Customers often ask us, which design is better for a hand dryer, the blade 'hands in' design or the 'hands under' design?
The answer like most things, it depends on your requirements and the make and models that are being compared. That said there are fundamental advantages of both designs.
Did you know hands under models have been around for almost 100 years but it was only in the early part of the 21st century that they started to become much faster and more energy efficient. This category includes a huge range of products from manual push button hand dryers with high power consumption and slow heated airflows seen in the 20th century and still popular for some applications, through to concentrated, powerful airflows propelled by vacuum motors with little to no heater element function.
Blade hand dryers were first developed in Japan by Mitsubishi in the early 1990's. Mitsubishi are now onto their generation 9 model. Dyson popularised this style with the original AB01 Dyson Airblade which is not onto generation 3, the ab14 model. A whole load of other manufacturers now supply dual sided, blade drying. The 'Blade' or 'air curtain' concept comes from the very thin apertures that the high speed motors propel the airflow from.
Advantages of hands under models
1. They are much smaller so this makes them easier to fit in tight washrooms like accessibility washrooms or single cubicle toilets in small cafes or bars.
2. The majority of hand dryers are the 'hands under' type so the fixings that will need covering, are likely to be for this type of dryer. Installing a similar type makes it easier to cover up old marks without repair work. Furthermore it wil take less time for electricians and more likely avoid trunking as the wiring will be in the correct place. We can provide some excellent cover up solutions if you are switching though.
3. The cost is far less, hands under dryers for low usage areas can cost as little as £50, the entry level blade 'hands in dryer' will start from over £250
4. They are easier to service. 'hands under' dryers are very simple machines and very simple to access to repair or clean. It is far harder to get into blade units. The Dyson Airblade ab14 requires a dyson technician to get into.
5. Powering a single outlet rather than 2 requires less energy. The Dyson V, Mitsubishi SMART and Dryflow Turboforce all dry in under 12 seconds of less tha 1kw setting, the dual blade style are generally over 1Kw to achieve this or a slightly better performance.
6. Vandalism is cheaper to repair. If a hands under dryers is vandalised, covers are far cheaper to change, with a blade dryer the damage could be far more widespread and costly effecting multiple parts.
e.g of a hands under modern model (Viper) and a traditional warm air dryer (Ultradry)
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Advantages of blade hand dryers
1. The obvious advantage is that blade hand dryers capture the water, so no wet floors. This is good in the sense that floors remain dry and less hazardous, although it does create the need to clean and service the trays regularly which the regular cleaners might not think to do. Not all blade units capture the water as well as they might and the Dyson airblade ab14 has no where for the water to go, so it ultimately ends up on the floor just as it does with hands under dryers. There are add on solutions for the ab14 and hands under dryers which can help with this, like trays and floor matting. The Dryflow Vapordri evaporates all excess water, solving this as an issue.
2. Drying is more consistent. You will find with dual airflow, blade dryers that the drying experience is more consistent and requires less user participation. The Dyson airblade ab14, Mitsubishi Slim and Vapordri, consistently dry in 10-12 seconds with any size of hands.
3. Noise transfer is often less. There is often greater acoustic protection in a blade dryerand therefore the noise often doesnlt transfer through walls quite as much.
Examples of 'hands in' blade hand dryers
So there you have it, the basic advantages of each dryer type. It is worth noting there are now over the sink and behind mirror options which do overcome the water on the floor and size issue but not the cost, so for now, all 3 dryer types on the market have their place. If you need advice about the best model for your needs please don't hesitate to call on 0330 1244717.
