Air dryer restricting air flow?

[david n]

Kaiser refrigerant air dryer seems to be blocking air flow.................randomly getting machines alarming out due to low air pressure. Gauge on the tank reads 120PSI............compressor is pumpin'....................machine gages are all low. Pull the out put line on the dryer and and it barely hisses.............................what gives? What in the world could be restricting air in the dryer? Too much moisture? Freezin up? Super frustrating...................Idears?

 

[52 Ford]

You pulled the line off the input or the output? If you pulled it off the output and it barely hissed that just tells you your machine gauges aren't lying. If it barely hissed on the input side, it didn't have any pressure going into it. Big hiss on input, little hiss on output - obstruction in the dryer. How's your system laid out? Anything between the tank and the dryer? If the compressor is cycling like normal, but the machines aren't getting enough air, it sounds like you have a leak.

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[atomarc]

David,

To start off with...it's KAESER, and their help number is 540-898-5500. I'd start their..not here, too much chaff!

Stuart

 

[52 Ford]

David,

To start off with...it's KAESER, and their help number is 540-898-5500. I'd start their..not here, too much chaff!

Stuart

You make a very good point!

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[GregSY]

The problem with contacting any manufacturer to ask for help is that it presumes they know something about the product and how it functions. It also presumes they have a desire to help you, and a big fat budget to pay knowledgeable people to sit around all day dispensing free advice and guidance.


That's a very 1970's view.

 

[reggie_obe]

When is the last time the auto drain on the dryer fired off? My guess is it's failed and frozen up, blocking the passage of air.
Some basic troubleshooting and some fluff: https://www.plantservices.com/articles/2020/common-problems-with-compressed-air-drying-systems/

 

[Bobw]

Is it fine in the morning, and then gets worse during the day?

Then its freezing up.. That's the only way I've had an air dryer
restrict flow.

Either pull less air through it, or get more moisture out before
you get to the dryer.

I hope you have a bypass in there. First time I plumbed in an
air dryer I hard lined it (copper), and it was fine, until a
nice humid summer day came along, and she froze up.. And we had
to shut the entire shop down. Even the backup compressor came
through that line.

After that. The dryer was connected with big quick connects, and
then a bypass and valves were plumbed in.


I did have one freeze up once when a fan in there seized up.

 

[3t3d]

Wouldn't you have the dryer feed a "Dry" tank?
Can't understand having the dryer passing ALL the surge supply to the shop.

I have a "WET" tank fed from the compressor, then through the dryer to a 200 gallon "DRY" tank for the shop supply.
Dryer never sees more or less than the average consumption rate all day.

But yes, something going wrong inside the dryer.

 

[kb0thn]

The problem with contacting any manufacturer to ask for help is that it presumes they know something about the product and how it functions. It also presumes they have a desire to help you, and a big fat budget to pay knowledgeable people to sit around all day dispensing free advice and guidance.


That's a very 1970's view.

It's Kaeser. They do have people familiar with the machine sitting around ready to answer. Some companies still do. I called Kaeser with an air drier problem at 4:55PM. Call got forwarded to the tech who was walking out to his car. He came back into the office and troubleshot the problem with me. They offered to have a technician down the next morning at 7AM. My shop is 120 miles from where the tech rolls out of. Phone call was free, tech would have been $500. Impressive service since my compressor package was well less than $10k. Mazak has been, in my experience, similar.

 

[doug8cat]

I had a similar problem, dryer was freezing up.
Turns out the dryer was built in Korea and set to run properly at their altitude. I had to adjust the reg. on high side of fridgeration system. 1/4 turn on the reg and all was well.
So contact customer support ask about altitude and dew point settings. I my case I needed disasemble the case since the adjustments where not capable of being via the controls on the panel.

 

[david n]

She was over heatin'......................there's a high pressure valve for the refrigerant?.............if'n it gets too hot, valve pops and it stops cooling. The cooling fins where pretty gunky too............but it's a machine shop. That plus all of the hot steamy weather.................reset the valve and cleaned the heat exchanger fins......................runnin' like a top agin'

 

[Bill D]

If the valve popped you lost refrigerant and will have to add some so it works correctly.
Bill D

 

[52 Ford]

If the valve popped you lost refrigerant and will have to add some so it works correctly.
Bill D

I doubt it. Probably some sort of bypass that maintains a closed loop. Reason I say that, is the EPA is real strict about refrigerant. Ozone depletion or something.

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