Anybody know about air compressor filters?

[RonRock]

So I'm looking to add to my airline drops. I have piped my shop with a loop of 3/4" copper with several 1/2" drops. I have already finished a couple of the drops with a water trap and regulator that I had on hand.

So now I want to finish a few more of the drops, and have to search the bay for more water traps.

The ones I've found that would work for me have a spec that I don't know.

Filter element: 5.00 µm

Filter element: 40.00 µm

So what is a better filter? And what does the µm stand for? I'd guess parts per million, but I'd also show that as ppm.

More importantly than what is better, what do I need for my backyard shop. Defiantly not a production shop, just my shop looking for a decent air supply.

 

[md21722]

5 and 40 micron

I prefer the ones with an auto float drain

I recently switched from a 40 to a 5 micron filter and regulator because adding a float to my 40 micron was something like $40 and I wanted to see how the 5 micron filter compared anyway.

I am using a Parker 7F series with a metal bowl and 1/2" NPT fittings. So far so good.

 

[RonRock]

Good idea! I was just about to post this,

"micron is an unofficial name for micrometer (μm). Micrometer (μm) is a metric measurement unit of length"

So I was able to find out what "μm" means by copying and doing a Google search. No keys on my keyboard for μ.

Thanks for the pointer.

 

[RonRock]

Thanks md21722. So does the auto float drain actually blow off the water in the trap when it reaches a certain level?

 

[RonRock]

The ones I already have installed are Norgren F73G-3AN. I like the size and they seem to work fine for my needs. They have 3/8" in/out and a manual valve discharge.

 

[md21722]

In theory it will. I don't get as much water as I used to since I redid my system and every few days I blow off the line to see how much water I really got in there. The auto float will also drain when the pressure reaches 0 like the other style.

 

[RayBob58]

We've got thousands of traps in my workplace, and all were originally auto-drains. We started removing the floats and replacing them with manual drains years ago. The auto's leaked air so badly it was costing big money.

 

[stonesfan68]

You'd be better off investing in a system compressed air filter made by Ingersoll-Rand, Hankison, Zeks or Nano. Install the filter after the compressor discharge. It will knock out bulk water and oil and eliminate the need for the small point of use filters.

http://www.spxflow.com/en/hankison/pd-mp-hf-series/

http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com/am-en/products/air/compressed-air-treatment/filters/f-series

http://www.zeks.com/filtration.htm

 

[hnsy]

Good question / post

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