Breathers & Dryers: Disposable Breathers

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Click Here or Visit zeozorb.com to purchase Desiccant Breathers, Tank Vent Dryers and Transformer Breathers

The first line of defense against moisture and particulate contamination

Desiccant breathersDesiccant breathers are one of the most cost effective methods of protection for contamination control. Breathers are an integral piece to any fluid lubrication, hydraulic system, or storage tank. Breathers provide protection from moisture and particulate contamination in harsh operating environments. The best operations & maintenance practices focus on preventing contaminants from entering their equipment, rather than trying to remove contaminants after damage has already occurred. As most equipment and machines are designed to “breathe,” protecting the inflow of ambient air is vital for protection and reliable operation. Contaminants and moisture will enter equipment as temperature, pressure, and fluid level changes occur. To prevent contaminants from entering your equipment, a desiccant breather should be used. Drytech ZEOZORB desiccant breathers use several layers of high efficiency filters to capture particulates, moisture, and maintain ISO cleanliness codes. Drytech’s unique ZEOLITE desiccant blend allows for extremely low relative humidity levels be maintained. Not only do our breathers protect contaminants and moisture from entering your equipment, but many test results show that Drytech breathers will actually liberate water from within the fluids or chemicals being stored in the tank simply by having a breather fitted on top of the tank or reservoir.This dynamic is vital to maintain maximum life and performance of the lubricant or chemical being stored.

Recommendations

  1. DRYTECH recommends replacing spin on air filter vents, turn down pipes, or vent caps with ZEOZORB disposable desiccant breathers for additional protection against contaminants.
  2. DRYTECH recommends inspecting your breather every 6 months.
  3. DRYTECH recommends adding breather replacements to plant operations & maintenance schedules
QUICK FACT: It costs 10x more to remove particulate and water contamination than by preventing it in the first place. Use Drytech Disposable Desiccant Breathers as your first line of defense.  
Model Thread Size Height Top Cap Diameter Filter Flow Rate Applications
ZZ-150 1″ Friction Fit* 4.5 in 5 in 3 Micron Up to 10 SCFM Protection of fluid systems by preventing entry of moisture and particulate. 55 gallon drums, storage totes, small gearboxes, etc.
ZZ-300 1″ Friction Fit* 9.5 in 5 in 3 Micron Up to 10 SCFM Protection of fluid systems by preventing entry of moisture and particulate. Large containers, storage totes, gearboxes, transformers, hydraulic reservoirs
 

Applications & Advantages

Disposable Desiccant Breathers

Desiccant breathers
Applications
  • Storage Tanks
  • Totes
  • Reservoirs
  • Mobile Equipment
  • Small Gearboxes
  • Transformers
  • 55 Gallon Drums
Advantages:
  • Eliminate corrosion
  • Eliminate fungal or biological activity
  • Protect against high humidity and water condensation
  • Protect against fluid contamination, dilution, and sedimentation – Maintain ISO cleanliness codes
  • Extend life of hydraulic, lubrication, and process fluids – Extend MTBF and reduce O&M costs

How do they work?

Desiccant breathersAs pressure, temperature, or fluid level changes occur, your equipment will either inhale or exhale ambient air. During inhale, wet ambient air will enter your equipment, and if not filtered, will cause contamination to the fluids being protected. Most industrial plants will use, breather vents, filter caps, and/or turn down pipes to prevent contaminants from entering their equipment. Drytech Disposable Desiccant Breathers are used to replace these vents and will filter out MOISTURE AND PARTICULATES before they enter your equipment. During inhale, the air will enter the top of the breather and flow down through a bed of ZEOLITE desiccant. As the air flows through the desiccant, the moisture is adsorbed. This dry air will then flow through a series of filters and remove particles down to 3 microns in size leaving clean dry air to enter your equipment. During exhale, the vapor laden air will exit through the base of the breather, through an activated carbon filter which will filter out oil vapors from contaminating the desiccant or the work environment

