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Air Compressor regulator/filter/separator/drier suggestions?

C

calgaryguy

Chris
Recently picked up a nice little Jenny/Emglo 18cfm@125psi compressor on a 30gal tank.

I want to add a regulator plus a water/oil separator and possibly a desiccant based dryer to ensure clean/dry air for various uses in the shop. Air tools get their own oilers.

Any suggestions? Amazon has tons of chinese made options but I'd rather not do a trial and error thing. The cheaper campbell hausefeld/Husky brand stuff has let me down in the past so I'm looking for something a little more 'pro-hobbyist' oriented as long as its not redonkulously priced. Ive looked at the units at KMS Tools (topring, etc) but they seem to be discontinuing some of their models.

Suggestions are appreciated.
 
I would suggest you place your water separators as far from the compressor as possible as this would aid in the cooling of the air and allow for better water separation
so if you are running lines in you shop place the separators at the tool connection points
I would suggest you only dry the air for the tools requiring dry air and if you are using a desiccant dryer have shutoffs on both sides of the dryer (shut off when not in use) as the desiccant will absorb moisture until saturated in an open system (less desiccant maintenance required)
all water separators work on the same principal so I have no brand choices for you
as far as home use desiccant systems the colour changing ball type will give you an indicator when to service your dryer
William
 
Thanks @wharris1 for sharing your thoughts. I’ll consider those points when designing the shop air system.

I just took a GardnerDenver VR5-8 online (21 cfm @ 125 psi; 17@175). It is a ‘00 model but with next to zero hours because the starter had a burnt-out coil that the service tech did not find and thus spent its next 21 years in storage. Running loose air lines around the shop for now….
 
I was told to use copper pipe after the compressor, and before the air dryer. In theory the copper should help dissipate the heat and letting any water condense. I just used rubber air line between the compressor and the copper, then rubber between the copper and black iron pipe.
 
CalgaryPT said:
18 @ 125? Holy cow.
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Emglo/Jenny compressor head. Its a V-4 design, single stage. Spec output is 18.5@125psi with a 3hp electric or 5hp gas motor. Its an older used one, so if I get 15@125psi I'll be happy.
Chicken lights said:
I was told to use copper pipe after the compressor, and before the air dryer. In theory the copper should help dissipate the heat and letting any water condense. I just used rubber air line between the compressor and the copper, then rubber between the copper and black iron pipe.
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Bendable copper pipe, carefully turned into a spiral in the middle can do wonders for cooling. The *real* skookum trick seems to be to mount a Transmission oil cooler between the compressor head and the tank. There's a bunch of DIY articles via google with people saying it can drop post-compressor temps by 50 or more deg F.

for example
 
Similar topic.... Sometime after 9pm Friday this weekend, my air compressor (60Gal upright) blew its belt during the pumping cycle. I didn't go out there until yesterday around noon, motor was free-wheeling and ssssssssssssssmoking hot. Perhaps a vote for not having it in 'always-full' duty cycle vs. enabling it when you need it.

Good news, belt lasted 14 years. Gonna miss that belt.
 
kevin.decelles said:
Similar topic.... Sometime after 9pm Friday this weekend, my air compressor (60Gal upright) blew its belt during the pumping cycle. I didn't go out there until yesterday around noon, motor was free-wheeling and ssssssssssssssmoking hot. Perhaps a vote for not having it in 'always-full' duty cycle vs. enabling it when you need it.

Good news, belt lasted 14 years. Gonna miss that belt.
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I think this has been discussed before. I used to do the same. But after a few stories related to yours I stopped the practice. I installed a ball valve as close to the tank as possible and shut down both the air and the power when not in use. Because the ball valve is so close I eliminate almost all line leaks from the equation for multiple days and the tank remains charged.
 
I've been using the ingersoll rand ones for years now, some are probably pushing 10 years old but most are 5 years now and have been flawless. I don't leave them pressurized when not in use (shut off at the tank and a dump valve on the lines) so that might help, but they've literally been flawless.

Ones like this but with the metal bowl:

 
140ABEED-7038-4833-AA90-820EC9758D50.jpeg
C9A48402-7ECB-402D-AA80-6CD0D0073D95.jpeg
I ran my airlines 8’ high to save on wall clutter. Looks like just over 20’ of copper pipe before the dryer. I looked for a brand but didn’t see one, it was what the local air compressor store had.
 
I'm skeptical about the transmission cooler solution because there is no place for the water that condenses in the cooler to be removed or trapped. There is water vapor in all atmospheric air, the quantity based on the relative humidity. The water vapor will change states to liquid when the air is cooled and will collect in the compressor tank or when it exits the high pressure environment into your air tool etc. The goal in water control is to provide a place for the air to cool before it gets to the tool but also needed is a place for liquid water to collect and be drained off periodically. The second video with the copper pipe wall mounted cooler and traps is a practical solution. The transmission cooler would also work fine if there was a water drain and trap added to the lowest part of the cooler.
 
John Conroy said:
I'm skeptical about the transmission cooler solution because there is no place for the water that condenses in the cooler to be removed or trapped. There is water vapor in all atmospheric air, the quantity based on the relative humidity. The water vapor will change states to liquid when the air is cooled and will collect in the compressor tank or when it exits the high pressure environment into your air tool etc. The goal in water control is to provide a place for the air to cool before it gets to the tool but also needed is a place for liquid water to collect and be drained off periodically. The second video with the copper pipe wall mounted cooler and traps is a practical solution. The transmission cooler would also work fine if there was a water drain and trap added to the lowest part of the cooler.
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That's a valid point.
 
I received my derale 15300 trans cooler from amazon. I'm a little disappointed in the diameter of the tubing used; its about 1/4 to 5/16 nominal ID.

1/4 tubing at ~125 PSI should flow at somewhere around 15cfm so its not a loss, but I think someone with a higher output compressor might want to look at something larger. I'm happy with the rest of it. I'll get it setup and use a infrared temp gauge to measure before and after tubing temps
 
calgaryguy said:
I received my derale 15300 trans cooler from amazon. I'm a little disappointed in the diameter of the tubing used; its about 1/4 to 5/16 nominal ID.

1/4 tubing at ~125 PSI should flow at somewhere around 15cfm so its not a loss, but I think someone with a higher output compressor might want to look at something larger. I'm happy with the rest of it. I'll get it setup and use a infrared temp gauge to measure before and after tubing temps
Click to expand...
Let us know how it works please.
 
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