After Cooler?

[pcmeiners]

" I recently "drained" my 80 gallon after YEARS of neglect. I got less than a cup of water, so I guess I'm in a less humid environment than many..."

Lucky dog, I am the one with the belt guard cooler on the Curtis on the first page. In the summer, this cooler can pull out a couple gallons of water in an 8hr day easily (NY).

Just made a belt guard cooler for a friend with this, bit big but it's for a 15 hp unit, 1" construction throughout..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRANSMISSIO...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d30705855&vxp=mtr

An equivalent to a DB 1290 3/4" fittings, as on the Curtis is just about oversized for a 5 hp compressor, perfect for a 7 hp, brings the temp down to room temperature. They show up ocassionally on Ebay at a low price, but rarely; I paid 40.00 with shipping. An aftercooler has overhead from friction loss, so it best to go with a cooler built with larger pipe/fitting. Lastly anyone considering a refrigerated dryer, if you do not have an aftercooler you will pay for it in much higher electrical costs.

http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/DB-1290.html

A tip for anyone looking for any type filter on Ebay... search listings in the order Watts, Wilkerson, Speedaire, Parker, Norgen. Watts filters seem to be the best price at this time. Get the older models of filters, the newest version from any of the manufactures are built like ****. If you plan on ever using high pressure for any reason get the solid metal bowls filters, the plastic bowls are limited as to temp/pressure.

 

[pipsters]

....thus the reason metal piping around the garage is a good idea, as it allows the air to cool even further before it gets to the tool. Condensate in the piping gets directed to the drops with ball valves.

Nothing wrong with that. Although I would surmise that after a time the pipe itself would also be hot, if using the air continuously, thereby negating any cooling effect.

An aftercooler cools the air and forces the moisture out of the air into liquid form, then adding a filter between it and the tank will remove 70%-75% of the moisture in the system before it even gets to your tank and lines.

 

[Morrisman]

That still won't remove the vapor'd moisture from the lines though. Only if you fill your tank, let it sit, then use the air would it have an effect.

Maybe you should read my post again, as it refers specifically to water in the tank, not the lines.

 

[lametec]

The top picture the OP's post is of my cooler install, btw. It does work, since the Wilkerson auto drain fills up. There's also still some water that condenses in the tank. That's to be expected, though, since this isn't a refrigerated cooler.

As to the poster that said he'd rather use the compressor pulley fan due to possible noise issues with an electric fan:

1. The compressor itself makes a lot more noise than the fan, and you can't even hear the fan over the compressor.
2. The electric fan flows a lot more air, which results in better cooling. It also simplified the install, since I could basically put the cooler wherever I wanted to.

 

[pipsters]

Maybe you should read my post again, as it refers specifically to water in the tank, not the lines.

Water in the tank isn't a huge issue...water in the lines is the biggest problem.

 

[BJ42LX]

This fellow measured his compressor outlet temperature at 310F going into the aftercooler and 96F coming out.

I measured similar temps (using my HF ray gun) right at the output of my Sanborn (Coleman) air compressor. High 200's on the cylinder head.

An aftercooler is great for conditioning the air in the system. I'd like to figure out a way to cool the cylinder head for extended life and higher efficiency.

 

[pcmeiners]

If you look at the belt guard cooler on the first page, that is a intercooler, not an aftercooler, for cooling the air between the first and second stage, which does lower the head temperature and introduces denser air into the second stage, allowing the compressor to produce cfm at approx 15% less power. The temperature the air entering the second stage is never higher then the room temperature; I estmate the particular cooling element is approx. 10-15% larger then is necessary to get the temp down to room temperature. I removed/replaced the original intercooler as it lowered the temperature very little, water boiled on either end.
If you do add an intercooler, you need a very reliable means of removing the water condensing out of the air, as any water slugging into the second stage will break your compressor, that is why I have two water separators with internal float valves below the cooler. What comes out of the water separators is not a few drops on a very hot humid day; do not even consider manually draining or you will be purchasing a new pump in an extremely short running period. Wish I had a temperature gun to tell you the head temperature differences.

 

[lametec]

This fellow measured his compressor outlet temperature at 310F going into the aftercooler and 96F coming out.

What cnccookbook.com didn't mention was that the temperature measurements were done with ambient temps of 86°F.

 

[mayday0017]

Man this thread is getting some awesome feedback, thanks everyone for your input!

Guys that have an after cooler setup installed, can you post up some pics showing a little more of what you did and maybe what you would do different if you were to do another if anything?

 

[pcmeiners]

The only thing different I would do on the belt guard unit is to place a liquid filled pressure gauge on it, as I could get an idea when to change the air filters or if I notice a pressure drop/raise from normal, I would suspect valve issues. Also I built the guard frame from 1"x 1"x 1/8" angle welded together to form a C-channel, the last one I built I used 1" x 2" x 1/8" C- channel.
Just as a note, belt guard coolers are heavy, so I fabricated a much heavier 3/8" steel support angle to support the belt guard and cooler, original OEM support was 1/8" steel; there is no vibration of either the belt guard or cooler supported just from the bottom, 1/8" will vibrate.

