Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is to use a dehumdifier in
your shop to keep the air that compressors going to take in dry to
start with.

Other than that, I think there's various traps or filters to use. The
scuba shop I used to go to for fills drew the air they were filling
the tanks with through a bed of some sort of white pellets used as a
dessicant.

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:06:04 -0400, "Woodchuck"
wrote:

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:06:04 -0400, "Woodchuck"
vaguely proposed a theory
.......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

I refer you to a post about 3 days ago:

Subject: Air comp ? OT sort of

Covers it very well.

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.


************************************************** ***
Marriage. Where two people decide to get together so
that neither of them can do what they want to because
of the other one.

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:06:04 -0400, "Woodchuck"
calmly ranted:

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.

Drain it daily, or more frequently if you use several dozen
tankfuls a day. Run hard lines on an angle so you'll have
water traps at the lower ends to drain it inline. Use inline
water traps and filters like the $20 HF #42035 cleaner.
http://www.harborfreight.com


--
Impeach 'em ALL!
----------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

build yourself a condenser unit.

david

Woodchuck wrote:

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.

I replied to a similar post just the other day with the following
information:

__________________________________________________ __________

The big problem with the design of small air compressors systems is that
they don't have a way to properly cool the compressed air that is exhausting
from the compressor so that the moisture will condense out of it. If it was
allowed to cool before you tried to use it the moisture would condense out
and the air would be dry. The water could then be separated and you would
have the dry air that you want. Unfortunately the air compressor
manufacturers have never addressed this problem in their designs. They must
all live in Arizona or some other desert climate. This is really a problem
for the
rest of us who must live and spray paint in the more humid parts of the
world.

As a compressor runs and raises the pressure of the air, it also increases
the temperature of it. The moisture that is in this air will only remain a
vapor if the air remains at this high temperature. As it cools in the tank
and your air lines this moisture condenses out of it and becomes a problem.
Also, since warm air rises above cooler air, this warm humid air stratifies
and floats above the cooler air in the tank. In most cases the compressor
design puts the air outlet from the tank right next to the air inlet from
the compressor so any air that you draw out of the tank is still hot (and
full of moisture) when it leaves the tank, but cools as it flows through
your lines. As it cools the water condenses out of it causing the problem
that you are experiencing. It would be more desirable if the air outlet from
the tank could be located toward (but not at) the bottom of the tank. This
would give the hot air that is entering the tank time to give up it's heat
through the tank walls and the moisture time to condense out of it and fall
to the bottom of the tank before it reached the outlet point and your air
lines.

If the design of your air compressor had included a means of cooling the
compressed air before it reached the tank, then all of the moisture vapor
would be condensed out of it and would fall to the bottom of the tank where
it could accumulate to be drained at your convenience. Then all of the air
in the tank would be cool and would have given up it's moisture long before
it left the tank and entered your air lines no matter where the tank exit
was located.

I modified my air compressor several years ago to correct this and have had
no water problems since. I had to do this because I now live in North
Carolina where the humidity is frequently so high that we get thunder
showers almost every day in the summer months. I couldn't use my air
compressor to do much of anything but use it as a great water pistol. I can
now do sand blasting and painting and I never have any water problems any
more.

Here is the fix:

I connected an old air conditioning condenser coil that I got out of an old
import car (don't remember the make or model) in the hot air line that ran
between the compressor outlet and the tank. The trick is to find a coil that
is about the right size with flare fitting connections and an adequate
tubing size to handle the air flow out of your compressor (mine was 3/8).
Since the running pressure of this part of automotive air conditioners is
typically in the 3-400 pound range these coils are more than strong enough
to handle the working pressures of home air compressors, so safety shouldn't
be a concern. I mounted this coil so that the fan in the compressor pulley
pulls air through it, cooling down the hot air that is coming out of the
compressor before it reaches the tank. You should connect the compressor
outlet to the top connection of the coil and the tank inlet to the bottom
connection. Once the air has been cooled, the moisture condenses out of it
and it falls to the bottom of the air tank. The entire tank will now stay at
ambient temperature and it won't matter where the outlet connection is
located, so long as it is above where the condensate collects. You will
still need to drain the tank frequently, in fact, a little more frequently
than you used to. The dry air in the tank will never again have enough
moisture in it to condense in your air lines.

I still use one of those "orange ball" filters at my spray gun, but I do it
more as a safeguard for dirt and debris since it never sees water any more.


--
Charley

All outgoing e-mail is scanned for
viruses by Norton Anti Virus 2004


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:06:04 -0400, "Woodchuck"
calmly ranted:

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.

