I......need.........air...

[Geof]

I came in on this discussion about dry air a bit late but have a little addition. Run a line from the drop legs where your condensed water collects to the blow gun on your machine. That way whenever you blow off chips and stuff you drain the drop legs. A little bit of moisture out the blow gun doesn't hurt as much as forgetting to drain your system regularly enough.

[mxtras]

Everyone has given good information and ideas. Thanks for all of the input. I am going to run copper and I will likely build my own condensor system to extract moisture.

I will hopefully be plumbing things in a week or two - I finally got the clearance to move in to the building...so as soon as I sober up from the party I am going to get to work. (Just kidding - I don't drink)

Thanks again - any other last minute ideas or suggestions?

Scott

[Jimmy Southern]

Hello everyone,

I was at my local heating and air place Friday and asked the guy that does their service work about what he thought about the outer unit idea. He said he had never thought about it but that it should work quite well. He had one suggestion. He said you should first degrease the coil hose because in most of the units you will get given to you the compressor has died. Usually the oil from the compressor ends up coating the inside pretty thoroughly. This oil would decrease the efficiency of the heat transfer. The oil that is used comes clean pretty easily with a good degreaser. He recommended using a couple of cans of brake cleaner sprayed in the top of the coil and let gravity run it the rest of the way down then rinse clean.

The other recommendation I have is to make your own coil. If you have a wood lathe this should be easy. Make three identical dies with half round grooves in them and make up a simple ring roller. I'm sure if anyone can build a CNC machine you have the skills to make the roller.

Hope this helps. Just remember cool air means dry air.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by mxtras ..... Thanks again - any other last minute ideas or suggestions? ..... Scott

Not related to compressed air; having run my own operation for 25 years I suspect a person has to have air between their ears to start out. You will start feeling that at about the end of the first month and every month after that. Don't worry eventually you learn to ignore it.

Good luck

[Torque1st]

Jimmy, don't use PVC for air lines. It is not rated for compressed gas and is illegal in most places. It is very dangerous to use. Check with your local codes department. Even the manufacturers will tell you not to use PVC for compressed air. If you have already installed it get rid of it and install iron pipe. Apparently even copper is not allowed in some areas due to fire codes.

[whateg01]

I guess I never noticed, but I don't recall the air from my compressor tank being noticeably warm. I do drain the tank every month or so, but not much moisture there. I have a 60gal tank. Of course, I don't use it that heavily most of the time, so the air has plenty of opportunity to cool off. Maybe that's why.

Just a thought.

Dave

[Torque1st]

The main tank is the primary air cooler and moisture condenser/trap on most small shop systems. It should stay at near ambient temperature unless air is being used heavily.

[mxtras]

As mentioned, the compressor will be outside under a roof, so it will be at ambient temperature, for sure! Cold weather might be an issue.

I am planning to put an automatic drain on the tank, for sure.

Scott