When it comes to selecting a vaporizer, there are a couple of options to choose from: ambient or electric. Here’s a quick breakdown of each vaporizer type and how they work.
Ambient Vaporizers
Ambient vaporizers use the ambient outdoor air temperature to warm up cryogenic liquid and convert it into a usable gas form, making them the most affordable option in terms of operating costs and maintenance fees. Typically considered “set it and forget it,” ambient vaporizers require little to no maintenance.
Considerations for ambient vaporizers:
- Outdoor Space: You’ll need a large enough footprint to house the vaporizer and allow for 3 to 6 feet of spacing between units, if your application needs more than one.
- Coldest Average Winter Temperatures: Because ambient vaporizers build up a layer of ice as part of the process, you’ll need to factor in the number of below freezing days your area has during the winter and how often your vaporizer needs to operate during that time. If the vaporizer doesn’t have enough time to defrost, it won’t work effectively, and will ultimately allow liquid cryogen to break through.
- Oversized is Better than Undersized: If you’re in a particularly cold region, or your application needs to run continuously, oversizing the vaporizer will ensure that you don’t run into downtime issues. Undersizing the vaporizer almost always guarantees problems.
Electric Vaporizers
As the name implies, electric vaporizers use an electric heating element to convert liquid cryogens into gas. They’re typically used in smaller applications, like breweries and cannabis production, which don’t have the outdoor space for a larger ambient vaporizer.
Considerations for electric vaporizers:
- Maintenance: Heating elements will eventually burn out and need replacing. Look for electric vaporizer models designed for easy access so that replacing the heating element is as painless as possible.
- Cost: Electric vaporizers generally cost more than ambient models and do incur an operating cost from the electricity usage.
Ratermann has a large inventory of vaporizers to fit your needs, with quick shipping from multiple locations around the country. Learn more.