Seems that excessive moisture creates hassles using my Craftsman 60/gal oil-free twin cly compressor for sandblasting. Buddy informed me the location of the regulator/filter is mounted too close to the unit. Says it should be a good 10-feet away to reduce moisture accumulation. He's painted cars and done great work so don't doubt his tip here; but wondering if this the main culprit with moisture control or if there's any other advice as well. Rarely do I keep the tank charged and always open the drain valve when not in use to empty it and blow out water. Thanks!
Air Compressor Moisture Control Regulator/Filter Location?
- Thread starter Ron H
- Start date
Ideally you want a "drop" somewhere within a few feet of the tank with a drain at the bottom where moisture in the lines can drain back to and be emptied. Then you want a moisture separator close to your work area.
So lets say you come out of the compressor with a line into a T. a section from the T goes up the wall- the higher the better and this will be the line you use for you tools. A short line comes out the bottom of the T with a drain at the bottom. This is where moisture in the line will accumulate.
Lets say you have 30' of line out of the top line. At the end of this line you install a moisture separator and out of it you use another hose to your tool.
I have a bunch of outlets around the shop but only a couple hoses.I have a separator with quick connects and I move it to whichever outlet I'm using. I also have a large separator that's filled with desiccant used as a secondary unit only for painting. And I have a dedicated painting hose.
So lets say you come out of the compressor with a line into a T. a section from the T goes up the wall- the higher the better and this will be the line you use for you tools. A short line comes out the bottom of the T with a drain at the bottom. This is where moisture in the line will accumulate.
Lets say you have 30' of line out of the top line. At the end of this line you install a moisture separator and out of it you use another hose to your tool.
I have a bunch of outlets around the shop but only a couple hoses.I have a separator with quick connects and I move it to whichever outlet I'm using. I also have a large separator that's filled with desiccant used as a secondary unit only for painting. And I have a dedicated painting hose.
YY1
Well-Known Member
What kind of separator is it?
Mine is less than a foot from the outlet, but...
I outsmart the moisture in my system by making it climb straight up after that separator, to the roof 15" overhead.
Then it goes 25 feet across the shop, and back down where a T fitting comes off 2.5 feet from the end (and a drain valve is located at the bottom).
The T valve has a secondary regulator and a cheap harbor freight desiccant ball moisture trap- that's where the paint gun hose attaches.
Works 99.99% and was super cheap and easy to maintain.
EDIT- I have never gotten any water out of that drain valve.
Mine is less than a foot from the outlet, but...
I outsmart the moisture in my system by making it climb straight up after that separator, to the roof 15" overhead.
Then it goes 25 feet across the shop, and back down where a T fitting comes off 2.5 feet from the end (and a drain valve is located at the bottom).
The T valve has a secondary regulator and a cheap harbor freight desiccant ball moisture trap- that's where the paint gun hose attaches.
Works 99.99% and was super cheap and easy to maintain.
EDIT- I have never gotten any water out of that drain valve.
May have posted this before, I installed an evaporator on the compressor not long after my OP and a fan (not in the photo). It helped, but not greatly. I have the compressor on a cart so I can move it btw garages - to heated garage during winter. The line routing as mentioned above is my next to do when I get some other projects out of the way.
I see whay appears to be an air cooler (the radiator) but I don't see anything that would be called an evaporator. That rad does nothing to remove moisture out of the intake air.
gkent pretty much covered it.
Here is my setup, A separator fed to a iron tee with a drop. the pipe runs up and across the wall with a pitch back to the compressor and each drop has a riser to the drop with a separator on a t with a drain. You can see the line across the top of the wall in the second pic.
Here is my setup, A separator fed to a iron tee with a drop. the pipe runs up and across the wall with a pitch back to the compressor and each drop has a riser to the drop with a separator on a t with a drain. You can see the line across the top of the wall in the second pic.
1 Wild R/T
Well-Known Member
The reason you want piping between your compressor & your water separator is to allow the air to cool which lets the moisture in the air to condense... It's a "water separator" not a "moisture vapor separator"...
It is recommended to have at least 25' & preferably 50' of piping before the water separator.... And don't use PVC because it acts as an insulator not allowing the heat in the air to dissipate..
In my case I added condensate piping between the compressor pump & tank allowing moisture removal before it gets to the tank... Then I added another condenser section at the discharge of the tank... It's 1/2" copper, if I were to do it again I would use 3/4"
For years I ran the water separator at the compressor discharge like others have shown... And I fought water spitting when I would run the compressor hard blasting or painting... No longer the case... Solved...
If you look at the professional air piping schematic there are a few other good ideas, the drops to quick couplers should actually have a riser so water tends to not travel to the drop...
The piping should have a slight downward slope to a final drop with a drain...
Adding valves to allow servicing filters is nice to that's more for a commercial application where the filter is serviced which the main system is still on line... Home shop you can just shut down the system, do your servicing the restore the air...
It is recommended to have at least 25' & preferably 50' of piping before the water separator.... And don't use PVC because it acts as an insulator not allowing the heat in the air to dissipate..
In my case I added condensate piping between the compressor pump & tank allowing moisture removal before it gets to the tank... Then I added another condenser section at the discharge of the tank... It's 1/2" copper, if I were to do it again I would use 3/4"
For years I ran the water separator at the compressor discharge like others have shown... And I fought water spitting when I would run the compressor hard blasting or painting... No longer the case... Solved...
If you look at the professional air piping schematic there are a few other good ideas, the drops to quick couplers should actually have a riser so water tends to not travel to the drop...
The piping should have a slight downward slope to a final drop with a drain...
Adding valves to allow servicing filters is nice to that's more for a commercial application where the filter is serviced which the main system is still on line... Home shop you can just shut down the system, do your servicing the restore the air...
