Compressed Air Aftercoolers

Compressed air is hot and saturated with moisture when it leaves the air compressor. Aftercoolers rapidly cool this hot compressed air to reduce the heat and moisture load on downstream drying equipment. A separator is mandatory to remove this moisture.

Air-Cooled Aftercoolers provide economical cooling by using ambient air to cool the hot compressed air from an air compressor. They cool the hot compressed air leaving the compressor at a temperature of approximately 200°F to 300°F to the desired inlet temperature of an air dryer which is approximately 100°F to 120°F. As the compressed air cools, about 75% of the water vapor present condenses into liquid water which should be immediately removed from the system with a separator. Air-Cooled Aftercoolers can be sized to cool the hot compressed air to within 5°F to 20°F of the ambient air temperature. They are available in capacities from 20 to 3800 SCFM.

Water-Cooled Aftercoolers provide efficient cooling by using water to cool the hot compressed air from an air compressor. The hot compressed air leaving the compressor passes through the aftercooler tubes and cooling water flows in the opposite direction through the aftercooler shell. This counter current flow provides the most effective method of reducing the temperature of the compressed air discharged from the compressor.
Water-Cooled Aftercoolers can be sized to cool the hot compressed air to within 15°F of the ambient air temperature. They are available in capacities from 40 to 2800 SCFM. The heavy duty, fixed bundle Water-Cooled Aftercoolers are constructed of copper tubes with brass headers, hubs, baffles and shell. They can operate at a maximum pressure of 250 PSIG and a maximum temperature of 350°F.