A condensate drain removes free water to protect the compressed air system. Without a properly operating drain, contaminants are guaranteed to collect in the system and cause havoc.
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Condensation is a guarantee in compressed air, not just a possibility. The combination of heat and moisture in the ambient air is a recipe for rain inside your system. Before compression, the amount of moisture in the air wasn’t a problem, and our lungs have a natural filtration system to deal with it.
When the air is compressed, the space is reduced, and the heat is ramped up. As the air travels away from the compression point, it cools down. When the temperature drops, moisture falls out. This is due to the Pressure Dewpoint (PDP) of the compressed air.
When this moisture drops out, it needs to go somewhere else, not stay in your pipes. This is where condensate drains come into play. Condensate Drains discharge the built-up moisture to keep it from staying in your compressed air system.
Condensate drains come in several variations, the main difference being how/when the condensate is discharged from the drains. Different types benefit in various scenarios.
There are a few different types you can choose from:
No Drain
This type of drain is something that technicians run into all the time, but it is not recommended in the slightest. Going off the assumption that you are using a manual drain valve, rather than having nothing in place, you would need to manually eject water on every drain valve after each shift. That seems a little unrealistic.
Timer Operated Drain
As a standard component on many small refrigerated dryers, these drains come with an adjustable on-time and interval between drain events. They are also pretty easy to perform maintenance on: simply press the “test” button, make sure it’s plugged in, and clean the inlet strainer. That is about as simple as you can get with maintenance.
No Waste Drain
Probably the broadest category of condensate drain valves, no-waste drains will eject the collected condensate without also blowing compressed air, but will also automatically keep up with changes in the system. Due to the wide range of models these drains can have different models for the same result.
Mechanical Float Drains
A hybrid combination of the previous drain types. By combining aspects from each filter, a float mechanism triggers an electronic solenoid or pneumatic piston that will open the valve. Electronic solenoids will inherently lose less air when removing condensate as they close before any air is lost.
When deciding on a model for your system, it all comes down to how concerned you are with efficient removal. Electronic timed drains and timer controlled solenoid drains are going to operate in similar manners. With predetermined intervals, these drains release the built-up condensate on a schedule.
Schedules can be highly beneficial for removing moisture without remembering to do it alone. The downside with schedules is the inherent variation in compressed air systems. Unless you have accounted for this variation, these drains risk being overrun.
Zero-loss drain valves and motorized ball valves are much less likely to be overrun. Rather than operating on a schedule, they use solenoid valves, electronic sensors, and motorization to ensure consistent condensation expulsion. Although they are more expensive than other valves, these models live up to the price when put to work.
The last drain model listed is last for a reason. Manual drain valves are barely better than having no drain valve at all. You should not have these on any machine that needs consistent, clean air output. Manual drain valves are a recipe for disaster. They invite overconfidence and forgetfulness to derail your system completely.
Learn more about the details of Condensate Drain Valves here.
The Words Warthog and the Stylized Warthog are Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Reg. No. 7,109,357 and 7,109,356
