Rebranded Maguire vacuum dryers offer big energy savings

Aston, Pa-based Maguire Products Inc. is rebranding its VDB vacuum resin dryers, introduced in 2013, as the Ultra series, reflecting its ability to pay for itself by saving in energy costs.

In a typical material drying example for a process running at 220 lbs per hour for 6,000 operation hours per year, an average desiccant dryer might run at 60 watts per pound of material, versus the Ultra low energy dryer that would run at 19 watts per pound. Each system uses the same amount of energy to bring the material up to temperature from ambient; but the energy used to dry is dramatically different: a comparable desiccant dryer would use almost 45 watts to dry the material so it can be processed, whereas to the same level the Ultra would only use 4 watts.

Additionally, the adoption of load cells into the dryer on the vacuum hopper and retention hoppers allows the touchscreen controls of the dryer to automatically control the process in a way not seen with desiccant dryers. The use of data provided by the load cells allows the dryer to achieve many functions automatically – such as automatic startups and automatic stops – and also makes possible automatic adaptive drying, which means that the dryer is able to automatically regulate materials in process according to demand and to increase or decrease materials in process so only what’s required is dried.

Ultra dryers are available for throughputs of 150, 300, 600, and 1,000 lbs per hour, and are protected by a five-year warranty.

Maguire’s Canadian operation, Maguire Products Canada Inc., is headquartered in Vaughan, Ont.