Portable Compressed Air Dryers and Getting What You Pay For…

Most people are aware of the old phrase, “You Get What You Pay For”……. However most are not aware that this also applies to the world of portable compressed air treatment, more specifically air drying. Van Air Systems is just one manufacturer in a literal sea of competitors in the market of portable compressed air and natural gas treatment, but there is one difference that separates us from the pack…… And that is we design our units around the use of our product. Some in the industry may not know that Van Air Systems manufactures our own desiccant that we use in our units, which over the years has allowed us to test our designs for function, durability and duration over the lifespan of the unit. This one aspect can change how the unit pays back the purchase over time.

I do not want to site individual units, but there is an unspoken guideline that other manufactures are using when producing a system based on a flowrate, which is the factor most customers are using to determine the system they need for the job. For example, if you use a single formula alone to determine how large of dryer vessel you would require, the result will be a space that can process the said flowrate without any regard to performance from the desiccant. Van Air Systems has the unique ability to perform several calculations, which can help us evaluate how the material will respond and how the desiccant will perform in any given application. This gives you a scenario where our units have larger dryer vessels than other manufactures in the market, largely in part because of the basic fact that we design our dryers to operate with our material.

One other factor that is unspoken in the industry is how the units are sized. Van Air Systems has sold our Blast Pak PRO units into many different markets and applications, so there is a general rule in how we size our systems. 100 PSI is the pressure where we derive our baseline for the ratings, which may be difficult to compare to a manufacture that only designs units for portable air compressors running at 125 PSI. That manufacturer would rate their unit at 400 CFM @ 125 psi, because that is the application they designed the unit for. If you compare this unit to our 400 CFM unit, which is rated at 100 psi, the costs may seem askew, however the Van Air Systems unit is capable of processing close to 500 cfm at the 125 PSI mark.

If you are in the market for a portable drying solution, here are a few things to keep in mind that can be easily determined by doing a side-by-side comparison:

Overall Dimensions – Van Air Systems units are robust in design, often having a more sturdy construction with vertical supports top to bottom, oversized dryer vessel, skid style base to be large enough to encompass the footprint of the whole unit, which is indispensable when transporting a unit from site to site without damage.

Aftercooler Dimension – Van Air Systems units have an oversized aftercooler and air operated fan motor to eliminate the need for electricity at location to power the dryer. The aftercooler is the workhorse in any application where the inlet air is too warm to use, often the most detrimental part of a portable application.

Design and Options – Van Air Systems portable solutions are designed to last for the long haul, with the warranty and support to back the product. Van Air also provides an industry leading warranty to go along with our units, with other manufacturers you may not even get the dryer to the first jobsite before the warranty has expired.

Learn more about our Blast Pak PRO unit, or see our other portable compressed air dryer solutions.

Van Air Systems is happy to help you in solving your compressed air and natural gas problems.

Please feel free to call us at 1-800-840-9906.