Drain it daily, or more frequently if you use several dozen
tankfuls a day. Run hard lines on an angle so you'll have
water traps at the lower ends to drain it inline. Use inline
water traps and filters like the $20 HF #42035 cleaner.
http://www.harborfreight.com


--
Impeach 'em ALL!
----------------------------------------------------
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:06:04 -0400, "Woodchuck"
wrote:

Just got the new air compressor and would like to know what others use to
reduce the chance of water in airlines without breaking the bank$.



http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42035

With the number of questions that have come up in the group about compressed
air systems I will offer any assistance I can. I work for a compressed air
company that sells and installs compressors for Atlas Copco. I routinely
service compressors and air systems from the small 1 1/2 HP units in HVAC
systems to 400 HP units that fill a semi truck. I also install and design
air systems and such. However to ease the number of posts I would ask that
people write to me using my email address.

Carl Stigers

"Carl Stigers" wrote in message
However to ease the number of posts I would ask that
people write to me using my email address.

Carl Stigers

Whatsamatter Carl? Don't you want to educate the rest of us? The purpose
of this newsgroup is to SHARE information. Are you just shy?

Mitch,

A friend of mine built himself a shop ( if you consider 50'x76' just
a shop and not a factory... LOL) He used 3/4" copper from the air
compressor and then T'd off that into half inch at each outlet. With
a large shop he needed the volume of 3/4" pipe. You said you have a
small shop, so 1/2" would more than do you.

Now with that said there is a couple of things I would suggest if
you go copper.

1. Make sure you put a short piece of high pressure air line between
the air compressor and the copper line. The vibration of the
compressor will surely stress out your solder joints and they WILL
fail.

2. Make sure you get a high quality copper pipe ( I believe there are
different grades of copper... some are thicker ???? ) When buying it,
tell the salesperson the air pressure you will be applying.

3. At each outlet, make sure you secure things so they don't move
seeing as you are going to be putting a lot of pressure at those areas
when you connect/disconnect lines.

Now if you want to do it REALLY RIGHT....

1. Make a measured drawing of exactly where, how long and how many
outlets you want.

2. Get in touch with someone who installs HVAC (
Heating/Ventillation/Air Conditioning ) take your drawing to them and
have them cut/thread some natural gas (black 1/2") pipe to the
measurements on your drawings. They can do it right at their shop and
it will only take them a few minutes. Also ask what he charges for
the tee's/joint's you need, it may be cheaper than Home Depot. Don't
forget to label the pieces with masking tape as to where each goes.

3. Take all the pieces home, get out your trusty pipe thread tape and
pipe wrenches and put it all together.

4. Make sure you SECURE all outlets as mentioned above, and don't
forget to isolate the pipe with that short piece of air line to cut
down on vibration transfer through the pipes/joints/walls.

5. To check either copper or black pipe for leaks, mix some dish soap
and water in a spray bottle and put it on each joint. Bubbles will
quickly appear if there is even a small leak. Fantastic spray cleaner
also works really well, it bubbles as good as soap on leaky joints.

Hope this helps

Todd

PS: Instead of going to an HVAC person, you can also buy black steel
pipe at Home Depot in pre-determined lengths already threaded on both
ends.

Mitch,

I forgot to mention the reservoir tank. I would suggest buying
yourself a small ( 10 gal ) air pig that is used to pump up tires etc.
They are built to handle the air pressure you speak of, plus they
already have the fittings on them to attach airlines.

You never mentioned if you live in Canada or the US, but if it's
Canada and you are anywhere close to a Princess Auto, they have tons
of different shapes/sizes of air tanks. You can pick/choose the
style/type you want. Upright is best if you want to save space. Just
to give you an idea of their prices, here's the website

http://www.princessauto.com/

Oh, and just a friendly warning.... if you do go to Princess Auto,
don't blame me if you overspend. Every time I go into the place I
come out broke.... but with lots of tools ;-) Of course the same can
be said about Lee Valley and Home Depot.....

Todd

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
...

Whatsamatter Carl? Don't you want to educate the rest of us? The purpose
of this newsgroup is to SHARE information. Are you just shy?


Actually I am not shy however due to the large amount of posts to the group
I may not get in except every four or five days. I work a lot of hours and
figured that if e mail gets me every other day at least I would not be so
behind.

A note on copper pipe. You need the hot water thick style for air to meet
code. I believe it is L or K. When you go to home depot they have both.
The thicker tube is more expensive. While you can go with black pipe most
of you here in the group would end up with rust problems after a number of
years. Not many of you will have an air dryer. However if there is a
serious woodworker looking for a 5 HP unit with a built in dryer take a look
at the Atlas Copco SF unit. it is a scroll unit that has a dryer built in
and is very quiet. Oil free dry air. I think they run about 4 grand
though. The small shops with production should be looking at an Atlas Copco
GA11 to 18 model with Full Feature dryer and tank. Using the heavy rated
copper for your piping will ensure that you do not have rust. By the way
PVC will not meet code in any state of the union for air piping as the glues
are broken down by the oil carry over from recip compressors. The
explosions and rapid decompressions are absolutely amazing though. I saw a
100 gallon tank loose its PVC connection and it bent a 9"steel I Beam by 5"
in the center and bowed out a 15 foot concrete block wall almost 18" no one
was killed but we had to walk around these large brown lumps all over the
floor where the shop employee's had been standing....