryer is that unless it is a closed loop system, maintenance on that dryer will not be rare. In fact, in a open loop system, depending on the volume of air being turned over daily and the amount of dessicant, you might be looking at weekly or worse maintenance intervals. Particularly in a mine environment.

Now, if it is a closed loop system then I believe that the service interval on a dessicant dryer might well be infrequent enough to qualify as "rare". It would depend on how well sealed the system is, but rare could easily be years.

So, open loop or closed loop system?