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Quotes - Engineering - SalesMoisture Separation
The separator is where the water the aftercooler condensed actually leaves the system.
Condensate leaves an aftercooler as droplets carried in a fast-moving air stream. A centrifugal separator brings the air in tangentially and spins it around a fixed impeller; the water, being several hundred times denser than the air, is flung to the vessel wall and runs down into the sump. An anti-re-entrainment baffle between the sump and the outlet stops the outgoing air from picking the water back up. The air leaves through the centre, the water through the drain.
After Aftercoolers
Receiver Inlets
Point of Use
Ahead of Filters
Horizontal or Vertical?
The pipe decides.
Checklist
- Aftercooler outlet continues horizontally: S-H or WS
- Line turns up to a header: S-V
- Below 900 SCFM: WS01, WS02 or WS03
- Above 5,800 SCFM: horizontal only, S10H to S15H
IPAC Ranges
- Horizontal Separators — Sixteen current sizes from 127 to 25,000 SCFM, plus the three HiROSS-era cast units they replaced
- Vertical Separators — Seven sizes from 900 to 5,800 SCFM with a side inlet and top outlet
- Automatic Drain Traps — Float-operated condensate traps in 1/2 and 1 inch sizes
| RANGE | TYPE | COVERS | RATING | PART NUMBERS |
| Horizontal Separators | Centrifugal Moisture Separator | Sixteen current sizes from 127 to 25,000 SCFM, plus the three HiROSS-era cast units they replaced | 200 PSIG (230 PSIG WS01-WS03) | 19 |
| Vertical Separators | Centrifugal Moisture Separator | Seven sizes from 900 to 5,800 SCFM with a side inlet and top outlet | 200 PSIG | 7 |
| Automatic Drain Traps | Automatic Condensate Drain Trap | Float-operated condensate traps in 1/2 and 1 inch sizes | 230 PSIG aluminum; higher in steel and stainless | 3 |
More About Moisture Separation
Nothing Moves, Nothing Wears
Because nothing moves, the separator's pressure drop is small and does not increase with time, and it keeps working down to 20 percent of its rated flow - important on a compressor that unloads or a plant that runs light on a night shift. IPAC separators are rated at 100 PSIG and the fabricated steel sizes carry the ASME U-stamp; stainless steel bodies are available for corrosive condensate and high-pressure builds run to 1,000 and 2,000 PSIG.
Horizontal or Vertical
Horizontal separators sit in a straight run with inlet and outlet on the same axis. Vertical separators take a side inlet and discharge from the top, for lines that rise to a header. Both are catalogued in sizes that match each IPAC aftercooler, and the part page for every aftercooler names its recommended separator.
Related
SERIES • SEPARATOR
Horizontal Separators
Sixteen current sizes from 127 to 25,000 SCFM, plus the three HiROSS-era cast units they replaced.
+ Learn More
SERIES • SEPARATOR
Vertical Separators
Seven sizes from 900 to 5,800 SCFM with a side inlet and top outlet.
+ Learn More
SERIES • DRAIN TRAP
Automatic Drain Traps
Float-operated condensate traps in 1/2 and 1 inch sizes.
+ Learn MoreCommon FAQs
Almost none. There are no moving parts, filter elements or wearing surfaces; the only routine attention is confirming that the drain trap beneath it is working. Fabricated steel separators can be inspected through the drain connection.
IPAC separators hold 99 percent removal down to 20 percent of rated flow. Below that the spin is too slow to fling the droplets out. That is the reason not to oversize a separator by more than one size for margin.
No - a fraction of a PSI at rated flow, and because nothing plugs or loads up it does not rise over time the way a coalescing filter's does.
