Compressor air dryer

[dusterdude]

Is there a good one for less than 100 dollars?

Sent from my LG-US601 using Tapatalk

 

[metaleltr]

At that price point you will be looking for a filter or water trap. When I hear air dryer I think of refrigerated dryers.
This is close to your budget and also provides a pressure regulator.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B016XIWMPI/ref=sspa_mw_detail_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[FTG-05]

My main air dryer is a former 120 gallon compressor tank. It was originally for a horizontal air compressor, but I modified it to be vertical so it would take up less space. Here's a pic of it next to my 80 gallon Frankenpressor:



Since this pic was taken, I've added 30' of copper tubing as a manifold to cool the air before it gets to the aux tank. So with the copper manifold, the aux tank and final manifold, I have 5 opportunities for water to cool and drop out before the air gets to the main pipe system:

Main tank drain
Copper manifold drain
Aux tank drain
Water trap
Final manifold Tee drain.

I find most water coming out of the main tank, some out of the copper manifold, but none so far out of the other three drains. However, I don't use my air system very long usually; mostly when I'm cutting something with my plasma cutter or working on vehicles.

 

[engineer2]

The cheapest one on the market is the Harbor Freight unit for $400.
Sometimes you find refrigerated air dryers on Craigslist.
If you are near Chicago and want a project, I'll sell you my Ingersol Rand air dryer. Vintage 1966 model.

 

[bdk1976]

Is there a good one for less than 100 dollars?

Yes - it’s called a coil of air hose in a 5 gal bucket of ice water. You can rig up something more complex if you want to splurge.

 

[callcoy]

When I lived in California I got away with the old toilet paper roll oil filters. They were cheap and I was cheaper, I would recycle the wet rolls with others that had dried. I have escaped to Tenn. now and I am still setting up my new shop so I don't know if they will work as well here. I will have two different legs to my air delivery system of galvanized line, one will be 50' long and the other will be shy of 100' all exposed. So I don't know effect it will have, but it sounds like I may in for a rude awakening. As far as picking up your needed equipment you may luck out and score at a swap meet, I did with my $10.00 paper filters.

 

[engineer2]

As I have stated in other posts, you can't really filter water vapor out of compressed air. You can filter water droplets, mist, and condensate. What you need for dry air depends on where you live and what you plan to do with the air. Florida and car painting definitely needs a refrigerated air dryer. General shop use in Arizona is probably fine with an after cooler. Where I live I can skip turning on the air dryer for shop use in the winter. In the summer I can see mist coming out of my blow gun unless I run the air dryer.

 

[matt_i]

Use a cyclonic filter, send it to a coalescing filter. That's good for most tools.

If you want to paint send the air to the above plus a dessicant dryer.

Keep in mind with metal pipe systems there can be additional condensate. Draining that by gravity (slope of pipe, tees face initially toward the sky or toward the ground) is important.

 

[SGKent]

I run the air thru all the extra hose to cool it then thru 2 filters. That gets most of the moisture, then right before the tool I use a small desiccant filter. When it has been used for awhile I replace it with another, blow air thru it in reverse, and let it dry for a couple days in a warm environment. It is then ready to go again.

 

[dusterdude]

Thanks for all the input guys,I'm still trying to figure which way im going to go.

Sent from my LG-US601 using Tapatalk

 

[J B]

Is there a good one for less than 100 dollars?

Sent from my LG-US601 using Tapatalk

Sure, go to Lowes or Walmart and buy a couple 20x20" box fans. mount one fan at your compressor so it blows across the electric motor and the compressor body. Wire the fan up so it comes on when the compressor comes on. Mine has an off delay so it runs 2 minutes after the compressor cut off. Run your air line from the tank straight up the wall, so any condensation will drain back to the tank. mount the second fan so it blows on the line and/or the compressor tank to cool it. Try to run your shop air lines so they run uphill from the compressor. Line running up to wall, across the ceiling and back is ideal.
Air heats up when it is compressed and the moisture created will not separate from the air until the compressed air temperature cools back down to room temperature. Hot, humid air will pass in and out of a dryer or separator that is mounted too close to the tank, such as screwed to the side of the tank, and that moisture will drop out later down the line. Like on your paint job. A water separator or cooler mounted on the hot air tank is pretty inefficient compared to one installed farther away.
I've found these fans lets me get away with using a paint gun or sandblaster on a smaller compressor because it never overheats now.

 

[pcmeiners]

"A water separator or cooler mounted on the hot air tank is pretty inefficient compared to one installed farther away. "

Inefficient? Cooler mounted in front of compressor flywheel drops temp from 275-350 F down to 10 degrees above room temp is inefficient?