Water Cooled

These are FS-Curtis air treatment units, primarily refrigerated dryers, that reject heat into a water loop instead of into the surrounding air. Air-cooled units dump their heat into the equipment room; water-cooled units carry it away through a cooling water circuit.

When the equipment room runs hot, when ambient temperature exceeds what the air-cooled model is rated for, when adding heat to the space is a problem, or when a plant cooling water loop is already available. In a normal ventilated shop, air-cooled is simpler and needs no water infrastructure.

Flow rate, supply temperature, and pressure requirements are model-specific and must be met for the dryer to hit its rated dew point. Water quality also matters — scale and fouling degrade the condenser over time. Review the specific model's water requirement before committing to a water-cooled configuration.

It shifts cost rather than removing it. You avoid loading the building HVAC with compressor room heat, but you take on cooling water pumping, treatment, and condenser maintenance. Water-cooled generally wins where a plant loop already exists or where the ambient environment defeats an air-cooled unit.

The condenser needs periodic inspection and cleaning for scale and fouling, and the water circuit needs the same treatment discipline as any closed loop. Neglected condensers lose capacity gradually, which shows up as rising dew point rather than an obvious failure.

No. The condenser design differs fundamentally between the two configurations, so this is not a field-convertible option. Water-cooled and air-cooled are separate models and must be specified correctly at order time. If you are unsure which suits your equipment room conditions, Alamo can help work through the selection.

The unit will lose its ability to reject heat and dew point performance will degrade, with most units protecting themselves on high pressure. Moisture will then carry downstream into the air system. Water-cooled installations should include a flow or temperature alarm so a loop failure is noticed before it reaches the tools.