Installation & Disposal

Drytech Disposable Desiccant Breathers all utilize a 1″ slip fit connection which can be easily adapted to customer applications. Take a look at our adapters page for our full range of available connections. Installation Procedure:
  1. Remove breather from plastic bag
  2. Remove safety cap from standpipe at the bottom of the breather
  3. Mount the breather to the tank or reservoir using the adapter best suited for the application
Disposal Procedure:
  1. Verify that the breather is fully saturated – all blue beads will be beige in color
  2. Remove breather from gearbox, tank, reservoir, or other application
  3. Remove and save the adapter fitting to be used with a new breather
  4. Verify and dispose of breather in accordance with your state and local environmental control regulations
  5. Review attached MSDS sheets

Features & Performance

  1. Bi-directional Air Flow
    • Air entering the breather is filtered and dried. Air expelled through the breather is filterthrough an activated carbon filter, prolonging the life of the breather.
  2. Rugged construction
    • ZEOZORB breathers are made of hard PVC plastic and UV resistant polycarbonate tube.
  3. ZEOLITE adsorbent
    • ZEOLITE adsorbent provides up to 28% by weight adsorption and provides clean dry air lessthan 100 PPM. ZEOLITE also maintains performance in high temperature environments, unlike Silica Gel.
  4. Multi layer filtration
    • All ZEOZORB breathers features (2) diffusion filters, an activated carbon filter, 3 micron PTFEfilter, and 100 micron stainless steel filter
  5. Diffusion technology
    • Our unique diffusion cap replaces the need for mechanical valves to control air flow. Thebreathers will only breathe over 0.3 PSI
  6. Application flexibility
    • ZEOZORB breathers feature a standard 1″ slip fit which easily adapts to many applications.
  7. Color Indication
    • When maximum adsorption is reached, the blue indicating ZEOLITE beads will turn from blueto beige, to indicate that a replacement is required.

Choosing the right desiccant

Drytech’s ZEOZORB Disposable Desiccant Breathers were designed to set a new standard for breather performance. Common Silica Gel breathers being used are a bit misleading. Silica Gel is claimed to adsorb up to 35% by weight whereas our ZEOLITE can adsorb up to 27% by weight, so it appears that Silica Gel is the better choice. This is not the case. the isotherm below explains why.

Desiccant breathers

QUICK FACT: ZEOLITE out performs Silica Gel by over 75% at average plant temperatures, 25°C (77°F).

Technical & Dimensional Info

Series Brand A ZEOZORB
Model Model A Model B ZZ-150 ZZ-300
Dim. “A” 10″ (254mm) 12″ (305mm) 6.1″ (157mm) 10.7″ (272mm)
Dia. “B” 5.2″ (132mm) 5″ (127mm)
Dim. “C” 1″ NPT 1″ slip fit/1″ NPT
Max Operating Flow Rate 1.50 scfm 3.0 scfm 1.50 scfm 3.0 scfm
Desiccant medium Silica Gel ZEOLITE
Desiccant weight 3.3 lbs 4.5 lbs 1.5 lbs 3.0 lbs
*Lowest PPM H20 384 ppm 272 ppm 96 ppm 63 ppm
*Test Conditions : TABAI Humidity Chamber 90% RH @ 23°C
The isotherm highlights, that as temperatures increase, the performance of Silica Gel decreases quite drastically, and if temperatures go over 100°F Silica Gel will “regenerate” releasing the moisture back into the environment it was once protecting. All of Drytech’s breathers use our unique ZEOLITE desiccant which maintains its adsorption performance at high temperatures. In addition, each breather uses several layers of filters to ensure a true 3 micron filtration rating. The breathers are constructed out of hard PVC end caps and a robust UV resistant polycarbonate tube for easy viewing of desiccant condition. The clear color indication from blue beads fading to beige allows the user to know when the breather should be replaced.

Ordering & Delivery

To place an order please email, [javascript protected email address] and if possible provide the following information
  • Size of tank or reservoir
  • Max flow rate
  • Connection required
  • see breather adapters (make this a link to the breather adapters page)
We maintain a large breather inventory – typically 1 week or less delivery *expedites available upon request. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or concerns. Distributor inquiries welcome.