I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT meant
for compressed air use.

Or has anyone seen one of the dew-point sensors at a surplus outlet?

Next stop after that, a molecular sieve for Nitrogen generation at 100
PSI for less than $2K. This stuff isn't Rocket Science - Wellllllll,
it is, but it shouldn't be. But if they keep it obscure, they keep it
expensive.

-- Bruce --

Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable) wrote:
I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT meant
for compressed air use.

Or has anyone seen one of the dew-point sensors at a surplus outlet?

Next stop after that, a molecular sieve for Nitrogen generation at 100
PSI for less than $2K. This stuff isn't Rocket Science - Wellllllll,
it is, but it shouldn't be. But if they keep it obscure, they keep it
expensive.

-- Bruce --

Don't kill yourself. You can run the air through the RAD and tack a
simple separation unit
on the outlet as well. Also doesn't hurt to run a roll filter in front
of the RAD to keep the crap out of it.

Like this type.
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/m... ory_Code=FAR

I run two of these, one on the paint line and one on the inlet to the
plasma.

--
Steve W.

"Steve W." wrote:

Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable) wrote:
I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT meant
for compressed air use.

Or has anyone seen one of the dew-point sensors at a surplus outlet?

Next stop after that, a molecular sieve for Nitrogen generation at 100
PSI for less than $2K. This stuff isn't Rocket Science - Wellllllll,
it is, but it shouldn't be. But if they keep it obscure, they keep it
expensive.

-- Bruce --

Don't kill yourself. You can run the air through the RAD and tack a
simple separation unit
on the outlet as well. Also doesn't hurt to run a roll filter in front
of the RAD to keep the crap out of it.

Like this type.
http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/m... ory_Code=FAR

I run two of these, one on the paint line and one on the inlet to the
plasma.

--
Steve W.

I don't see why the refrigerant sight glasses wouldn't work at least
technically. They can certainly handle the pressure and are expecting to
see gas or liquid at any point. It may be that they are too sensitive
and would only show wet at all times since a refrigerant system should
be a lot drier than even a well dried air system.

"Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable)"
wrote in message
...
I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT
meant
for compressed air use.

-- Bruce --

Cheap and Easy would be a thermometer on the chilled air line and a
clear water trap downstream. Dew Point is a function of temperature
and unaffected by the pressure.

You can make the dessicant that turns color from calcium chloride (ice
melter) plus a little cobalt chloride. In second grade we mixed up
some to make humidity indicators for a weather project, along with
light-bulb (vacuum) barometers. The throw-away HF in-line air driers
are an easy source of cobalt chloride mixed with silica gel.

jsw

Some folks use big drip legs, with brass valve at the bottom, and open the
valve daily to blow out the water. I guess you have more water than this?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

"Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable)"
wrote in message
...
I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT
meant
for compressed air use.

-- Bruce --

On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 21:40:08 -0700, "Bruce L. Bergman (munged human
readable)" wrote:

I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT meant
for compressed air use.

Or has anyone seen one of the dew-point sensors at a surplus outlet?

Next stop after that, a molecular sieve for Nitrogen generation at 100
PSI for less than $2K. This stuff isn't Rocket Science - Wellllllll,
it is, but it shouldn't be. But if they keep it obscure, they keep it
expensive.

Keep glass-bottomed regulator/filter at the end of your line, and push
the spring-loaded drain thingy before each shoot. Inline filters are
great for spray guns, too. Cheap insurance.
http://tinyurl.com/cwrwrbo and http://tinyurl.com/659ov6u

--
Never trouble another for what you can do for yourself.
-- Thomas Jefferson

On Sep 22, 11:44*pm, "Bruce L. Bergman (munged human readable)"
wrote:
I start looking, and the cheapest way to see if the Refrigerated Air
Drier is actually doing anything is going to run about $750 for the
Extech monitor probe w/ display, and a power supply for it.

Or I can wait for the hoses to start spitting water - Or worse, the
air ratchet or paint gun... *But by then the damage has been done.

Is there a Cheap & Easy way to watch this? There are the old "Magic
Eye" refrigerant sight-glasses that turn blue, but they are NOT meant
for compressed air use.

Or has anyone seen one of the dew-point sensors at a surplus outlet?

Next stop after that, a molecular sieve for Nitrogen generation at 100
PSI for less than $2K. *This stuff isn't Rocket Science - Wellllllll,
it is, but it shouldn't be. *But if they keep it obscure, they keep it
expensive.

-- Bruce --

McMaster Carr sells silica gel air dryers that change color (blue --
pink). They are probably the same as the "Magic Eye" ones that you
mention, but the ones with an aluminum bowl are rated for 150 psi and
the desiccant can be regenerated by heating.