Abstract: A thermal dryer for drying granular resin immediately prior to its introduction into a molding machine or other resin processing apparatus comprises a vertically oriented cylindrical drying chamber with means to introduce granular resin at its top, the resin flowing down through the chamber and out into the processing apparatus; a rectangular tubular member defines an air passage around the drying chamber, with communication from the top of the drying chamber to the air passage. An enclosed electrical heater and a blower are mounted in a housing encompassing the tubular member and the drying chamber; the blower pulls air through an inlet port into the housing to pass over the blower and its motor, into the heater enclosure and out through an air discharge tube into the bottom part of the drying chamber, out the top of the drying chamber into the air passage, and then through the blower to an outlet port.