Air dryer setup

[Mesozoic]

Alright, so I ordered a Quincy QT-54 compressor and need to figure out the correct level of filtration and drying capability I need. My compressed air uses include the following tasks:

• General tire maintenance
• Compressed air for electronics lab and automotive equipment use and cleaning
• Automotive tool use, ie. die grinders, impacts, etc.
• Air supply for small blast cabinet

The compressor outputs about 15 cfm max, so is it alright to select an air dryer that is rated right at 15 cfm or is it necessary to budget some overhead and select something with a bit higher capacity, like 20 cfm?

I'm fairly certain my use case does not demand a dessicant-based dryer, but have never setup a compressor before, so not sure. Any suggestions are welcome. I do see that the Quincy brochure suggests (at a bare minimum), a 5 micron/5 PPM filter feeding a high temperature dryer followed by a 1 micron/0.1 PPM filter to the output.

 

[engineer2]

Refrigerated air dryers are sold in all sizes. Hight temp inlet and you won't need an aftercooler. IR sells a 15 SCFM model. Since your compressor is rated for 15, you only need a 15, but a 20 will work too. All comes down to the price you want to pay.

 

[Mesozoic]

Refrigerated air dryers are sold in all sizes. Hight temp inlet and you won't need an aftercooler. IR sells a 15 SCFM model. Since your compressor is rated for 15, you only need a 15, but a 20 will work too. All comes down to the price you want to pay.

Thanks. Looking to pay the least amount necessary, but aiming for longest equipment lifespan as well. Is it necessary to run a pre and post filter on the dryer?

 

[engineer2]

The consensus here is to run a coarse filter before the air dryer and a fine filter after, which makes sense. If you are on a budget, a filter after the air dryer will work OK. As the air dryer condenses out moisture, any particulates will be trapped by the condensing water and go into the drain trap. I got a used dryer that ran for 8 years with no inlet filter and the drain trap was clean. Most of the rusty water stays in the compressor tank, which should have its own drain.

 

[sberry]

Hook it up and figure out if you need it first,, before buying and trying everything g you can find on the internet. Get a basic fil/reg to start with, section of hose to run to it and a hose reel.

 

[930dreamer]

What size area will the compressor be in? If in a shop some long runs of black pipe/copper etc will cool the air and you could eliminate the dryer.

 

[matt_i]

An air dryer doesn't take out the atomized compressor oil, so while that's a small component it might not be desirable in certain circumstances.

The good old cyclonic and coalescing filters have been doing the job before refrigerated dryers were widely available. It was probably a heat exchanger cooled by ~50F cooling-tower-chilled water before that.

Just saying its effective but expensive way to go, initially and long-term for keeping the refrigeration active. And, in our plant the refrigerated dryers require a startup period prior to kicking off the compressors otherwise they are ineffective and allow significant moisture into the system. So if there has been a long shutdown period, its in the 20-30 minute wait before the screws can be fired up.

I suspect that a smaller dryer cools down to working range faster but you will also be faced with a similar time-delay every time you want to use air unless you keep it powered 24x7.

 

[sweetk30]

i live in the north east with lots of humidity . for years 20+ i have been working with compressed air . shop with 8 bays to my own shop and unless its crazy humid or the job requires it then i have yet seen a need to dry the air . tank drain daily is key and in my home shop i added a 2nd ballast tank for the air to feed in after the main tank/compressor unit then spin out filter separator . i have yet to get much moisture out of my main tank and about zero from the ballast / cool down holding tank .

i would run your compressor for a few days and drain off the bottom and see how much moisture you get first .

 

[Mesozoic]

All sound advice! I wasn't planning to purchase anything yet, just waiting to install the unit first and then see what I'm dealing with. The space the compressor will be in is a 7'x9' storage room.

 

[930dreamer]

All sound advice! I wasn't planning to purchase anything yet, just waiting to install the unit first and then see what I'm dealing with. The space the compressor will be in is a 7'x9' storage room.

Make sure you provide a nice air flow into and out of the compressor storage area.

 

[Mesozoic]

Make sure you provide a nice air flow into and out of the compressor storage area.

