outside air compressor
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mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
What's the plain for draining water?
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It’s done all the time but location can play a factor in how well it works. If you’re in a very cold location where the compressor can get cold and/or freeze it’ll have a tougher time starting up and the lines may even freeze if they have too much moisture in them. Conversely if you’re in a hot area the compressor may overheat in that closet.
Do you plan to heat/cool/vent the cabinet or is the intention to stick the compressor in there and never look at it again until it stops doing air pump things ?
Do you plan to heat/cool/vent the cabinet or is the intention to stick the compressor in there and never look at it again until it stops doing air pump things ?
600SL
Well-known member
that's what I was wondering should I put the per-cooled in side then to my water sep. out side and then to tank ?
600SL
Well-known member
I haven't done it with a dryer but if I were to, the dryer would be inside. I did have an automatic drain on my tank. Not sure what you mean by a pre cooler but anything with water in it I would keep on the inside. I ran this in NC, Now I will be doing the same in CT.
I have a water separator after the pre-cooler before it goes back in the tank
finn
Well-known member
I wouldn’t do it if I had neighbors.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I imagine you will still end up with some water in the tank, so make sure to have a way, and schedule, to check it
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Maybe it'd be cheaper n easier to buy a scroll compressor.
goldtang
Well-known member
Auto drain if you have the height or a drain tube on bottom off the tank that comes through the wall in to the work shop with valve open when leaving the shop for the night
A per cooler is where the air comes out of the compressor motor through a transmission cooler, then through a water separator, and then into the tank the transmission cooler cools the air enough to separate it from the water
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Already have 80 gallon. Ingersoll ran the whole set up only cost me with pre-cooler and air dryer about 800 bucks.
I live in Oklahoma so it doesn’t freeze very much. The heat is the problem. Don’t really plan on heating or cooling the cabinet.
My shop has mini split in. It may open up the wall to vent some of the air from the shop into there. That’s probably a good idea. Thanks.
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Live in Oklahoma, so humidity is high temperatures aren’t so bad does get hot
Live in Oklahoma, so humidity is high temperatures aren’t so bad does get hot
have a water separator right after the pre-cooler before the air enters the tank
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I think Mikes comment was directed at the moisture that’ll build up in the tank itself. A snap drain or manual valve will be needed to drain the tank on a regular schedule. If it’s in a area that can freeze even a little bit once in a while those water drain systems can get cranky and leak or burst.
That’s how I keep my compressors at the shop.
I have a heater that gets turned on in the winter and an exhaust fan that is setup to run when it gets over a certain temp.
I have a disconnect inside, but I use the switch on the compressor itself to turn it on and off every day. I drain the tank every morning before I start it up. I have a separator before it goes into the building that gets drained periodically.
In the summer I leave the door propped open help keep from getting too hot inside.
I have a large scroll compressor and little 5hp 80gal in the same room.
I have a heater that gets turned on in the winter and an exhaust fan that is setup to run when it gets over a certain temp.
I have a disconnect inside, but I use the switch on the compressor itself to turn it on and off every day. I drain the tank every morning before I start it up. I have a separator before it goes into the building that gets drained periodically.
In the summer I leave the door propped open help keep from getting too hot inside.
I have a large scroll compressor and little 5hp 80gal in the same room.
600SL
Well-known member
OK Looks like a homemade one. Nice job. I have a passive tank purge that lets moisture out every cycle. If you could get a fitting on the bottom of that separator, you could put a second one on the separator or just plumb the separated water back to the tank where it will get purged out with the primary one.
AldeanFan
Well-known member
I worked at an Autobody shop in the 90’s here in Canada. Winter was well below zero and summer was hot and humid.
Our compressors were outside in a shack on the side of the building.
We never had issues in the winter with the compressors being too cold, and there’s not much moisture in the air below freezing.
In the summer it would get so hot the big compressor wouldn’t start in the afternoon. We added an exhaust vent to pull hot air out and that solved the problem. On really humid days we would drain the compressors at lunch.
Whoever opened the shop in the morning would turn on all the lights, drain the compressors, then start them up. The only real problem was shoveling a path through the snow in winter.
I have a similar but much smaller setup at my home garage.
Our compressors were outside in a shack on the side of the building.
We never had issues in the winter with the compressors being too cold, and there’s not much moisture in the air below freezing.
In the summer it would get so hot the big compressor wouldn’t start in the afternoon. We added an exhaust vent to pull hot air out and that solved the problem. On really humid days we would drain the compressors at lunch.
Whoever opened the shop in the morning would turn on all the lights, drain the compressors, then start them up. The only real problem was shoveling a path through the snow in winter.
I have a similar but much smaller setup at my home garage.
metalmagpie
Well-known member
I read a technical paper once that concluded it is cheaper to produce a given volume of compressed air if you start with colder air i.e. outside air. The colder the air you start with the cheaper it is to compress it. Supposedly.
metalmagpie
metalmagpie
SouthernIllinois
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Mine is inside the building but in an enclosed tool / utility room.
Cuts down on the noise in the shop and it's next to a window I can open when it's hot out.
Cuts down on the noise in the shop and it's next to a window I can open when it's hot out.
mike93lx
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Sure.
You almost certainly don't use enough air at home, nor have a large enough compressor for it to matter.
In an industrial setting with a 100hp unit, maybe. That said, compressors are generally installed indoors for maintenence purposes anyway, even if it means hot air
BillK
Well-known member
The compressor I have at the shop right now is pushing 45 years old. When I fist bought the business we were in a different building and the compressor was outside under a lean to type roof. It was there for at least 10 years. Had an auto drain on it and never had a problem.