Champion CHWS-250 Oil/Water Separator - 250 CFM Compressed Air Condensate Treatment

The Champion CHWS-250 is a compact oil/water separator for compressed air systems up to 250 CFM. It takes the oily condensate drained from your compressor, receiver, dryer and filters, holds the lubricant on a molecular filtration media bed, and discharges water clean enough to send to a sanitary drain. Champion rates the CHWS Series at less than 10 ppm for the life of the product.

Why Condensate Cannot Go Straight to the Drain

Compressing air wrings the moisture out of it, and that water leaves the system carrying lubricant from the compression chamber. Raw compressor condensate typically runs hundreds to thousands of parts per million of hydrocarbon, while municipal pretreatment limits are often set at 10 ppm or lower. Discharging untreated condensate to a sanitary or storm sewer violates the Clean Water Act and most local ordinances. The alternative to on-site treatment is drumming the condensate and paying a hauler, which costs far more over a year than a separator does once.

How the CHWS-250 Works

Condensate enters an internal decompression chamber, which drops the drain-line pressure and slows the flow so the mixture can be treated rather than blasted through. From there it passes into an advanced molecular filtration bed that holds the hydrocarbon and lets the water pass. The CHWS-250 uses a use up and replace molecular sieve design, so instead of servicing individual stages you run the unit through its service life and replace it. There is no power supply, no compressed air consumption and nothing to adjust.

Key Features at a Glance

• Less than 10 ppm for the life of the product when correctly sized and installed.
• Advanced molecular filtration with an internal decompression chamber, so pressurized drain lines can feed it directly.
• Maintenance free life cycle - no stage-by-stage element changes and no daily checks.
• Small footprint and fast installation, which matters in a crowded compressor room.
• Laboratory tested and field proven.
• No electricity and no air consumed.
• Made in the USA.

Technical Specifications

Sizing and Installation

Size on the CFM of the compressed air system whose condensate reaches the unit, not on compressor horsepower. Champion is explicit that CHWS Series separators must be sized and installed correctly to hit their discharge rating. Run every drain in the plant to a single treatment point where you can, and use the optional condensate installation kits to get there: they bundle 14mm aluminum tubing, mounting brackets, tube adapters, union connectors, MNPT to poly adapters and poly tubing in 80, 160 and 240 foot lengths.

Ideal Applications

Small and mid-size machine shops, automotive and truck service bays, dental and laboratory air systems, print shops, cabinet and millwork shops, and any single-compressor facility that needs to show a wastewater inspector that condensate is being treated. Pair it with zero air loss demand drains so the separator sees condensate rather than blown air.

Service and Replacement Cartridges

The smaller CHWS-50 and CHWS-100 units use a spin-on, spin-off cartridge holding an enhanced alumina silicate substrate media bed, and those cartridges are stocked as CHWS-E50 and CHWS-E100. The CHWS-250 uses the use up and replace molecular sieve strategy instead. If you are running a 50 or 100 CFM CHWS unit and need a complete replacement rather than a cartridge, call us for current availability and pricing.

Why Buy from Air Compressor Store

Air Compressor Store is an authorized Champion Pneumatic distributor. Every CHWS-250 ships with the full factory warranty, and our certified compressed air engineers will confirm the sizing, review your drain layout and tell you honestly whether the CHWS-250, the cartridge-based Intelli-PAK or the gravity-and-carbon CSP EnviroChamp 2 is the better fit for your lubricant and your flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I legally drain the water that comes out of it?

In most jurisdictions yes. A correctly sized and installed CHWS Series unit discharges under 10 ppm of residual oil, which is inside typical municipal pretreatment limits. Confirm your own permit limit, since it is set locally.

Does it need power or compressed air?

No. It is fed by the pressure already in your drain lines and consumes nothing.

How is it different from the Intelli-PAK?

Both are adsorption devices rather than gravity separators. The Intelli-PAK is a cabinet with a replaceable media cartridge and covers 250 through 1500 CFM. The CHWS-250 is a single compact unit with a use up and replace design at 250 CFM. If you want a serviceable cartridge and room to grow, look at the Intelli-PAK.

What about the CHWS-50 and CHWS-100?

Champion catalogs a three-model CHWS range at 50, 100 and 250 CFM. The current Champion air treatment price list prices the CHWS-250 complete unit and the CHWS-E50 and CHWS-E100 spin-on replacement cartridges. Call us for availability on the 50 and 100 CFM complete units.

Does it care what lubricant I run?

Molecular filtration media is much less sensitive to fluid chemistry than a gravity separator, which requires a fully demulsible lubricant. Tell us what is in your sump when you order and we will confirm.