This is actually what I'm currently thinking about and not really sure what to do. I'm planning on having some other pieces of equipment (a small server rack - I know, unusual item to be co-located with a compressor) that needs adequate ventilation as well. At the very least, I need to consider some kind of fresh air inlet and a forced exhaust, all for that storage room, specifically. I'm adding a mini split HVAC system to the entire shop and can tie that into the storage room as well for the hot summer months, but I don't intend to run that year-round - only for lengthy projects that demand it. Haven't settled on a concrete plan for the ventilation requirements yet.

 

[pcmeiners]

Arizona, I have been there when it had 0.25% humidity in the summer at 119 degrees. There is a good chance you do not need an air dryer. I live in NYC, besides being the Covid 19 capital of the world, we also get 200-300 times the humidity you get most times of the year, here you need air drying. As other mentioned, hook everything up first, see if humidity is an issue before spending money.

 

[Mesozoic]

Arizona, I have been there when it had 0.25% humidity in the summer. There is a good chance you do not need an air dryer. I live in NYC, besides having the most covid 19 in the entire world, we also get 200-300 times the humidity you get, here you need air drying. As other mentioned, hook everything up first, see if humidity is an issue before spending money.

LOL I used to live in upstate NY. Definitely a bit humid up there, but down here in southern Arizona you get slightly different weather. The summers, particularly in June, sees the highest ambient temps with very low humidity (10%ish). Then suddenly, in July, the monsoon rains arrive with torrential and brutal force. The months of July, August, and September are generally very wet, naturally high humidity.

I work in a lab with an adjacent machine shop and we've got dryers setup for all of our piston compressors - we replaced 3 of our IR piston units with a single Quincy screw compressor and now I'm unsure of what equipment is hooked up to it. I think the Quincy has a built-in dryer unit on top of the main tank. Either way, dryers.

 

[kaymccampbell]

I did a precooler, water trap, compressor tank, coalescing filter, desiccant dryer, water trap filter, and finally regulator. I'm in the northeast and we have humidity 9-10 months a year. Maybe this will give you ideas.

 

[pcmeiners]

LOL I used to live in upstate NY. Definitely a bit humid up there, but down here in southern Arizona you get slightly different weather. The summers, particularly in June, sees the highest ambient temps with very low humidity (10%ish). Then suddenly, in July, the monsoon rains arrive with torrential and brutal force. The months of July, August, and September are generally very wet, naturally high humidity.

Guess I got the wrong impression of Arizona, when I was there people were complaining how humid it was at 0.50% vs 0.25% humidity, hard to understand when your used to 95%. For me, I could not understand how you they did not complain about 119 degrees, I was actually scared my body might not take it, both times I was there it was cooking.
An aftercooler is the cheapest means to remove moisture, generally it will remove 70% of it, which is pretty good most of the time, not good enough for sand blasting or most spray painting.

 

[Firstram]

I did a precooler, water trap, compressor tank, coalescing filter, desiccant dryer, water trap filter, and finally regulator. I'm in the northeast and we have humidity 9-10 months a year. Maybe this will give you ideas.

More info on your desiccant dryer, that looks good!

 

[sweetk30]

so after reading a few of these threads i figured ask what the working psi / tested psi is from hyden coolers them self since its NOT listed in there sales info .

i got a email back today and they said to me " we test our units to 150psi and call that max working pressure . we can not say they will not work at higher pressures but thats not on us " .


so for all of us using these HD engine oil coolers just be warned if your air compressor goes over 150psi then you are over the max pressure they set for there units .

 

[Mesozoic]

Whoa there, you guys are using engine oil coolers as aftercoolers? I have to say that's a great cost saving measure! How do you size them up for your compressor application, though? What calcs do you have to make?

 

[engineer2]

Checked the Tucson typical humidity and it looks like you rarely get above 50% RH. You could probably get by with a good aftercooler. If you are painting, add one of those inline desiccant driers.

 

[kaymccampbell]

so after reading a few of these threads i figured ask what the working psi / tested psi is from hyden coolers them self since its NOT listed in there sales info .

i got a email back today and they said to me " we test our units to 150psi and call that max working pressure . we can not say they will not work at higher pressures but thats not on us " .


so for all of us using these HD engine oil coolers just be warned if your air compressor goes over 150psi then you are over the max pressure they set for there units .

Derale coolers are 250 working, 300 burst. I used one on my setup.