Condensate Management

Zero-Loss Electronic Drain

Every drop of condensate out and your compressed air kept in, however your load changes.

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A compact electronic condensate drain with a blue control cover and black valve body

Product overview

Condensate out, compressed air kept in

Our zero-loss electronic drain measures the liquid level in a small reservoir and opens its valve only when condensate is there. The valve closes while liquid still covers its seat, so the seal between your system and atmosphere is always water, never an open orifice.

It follows your condensate load on its own: frequent cycles on a humid summer afternoon, few or none on a dry winter night or through a weekend shutdown. The only air that leaves is the air dissolved in the liquid, roughly 0.15 litres of free air per litre of condensate at 7 bar g and 20 °C.

A capacitive sensor, insulated from the liquid, reads oily, dirty or acidic condensate reliably, and a volt-free alarm contact tells you when a drain cannot empty, before your filter or receiver floods.

A compact electronic condensate drain with a blue control cover and black valve body
  • About 0.15 LFree air lost per litre of condensate
  • About 17 L/minDischarge through a 4 mm seat at 7 bar g
  • Every 42 sCycle at 8.6 L/h, with 0.1 litres a cycle
  • Under a secondEach discharge, liquid only

Benefits

The problems it solves

Condensate forms wherever your air cools, and every collection point needs a drain. Here is what goes wrong at those points, and how the drain puts it right.

  • Air blown to waste

    The problem

    Air escaping through a 3 mm opening at 7 bar g flows at around 30 m³/h of free air, tying up about 3 kW of compressor power.

    How it solves it

    Only liquid and its dissolved air leave, so your drain points add nothing to compressor energy use.

  • Flooded filters and dryers

    The problem

    A flooded filter bowl pushes liquid through the element, and a flooded dryer separator returns water to the air stream.

    How it solves it

    Condensate is removed as it forms, so your separators, filters and dryers keep their rated performance.

  • Loads that never stay put

    The problem

    Condensate load changes with every shift, season and weather front, and with compressor start-stop cycles.

    How it solves it

    The drain opens only when its reservoir is full, from every 18 s at 20 L/h to every 12 minutes at 0.5 L/h, with nothing to set.

  • Failures nobody sees

    The problem

    Drain points sit in compressor rooms and on pipe racks, out of sight, and a drain that cannot empty gives no sign until the equipment above floods.

    How it solves it

    A volt-free contact reports a drain that cannot empty, so you can monitor every drain point remotely.

  • Dirty, oily condensate

    The problem

    Condensate carries oil, emulsions, rust and pipe scale, and can be acidic.

    How it solves it

    An insulated capacitive sensor and a full-bore discharge path handle it, whether the water is soft, hard, acidic or loaded with dissolved salts.

  • Air blasts and stirred separators

    The problem

    Drains that vent air send blasts into nearby work areas and blow air into the oil–water separator.

    How it solves it

    Each discharge lasts under a second and releases liquid only, so your work areas stay quiet and your oil–water separator's settling chambers stay calm.

Where it’s used

At every point where condensate collects

Condensate collects at your aftercooler separator, receiver, dryer, filters and the low points of your network. Each one needs its own drain.

  • Robots welding a car body on an assembly line

    Automotive and manufacturing

    Drip legs ahead of assembly lines, robots and paint shops, where carried-over water causes coating defects.

  • Wine bottles moving along a bottling line

    Food and beverage

    Drains on filters and dryers that help maintain ISO 8573-1:2010 water classes for air in contact with product.

  • Yellow tablets spilling from a medicine bottle

    Pharmaceuticals and healthcare

    Filter and dryer drains on process air and medical air plant, where a flooded filter compromises dew point and oil compliance.

  • A row of yarn winding machines in a textile mill

    Textiles

    Air-jet looms consume large volumes of air in humid weaving halls, producing heavy condensate loads.

  • Blue plastic bottle caps in a moulded tray

    Plastics

    High-pressure drain versions on the filters and receivers of PET blow-moulding systems at 30–40 bar g.

  • Electricity pylons and power lines at sunset

    Oil, gas and power

    Continuous condensate removal from instrument air receivers and filters, with ATEX and IECEx certified versions for hazardous areas.

Also compressor rooms in every industry, mining, tunnelling and construction, rail and transport depots, feed air to nitrogen and oxygen generators, biogas and technical gases, and any site in a hot, humid climate.

How it works

Sense, open, reseal

The drain waits for liquid, not for a clock. It opens when its reservoir is full and closes while water still covers the seat.

How a zero-loss electronic drain works: condensate runs by gravity from a filter, dryer or receiver into the drain’s reservoir; a capacitive probe senses when it reaches the high level, the electronics open a pilot-operated diaphragm valve, system pressure discharges the liquid, and the valve closes at the low level while liquid still covers the seat, so no compressed air escapes. HighLow Wet air inAir on to your plant Filter, dryeror receiverVent line Level probe Electronics Pilot solenoid Diaphragmvalve To oil–water separator≈ 37 m/s · 17 L/minAir lost ≈ 0.15 L/L Cycle follows the load8.6 L/h · every 42 s0.5 L/h · every 12 min 12345Wet compressed airCondensateDisplaced air returningLevel signalYour equipment

  1. 1. FillCondensate flows by gravity from your filter, dryer or receiver into the reservoir, and the air it displaces returns to the collection point.

  2. 2. SenseAs liquid covers the insulated probe, capacitance rises until the high threshold is reached. The reading does not depend on conductivity or oil content within normal ranges.

  3. 3. OpenThe pilot solenoid energises and vents the chamber above the diaphragm, and system pressure lifts the diaphragm off the seat.

  4. 4. DischargeAt 7 bar g condensate leaves the 4 mm seat at about 37 m/s, around 17 litres a minute, so 0.1 litres empties in well under a second. Only the air dissolved in it leaves too: about 0.15 litres of free air per litre.

  5. 5. Reseal and waitAt the low threshold the pilot closes and the diaphragm reseats while liquid still covers the seat. The drain stays closed until condensate reaches the high threshold again: every 42 seconds at 8.6 L/h, every 12 minutes at 0.5 L/h.

Figures at 7 bar g, with a 4 mm seat and 0.1 litres between the level thresholds.

Get the full details

Our brochure covers it in detail, and our questionnaire tells us what we need to recommend the right one for your plant.

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