Champion XCHL Series Heatless Desiccant Air Dryer – Low-Profile Twin Tower with Filtration (90–1200 SCFM)

The Champion XCHL Series is an X-Series twin-tower heatless regenerative desiccant air dryer offered in twelve capacities from 90 to 1200 SCFM, delivering a -40°F pressure dew point as standard and -100°F as a factory option. Where a refrigerated air dryer stops around a 35°F to 40°F dew point, the XCHL strips water vapor out of the air stream entirely, which is what outdoor piping, paint booths, instrument air loops and ISO 8573-1 process specifications actually require.

Every XCHL ships as a complete filtered package with a high-efficiency coalescing prefilter and a particulate afterfilter already mounted and piped, so the dryer arrives ready to tie into the header without a separate filtration order.

Select your capacity and control package from the dropdowns above.

What Sets the XCHL Apart

The XCHL is Champion's low-profile heatless platform, and the design decisions all point the same direction: fit it in a real mechanical room and make it easy to service.

• Low-profile cabinet: the towers are proportioned so the dryer drops into spaces with restricted overhead clearance, from 63 inches tall at 90 SCFM to 87.6 inches at 1200 SCFM.
• Rear-mounted inlet and outlet manifolds: the switching and purge valves sit where a technician can actually reach them instead of buried between the towers.
• Long-life switching and purge valves: extended service intervals on the parts that do the cycling work.
• NEMA 4 electrical enclosure standard: rated for indoor or outdoor installation with no enclosure upgrade.
• Digital controller with backlit LCD: precise pneumatic valve sequencing, maintenance reminders at the preventive service intervals, and Modbus communication through the controller's RS-485 port.
• Color-change moisture indicator and tower pressure gauges: you can confirm the dryer is doing its job from across the room.

How Heatless Regenerative Drying Works

A heatless desiccant dryer runs two towers packed with high-strength activated alumina. Wet compressed air flows up through the online tower, where the desiccant bed adsorbs water vapor and releases air at a -40°F pressure dew point. A small fraction of that dried air is then expanded to atmosphere and swept back down through the offline tower, stripping moisture out of the spent desiccant and regenerating the bed. The towers alternate, so one is always drying while the other recovers.

There is no heater, no blower and no moving part in the air path beyond the switching valves. That is why heatless designs remain the most reliable and lowest-maintenance route to a -40°F dew point. The trade-off is purge air, and reclaiming that purge air is exactly what the Energy Management System option exists to do.

Choosing Your Configuration

Model Selection Chart

The -100°F column is the 20 percent flow derate Champion applies to low dew point operation, so nobody sizes a dryer off the model number alone. Champion does not publish a shipping weight for the XCHL Series in the current price list; ask us and we will confirm crated weight and a certified general-arrangement drawing with the factory before you pour a pad or book freight.

The 200 SCFM unit in standard timed-control trim, part number XCHL2001H00AA, is quoted on request rather than listed here because of a printing conflict in the current price list. Call or email us for that one configuration and we will confirm list price with the factory the same day. All other 200 SCFM configurations are priced above.

Key Features at a Glance

• -40°F Pressure Dew Point Standard: ISO 8573-1 humidity Class 2 on every model, with -100°F Class 1 available as a factory option.
• 90 to 1200 SCFM: twelve capacities spanning a single 20 HP rotary screw through a full plant air header.
• Prefilter and Afterfilter Included: high-efficiency coalescing prefilter and particulate afterfilter mounted and piped at the factory.
• Low-Profile Design: fits installations with limited overhead clearance.
• NEMA 4 Enclosure Standard: suitable for indoor and outdoor service.
• Enhanced Digital Controller: backlit LCD, precise valve sequencing, maintenance reminders, Modbus over RS-485.
• Long-Life Valves: switching and purge valves designed for extended service intervals.
• Downstream Purge Standard: the standard purge arrangement on every listed configuration.
• High-Strength Activated Alumina: field-replaceable desiccant with a color-change moisture indicator.
• Champion Pneumatic Quality: a Gardner Denver brand with more than a century of compressed-air engineering behind it.

Shared Technical Specifications

Ideal Applications

Specify a heatless desiccant dryer anywhere a 35°F refrigerated dew point is not good enough: compressed air piping that runs outdoors or through unheated space and would otherwise freeze, spray finishing and powder coating, pneumatic instrumentation and control air, laser cutting assist gas, dental and laboratory air, blow molding, pharmaceutical and food packaging, textile manufacturing, electronics assembly, and any breathing-air or critical process loop written to an ISO 8573-1 class. The XCHL is also the usual answer for a plant that already installed a refrigerated dryer and is still finding water at the tool.

