Compressor air dryer for DIY er

[kerr]

After looking at several DIY youtube videos . I dont know what to do . I have a project truck I need to sand blast , a few parts at a time .

I need to spray primer and paint for This one vehicle . Maybe another one day . What do some of you who have been down this rabbit hole use for these jobs ? I went all batt power tools so no issue there .

Just need an infrequint use air dryer system that will work for little $ .

Thanks , kerr

Long time member , not many post .

 

[Marctrees]

A basic $20 bowl water separator preceding a Motorgard "toilet paper" filter handles my 16cfm 5 hp sandblasting from clogging and also spraying nitro laquer.

Numerous projects over the years.

In humid TX.

REMOVE filter element to dry between uses.

Marc

 

[kerr]

I remember a friend long ago who had the TP filter setup . I dont remember much about it . Any pics or something I could see ?

Thanks for shaking the memory .

 

[kaymccampbell]

I did the following. It's made my air system water free.

 

[redmondjp]

Use a coalescing filter at the end of your hose - the longer the hose the better, so that the air has more time to cool off, causing the water to condense out into droplets, that the filter traps at the end. That's by far the easiest way to do it. Buy a 50' section of hose and if you want to make it even more effective, loop it in a kiddie wading pool or other container filled with cold water to enhance the cooling.

Too many people make the mistake of installing this type of filter right at the compressor, where the air is too hot.

 

[engineer2]

Lots of plans here for aftercoolers.
Add a disposable desiccant cartridge just before the gun for paint spraying.
Keep an eye out on CL for a used refrigerated air dryer, but finding one that is the right size is very difficult.

 

[Jswain]

How big is your air compressor?
The bigger it is the less you will need so it all depends really.

If your air compressor is too small/running way outside of the duty cycle barely/not keeping up and getting smoking hot it will be making a lot of condensation.

If it is appropriately sized then you will likely be more than fine with just a plain filter regulator.

 

[txvwnut]

Kay didn’t you post a breakdown of how you built that a while back? I want to copy it for mine as I’m planning on a re-pipe in my shop.

 

[trents99]

Ran into the same issue when I painted my car years ago in August. Cheap fix for me was touched on earlier about coiling a hose in cool water.

I used a cheap vinyl coated air hose that nobody likes coiled in a 5 gallon bucket with ice and water. Attached that hose to the compressor and the good rubber line for dragging around while painting. Not a single drop of condensation from the spray gun through out from sealer to clearcoat.

I did have to wear one of those brown cotton Jersey gloves because the gun got a little too cold to hang on to.

Sent from my SM-G955U using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Marctrees]

I remember a friend long ago who had the TP filter setup . I dont remember much about it . Any pics or something I could see ?

Thanks for shaking the memory .

Google -"Motorgard toilet paper filter" All, and "Images"

There are various models... but they are all the same only diff is input and output ****** sizes.

Marc

 

[Pontiac787]

I personally feel the elaborate air dryer setups you see here and elsewhere are more a product of the internet and not of necessity.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Kay didn’t you post a breakdown of how you built that a while back? I want to copy it for mine as I’m planning on a re-pipe in my shop.

I think most of that is here.
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8534285&postcount=20402

 

[kaymccampbell]

I personally feel the elaborate air dryer setups you see here and elsewhere are more a product of the internet and not of necessity.

I'd say it's necessary.
Mine allows me to paint or sandblast or whatever right out of the hose, for extended periods with zero moisture. Several times a year I've had water screw up tools or parts or paint and had to do it over, or fix it. No more. Today I spent several hours with a die grinder, and normally it would have become a fountain. Instead I was able to work uninterrupted, without having to service the grinder or reclean what I was working on due to moisture.

 

[Sumboodie]

60 gallon compressor then about 100ft of hose burie 3ft in the ground then that feeds a 25 gallon tank.

Has worked well.

 

[Marctrees]

I personally feel the elaborate air dryer setups you see here and elsewhere are more a product of the internet and not of necessity.

Everyone has different climate and different air needs.

Some need minimal system like mine, other much higher volume users may find a refrigerated system necessary.

I started w only a water sep bowl, then added the Motogard when problems showed up w excessive water.

Marc

 

[kerr]

Thanks all . Marctrees , I am going your route as others seem to have good luck with this setup too .