 

[buening]

Some compressors use intercoolers on their pumps. The Belaire that I have has triple pass intercoolers on each side of the pump. Below is a pic of one of the intercoolers.

 

[ARAMP1]

I'm thinking about just running some coiled copper line for now to see if that does anything.

 

[BJ42LX]

I'm thinking about just running some coiled copper line for now to see if that does anything.

$$$

Might be better off just getting the B&M unit from post 1. They're all over eBay for $85 shipped.

 

[mayday0017]

Plus you can expect a little better results out of a Finned cooler such as the B&M, cooling is about surface area to internal volume ratio... You want as much surface area with as little ID as possible but at the same time you want as little restriction as possible so you make trades between how efficient a unit is and it's size.

 

[pcmeiners]

All, non toy, two stage compressors have intercoolers. Generally OEM intercooler just do not do much, as the added cost to create a fully functional cooler would be cost prohibitive. Most major maufacturer offer add-on belt guard coolers at a very high price.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

First pic, in its working position, the second pic, was the day I brought it home, you can see the back side. Its 110v.

 

[buening]

Most major maufacturer offer add-on belt guard coolers at a very high price.

Yeah they want $400 or so for the belt guard aftercooler for mine, thus my interest in this thread

I don't expect much from my intercooler, just thought I'd point that out though.

 

[buening]

I ran across these pictures on the "Compression....show off your compressors" thread, post #1193 by "djmartins" who owns the same air compressor as mine. This is an aftercooler:

Here is mine:

Built an intercooler with auto drains, what you can't see is the 25cfm refrigerated air dryer behind the unit.
it is in it's own vented room at the back of the garage with a 60amp disconnect just outside the door.
I used 3/4" black pipe to plumb the garage, about 3/4 of the way done with the plumbing but the first half is up an running so I can use the compressor.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1520215#post1520215

 

[mayday0017]

Nice setup, what transmission cooler did you use? Or if it isn't a transmission cooler what is it, it looks well built!

One concern with the setup and it might be the pic angle, but how far do you have the flywheel side from the wall? It is recommened to have 1ft minimum between the flywheel and the wall for air so you don't burn up your pump....

 

[buening]

From his thread at the end of my post, he found a Fluidyne DB-5383/G2 heavy duty truck oil cooler, measures approximately 13"x12"x3" on ebay. BTW its not mine

 

[Morrisman]

I ran across these pictures on the "Compression....show off your compressors" thread, post #1193 by "djmartins" who owns the same air compressor as mine. This is an aftercooler:

Here is mine:

That is some serious cooling going on.

Silly question, but you do have plenty of ventilation in that separate compressor room don't you?

 

[Xicaque]

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[mdbeck1]

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[Pontiyak]

What's the best (easiest) way to plumb one of these up:

Hydraulic hose from NAPA?

If i went copper tubing, I'd have to braze not solder, correct?

 

[arvidj]

What's the best (easiest) way to plumb one of these up:

Hydraulic hose from NAPA?

If i went copper tubing, I'd have to braze not solder, correct?

Just to give you one example of a similar setup and a perspective the temperature of the line from the output of the second stage of my compressor was around 290 degrees F. The output from the air cooler was around 100 F. The really hot fittings are 3/4 inch copper and compression fittings. After the cooler is all copper that is soldered with this ... http://www.harrisproductsgroup.com/en/Products/Alloys/Soldering/Lead-Free-Solders/Bridgit.aspx

Arvid

 

[devildog93]

So what are the piping/plumbing options for installing an aftercooler? I've run through a few threads and i have seen copper tubing, some various flex lines, and even rigid pipe. I just finished plumbing my home shop setup and am now looking to install a belt guard aftercooler like many have done here. I am wondering what you used if you had a similar setup. I am installing a belt guard aftercooler with 3/4" inlet and outlet on a Curtis ct-5 . Right now it is plumbed and running with an oil/water separator and a dessicant dryer, but i think i will need the aftercooler as well for plasma cutting and painting.

 

[BCreekDave]

Due to the location of my compressor between the garage doors and very close to the wall, I had to be a bit creative in its placement. My cooler is from a hydraulic pump cooler that was being pitched at work due to a small hole in one of the tanks. I brazed that closed and added a ebm pabst 220V fan from eBay for $25. I made some angle brackets that bolt to the fan guard. Fortunately my fan guard is good to bolt to. I wired the fan to the motor leads so that it comes on with the compressor. Added a water filter just after the cooler and before the tank. I have a bit less than 100 in the whole thing including tubing and fittings. The hardest part was bending the tubing as I had to anneal the copper pipes to bend them.
I thought about the fan guard type of cooler, but my compressor runs relatively slow by design and it doesn't move much air.



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