Compressor water separator

[EW439]

Can someone recommend a water separator for my compressor.
I need something more than the 8" tall inline but am not looking for a
500.00 heater set up. Just trying to keep so much water out of my air tools.

 

[raferguson]

One approach is to put in 25 or 50 feet of pipe between the compressor and the air tool. The air will cool in the pipe, and a lot of the moisture will drop out. You just need to slope the lines and put in drains in the low points.

This is really a laws of physics issue. If the air coming in is 50% humidity, and you compress 15 psi air to 150 psi, if the temperature stays constant, the relative humidity would become 500%. (Obviously going over 100% is not really possible, I am trying to explain the physics). But it is not that simple. The air heats up, and warm air will carry more moisture; as the air cools, the humidity gets over 100%, and the excess moisture will drop out. A lot of the moisture drops out in the tank, which is why compressor tanks have drain valves.

I am fortunate enough to live in a dry climate, so my moisture problems are not severe, but I still put in the 50 feet of pipe.

I would probably put the water separator as close to the tool as practical.

 

[matt_i]

You can also put some cyclonic filters in series right after the tank, or put one at the tank and one at the tool. A coalescing filter does even better than that but at the cost of airflow.

 

[mmangno]

Suburban mfg. Makes a line of filters called tsunami that work awesome built several high air use projects and have zero moisture problems, as stated earlier though the key is to cool the air and condense the water for anything to be effective.

 

[Lucid Moments]

I've seen some people post on here where they made cooling set ups with copper pipe either wound in coils, or in patterns mounted just off the wall so air can get to it all. It doesn't have to be fancy, or take a whole lot of space.

*edit* Here is one of the posts I was thinking of. There are several others in the same thread.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=6660053&postcount=122

 

[Mick56]

I used 50' of copper tubing. Comes out of my compressor, attaches to the wall and then goes up towards the ceiling. Then it runs along the wall for about 25', then bends and comes back towards the compressor, angling down all the while. I have a water filter at the end. Water will be removed much easier from cool air.
After I did this, I had no more trouble with damp air in my sand blaster.

 

[99LeCouch]

What air tools?

I have a water separator attached to a hose reel after 50 feet of coiled air hose located above the compressor. Most of the water ends up in the air tank. The consensus about putting it in after a run of hose or pipe to let the air cool seems to hold up.

 

[redmondjp]

+1 to all all of the above. You can go crazy building a 'franzinator' and fill half your garage walls with a labyrinth of piping (it works), or just put the water separator as far away from the compressor in the line as you can, even if you use a 50' section of hose from the compressor to the separator.

 

[stonesfan68]

I'd invest in an industrial grade water separator. SPX Hankison in one brand. You want a grade 11 moisture separator. Use google to find your local distributor. For a 25 CFM compressor (or less) the cost should be less than $200.