Factory Options

Beyond the control, dew point and bypass packages priced above, the XCHL Series supports several factory-configured options quoted at time of order:

• Fail-to-Shift Alarm: electronic pressure monitoring that alarms if a tower does not complete its changeover.
• Ethernet Connectivity: adds Ethernet to the standard Modbus RS-485 for plant monitoring integration.
• Stainless Steel Control Air Tubing: for corrosive or wash-down environments.
• Indoor Tower Insulation and high humidity or high outlet alarms: available on the heated Champion platforms and quoted case by case on the XCHL.
• CRN Registration: Canadian Registration Number configurations are consult-factory for part number, price and lead time.

Send us your model and the options you need and we will quote the configured part number and current lead time.

Sizing, Purge and Installation

Size the dryer to the actual SCFM passing through it at your operating pressure, not to compressor nameplate horsepower, and remember that a heatless dryer consumes purge air from the system it is drying. Plan for roughly 15 percent of rated flow on a timed unit at full cycle, which is precisely the number the Energy Management System exists to reduce when the plant is running light. If your compressor has no headroom, either step the dryer up a size or specify EMS.

If you are specifying a -100°F unit, size from the -100°F column: an XCHL500 at -100°F is a 400 SCFM dryer.

Install a properly sized wet receiver tank upstream of the dryer, keep inlet air temperature within specification, and leave service access on all sides for tower recharge and valve work. Our engineers will review your layout at no charge.

Service Kits and Desiccant Life

Activated alumina in a properly filtered heatless dryer typically gives three to five years before the bed needs recharging. The fastest way to destroy a desiccant bed is oil carryover from an upstream compressor, which is why the XCHL ships with a coalescing prefilter as standard equipment. Change the XCHE and XCGP elements annually, keep the drain working, and the bed will last.

Champion publishes a scheduled service kit program for the XCHL. Kit contents by year:

• Year 1 and Year 3: XCHE and XCGP elements, control air element, float drain, muffler, desiccant test kit.
• Year 2 and Year 4: all Year 1 and 3 contents plus valve inlet seal kit, valve inlet actuator, valve purge seal kit, valve purge actuator.
• Year 5: all Year 1 and 3 contents plus BMI and a full desiccant charge.

Champion quotes the XCHL service kits factory-direct rather than publishing a list price. Send us your model and the kit year and we will price it and confirm availability.

Why Buy from Air Compressor Store

Air Compressor Store is an authorized Champion Pneumatic distributor. Every XCHL Series dryer ships with full factory warranty, factory-direct freight from West Chester, and lifetime application support from our certified compressed-air engineers. We will size the dryer, quote the configured part number with the options you need, and stay with the job through startup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What dew point does the XCHL deliver?

-40°F pressure dew point as standard, which corresponds to ISO 8573-1 humidity Class 2. The -100°F (-73°C) configurations reach Class 1 and are priced in the dropdown above.

Why does the -100°F version have less capacity?

Reaching a -100°F dew point requires a longer contact time with the desiccant bed, so Champion derates rated flow by 20 percent. An XCHL1000 rated 1000 SCFM at -40°F is an 800 SCFM dryer at -100°F. The model selection chart above lists both numbers side by side.

XCHL or CDT: which heatless dryer should I buy?

Both are twin-tower heatless dryers with filtration included. The CDT Series starts lower at 40 SCFM and tops out at 1350 SCFM, ships F.O.B. Ocala, and offers a 250 PSIG high-pressure package. The XCHL is the low-profile X-Series platform with rear-mounted manifolds, a -100°F factory option, and Modbus communication standard. If overhead clearance is tight or you need a Class 1 dew point, the XCHL is the better fit. Send us your flow, pressure and room layout and we will tell you straight.

Heatless, heated purge or blower purge?

Heatless is the simplest, most reliable and lowest capital cost, and it is the right answer for the large majority of industrial systems in this flow range. Heated purge and heated blower designs cut purge air consumption further and start to make economic sense at larger flows or where compressed air is unusually expensive to produce. If you are near the crossover, send us your flow, pressure and run hours and we will run the numbers.

Do I still need to buy filters?

No. The prefilter and afterfilter are included and factory mounted on every configuration listed here. What you should not skip is a properly drained wet receiver upstream and diligent separator maintenance on an oil-flooded rotary screw. Oil is what kills desiccant.

How much purge air does it use?

Plan on approximately 15 percent of rated flow at full cycle on a timed unit. The Energy Management System reduces that in proportion to how lightly loaded the dryer actually is.

What maximum working pressure is the XCHL rated for?

Champion does not publish a maximum working pressure figure for the XCHL Series in the current price list. Send us your operating pressure and we will confirm the correct configuration with the factory before you order.

What is the warranty?

The XCHL falls under Champion's X-Series warranty statement: one year standard, with extended coverage available out to five years total including parts and labor. Ask us for the current statement and the extended coverage pricing for your model.

How long does delivery take?

Lead time depends on capacity and options. Call us with your model and we will confirm the current factory schedule before you place the order.