Capacity
30 kg/batch
Overview
About the LIO 280 Pro
A compact, European-built tray freeze dryer (lyophilizer) for laboratories, product development and small-to-mid scale food production. L hardware (11 trays) plus advanced process control — built for repeatability and uptime.
For established production — the largest LIO, for producers running regular commercial batches.
Up to 30 kg fresh load — 11 trays, 3.9 m² of shelf area.
Full process control — active pressure control and pressure-building control hold chamber pressure at the recipe setpoint; fast defrost and automatic drain shorten the turnaround between batches.
Controlled drying — shelf-temperature control and deep vacuum give the same texture and rehydration batch after batch. AISI 304 stainless steel, 12-month warranty, heavy-duty wheels as standard.
Key features & benefits
Hygienic & Durable Construction
- AISI 304 stainless-steel chamber and trays — corrosion-resistant and easy to clean.
- Compact footprint that fits labs and small production spaces.
Control & Operation
- PLC touchscreen control with adjustable recipe parameters.
- USB CSV data export and recipe storage.
- Stable, quiet freeze-drying performance suitable for indoor/shared spaces.
Specifications
Engineering data, in plain text.
Batch capacity
30 kg
Ice condenser capacity
48 kg
Total shelf area
3.9 m²
Shelf spacing
41 mm
Heated shelves
11
Product trays
11
Tray size
39 × 91 cm
Shelf temperature range
-35 … 60 °C
Min. condenser temperature
-43 °C
Vacuum pump oil change
Every 500 operating hours (oil-sealed pump)
Defrosting
Automatic / fast defrost (Pro)
Control system
PLC touchscreen + Pro: pressure control · pressure-building control · fast defrost · automatic drain control — menu in English
Data logging & recipes
USB CSV export + recipes + automatic end-of-drying mode
Remote monitoring
No
Refrigeration
Air-cooled
Chamber / shelf material
AISI 304 stainless steel
External dimensions
850 × 1,050 × 1,275 mm
Net weight
340 kg
Connected load
4.24 kW
Energy consumption
3.59 kWh/h
Warranty
12 months
Temperature range
Chamber −35 to +70 °C · heated shelves
Operating ambient
5–30 °C
Freezing
In the chamber itself, no separate freezer needed. The product must reach at least −25 °C. Pre-freezing in a freezer is optional and shortens time in the machine.
Vacuum pump
Oil-sealed (oil-free scroll option)
Power supply
400 V / 3~ / 50 Hz
Defrost time
1 h
Refrigerant
R290 (natural refrigerant, GWP 3)
Mobility
Heavy-duty wheels (standard)
Run the numbers
Produce from €55.21/kg on the LIO 280 Pro.
Indicative cost to produce one kilo of finished freeze-dried product. Adjust the inputs to your operation. Every number recomputes live.
Cost to produce
€55.21/kg
indicative · value-tier · incl. raw material, excl. labour
€16.32/kg machine cost · excludes raw material & labour
Payback
4 mo
on capex, gross margin
Revenue / yr
€77,760
~518 kg dried/yr
Full cycle
24–36h
drying + in-chamber freeze
Excludes labour: cycles run largely unattended; hands-on handling is typically a few minutes per batch with trolleys/mechanisation. Add your own loaded rate if it’s material to your setup.
Yield and cycle-time figures are conservative engineering estimates based on typical product composition and verified machine specifications. Actual results depend on the specific material, recipe, preparation, load and ambient conditions, and may differ. These figures are for planning purposes only; Freeze-drying.tech accepts no responsibility for decisions made on their basis. Freeze-drying.tech can run a validation cycle of your product on the target machine to provide confirmed, measured yield and cycle-time figures.
Service & warranty
Backed after the sale.
Warranty
12 months
Support
Email and remote diagnostic support during business hours, with access to the spare-parts catalogue and the full documentation library. Extended and on-site service plans are available on request.
Installation & commissioning
Delivered ready to commission on a three-phase supply. Remote onboarding and recipe-setup guidance are included; on-site commissioning is available on request.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask.
The LIO 280 Pro takes up to 30 kg of fresh product per cycle across 11 stainless-steel trays (3.9 m² of shelf area). As a rule of thumb, high-moisture foods such as fruit, vegetables and ready meals lose 80–90% of their weight in drying, so a full load leaves roughly 10–20% of that as finished product. A typical cycle runs 24–48 h depending on the product, its thickness and water content.
The LIO 280 Pro runs the same chamber, 11 trays and 3.9 m² shelf area as the L model, but adds advanced process control: active chamber-pressure control, pressure-building (controlled leak) control, fast/automatic defrost and automatic condensate drain. In practice that means more repeatable cycles batch-to-batch, the ability to dry sensitive or collapse-prone products (which need a held pressure, not just deep vacuum), and shorter turnaround between runs. Choose Pro if you are validating recipes, selling on consistent quality, or drying sensitive, high-value products.
It requires a three-phase 400 V / 50 Hz supply, so plan for a three-phase connection in your facility (this is normal for its capacity class). It is air-cooled, so it needs no water or external chiller, just clearance for airflow and a room kept between 10 and 30 °C. Average running consumption is modest for a machine of this class, which keeps cost-per-batch down.
The LIO 280 Pro ships with a robust oil-sealed rotary-vane pump as standard (best value, slightly more maintenance: periodic oil changes). The oil-free scroll option (+€5 490 on this model) removes oil handling entirely, cuts maintenance and avoids any oil back-migration risk, worth it for clean-label food, frequent daily use, or where the machine sits in a production room. Both reach the same process vacuum; the choice is about maintenance and cleanliness, not drying performance.
Yes for logging, no for remote. The PLC touchscreen stores recipes and exports full cycle data to USB as CSV, so you can document every batch for QC or traceability. There is no built-in cloud/remote monitoring on the LIO range. If app-based remote oversight is essential to you, flag it and we'll point you to the right alternative in the catalogue.
It carries a 12-month warranty and is CE-certified and built in Europe. These are made-to-order, so expect a production lead time after order (confirmed per quote). For food, nutraceutical and R&D buyers that European build is the core reason to choose LIO over grey-import machines.
Next step
Talk to an engineer, not a salesperson.
Tell us your product and your volumes. We'll size the machine, sanity-check the numbers against yours, and send a written quote, usually within one business day.