Kerr

 

[skeeterskip]

Hey maybe someone here can help me. I have an old 2 ton coleman air conditioning unit with a bad compressor. I am thinking of making it into and aftercooler, removing the compressor unit and using the condensing coil as my aftercooler and using the exisitng evaporator fan to help cool everything. I would connect my 2 stage air compressor pump to the coil inlet and the outlet back to the tank. Does this seem like a viable solution to water in my air lines? Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[wake74]

I've got the typical up and down copper piping aftercooler on the wall, but when I get to the point of shooting base / clear, or top coats of SS, I always use a Devilbiss desiccant snake. About $40 each, and not really reusable, but I don't shoot enough paint to warrant a proper refrigerant based air dryer. I've never had a moisture problem using the snake. At the cost of good automotive paint, and the work involved to correct a problem, $40 is cheap insurance.

 

[smackey05]

I went down this path and painted my 1969 Mustang myself. I liked the Devilbiss products and always had a small dryer right at the gun on the hose.

You may run into a problem with battery tools depending on how long you are using them. I'm not sure where they are at today, but for DA sanders, long board sanders, I've always used air and a large compressor tank.

 

[redmondjp]

Hey maybe someone here can help me. I have an old 2 ton coleman air conditioning unit with a bad compressor. I am thinking of making it into and aftercooler, removing the compressor unit and using the condensing coil as my aftercooler and using the exisitng evaporator fan to help cool everything. I would connect my 2 stage air compressor pump to the coil inlet and the outlet back to the tank. Does this seem like a viable solution to water in my air lines? Thanks in advance for any insight.

The only issue that you may have is a flow restriction. I saved an automotive air conditioning condenser from a full-size 1970s car, intending to use it for the same purpose. It had one tube through the entire unit that was somewhere between 1/4" and 5/16" inside diameter. That's OK for a few CFM but for a larger pump it would significantly restrict the flow (friction loss inside the pipe, plus it had about 476 U-bends in it as well). I'm not a mechanical engineer but I know lots of them - they can do the calculations and tell you for sure.

If you want to experiment you can monitor pre and post-cooler pressures with the compressor running. The amount of pressure drop will give you an idea of how much flow restriction there is. I'm sure there are others here who have done this that can chime in. I have a Quincy 325 that came with a factory-installed aftercooler. It has what looks like 1" pipe fittings on it, as a reference.

 

[Ders]

Should one attach said cooler between pump and tank( so tank doesn't collect any moisture). Or after the tank before connecting to shop air lines?

 

[FTG-05]

Add another air tank prior to your air hose. Assuming you can find an appropriate tank, it's cheap, easy and pretty effective.

 

[FredWanaker]

just cool the air before the filter. I use an extra 50' of hose that a fan blows across. Some folks use copper cooled in water. Once the vapor condenses run it thru a standard bowl filter, and use a disposable $4 filter on the end before the gun. That said, you will have to drain the bowl filter once in awhile and change the $4 filter. I blow them backwards and then let them dry out. As to blasting the truck, be careful not to warp the metal. As you blast one side it stretches, and that will cause warping.

 

[Bretny]

Look up franzanator. I built one for between my pump and tank about 13yrs ago. I drain my tank about every 6 months and get no more than a shot glass of water out of it...I live in the northeast.

 

[racecougar]

Add another air tank prior to your air hose. Assuming you can find an appropriate tank, it's cheap, easy and pretty effective.

It claims a little more floor space, but this does indeed work very well.

 

[pcmeiners]

"Look up franzanator."

Just like refrigeration, which is how this works, there is cost, it is not free.

 

[firebirdparts]

I have a system about like Kay's. I observed that some Fords coincidentally on parts cars I had use 1/2" OD tubing as connections to the a/c condenser, so that was free for me.

I daresay 1/2" tubing is marginal for sandblasting, but it's plenty big enough for my 60 gallon compressor, which is also marginal for sandblasting. It's plenty big for painting.

It removes a lot of water. A lot. Temperature reduction is very much superior to other options. You need a knockout pot of some kind after the cooler, obviously. You gotta let the water come to a stop someplace.

so I guess the air conditioner would have 3/4" tubing, so that would be awesome. The main thing is to be able to make a connection, whether you have to solder or, like I did, use compression fittings.

 

[pcmeiners]

The only issue that you may have is a flow restriction.

Flow restriction is a main issue as is flow velocity. Due to the small tube size air increases in speed, for moisture to drop out efficiently air needs to move slow , slower the better, which the small diameter of the coil can not do.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Flow restriction is a main issue as is flow velocity. Due to the small tube size air increases in speed, for moisture to drop out efficiently air needs to move slow , slower the better.

FYI. You are arguing on a zombie thread with someone who hasn't been here for six months.

 

[pcmeiners]

Who is arguing, old or new thread does not matter, if a newbie comes across the thread it gives them something to think about.