A new mobile drying unit from AlorAir Solutions UK Ltd can be used to dry PPE using a combination of air movement from fans, heat from fan heaters and water removal by dehumidifiers.
The water is pumped away via a condensate pump. A full length drip tray underneath the clothing will capture the water drips and feed that to the pump, the water collected from the dehumidifier also gets fed to the same pump, which only activates once there is enough water to pump away and is not continuously working.
The fan is linked to the dehumidifier so only turns on when a high relative humidity is detected (wet kit) and will only turn off when the humidity point is reached (dry kit) – the RH levels on the dehumidifier can be set so more or less drying can be obtained as required. The fan heater works on a timer box allowing times of one, two, three or four hours to be selected, depending on what is in the mobile drying unit, and how wet it is will depend on the time chosen – but four hours will be a maximum – this helps stop the heating being left on continuously – therefore making it more energy efficient.
A step bar has also been added onto the base of the frame to help users hang the kit and not bend or stress the mesh, which has been designed to allow boots to sit on and dry.
West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) has recently ordered two drying units to hang their dry-suits after water training. These units are taller than normal, allowing for the dry-suits to be hung without them dragging on the bottom of the dryer. WMFS also specified a larger width than usual, enough for 13 suits with approximately 200mm between each one, which makes the unit 3m wide and 2.9m high. These should be ready at the end of February.
The drying units take approximately eight weeks to manufacture from confirmation of order and take approximately one day on site to build.
