Air drier for compressed air

[Superburban]

That is SOOO a moonshine still, you are a closet rum runner, just admit it...

Thats why the Dog is waiting for the first drops to come out. I let him get the as much as he wants, and he guards the door.

 

[Larry42]

About moisture in air: The warmer the air the more water vapor it can hold. When you use compressed air, it cools (same principle as refrigerators work on) so even though you may have trapped any liquid water in a filter there is still vapor in the air that turns to water when it is used. The piping system cools the air, so the further from the water trap/filter the more likely to have condensed water in the line. The reason for putting a drain at each drop, also the reason for sloping the piping so water doesn't exit the use point. Never take a drop from the bottom of an air line unless you want to drain water there. If you use air at several points simultaneously it is best to route your air line in a big loop around the shop. That way you can get air flow from a direction that isn't being heavily used. Even though you match the refrigerated drier to the amount of air a compressor can produce, it is entirely possible to use more air at any one time due to the storage tank. Use a higher capacity drier than compressor for that reason.

 

[Cheeseking]

Here is a simple idea. I think I would look at submerging the coil in water, or water and XXX to keep it from getting moldy. Also have a shlef above the coil/water, to keep bottles of water, or other beverages handy.

View attachment 297605

OMG thats awesome .

 

[Larry42]

"Are they truly maintenance free? Will they dry the air enough for air tools and sandblasting? I don't do much painting but plan on a small desiccant drier to mount on any air source I may use for painting or wood finishing. Am I overlooking anything? " Maintenance: you need to keep the coils clean or the efficiency goes down and the unit heats too much. Desiccant driers require a slow or long air path so the air contacts the granules as long as posible. Most of the granules have been dye treated and change colors when wet. You can spread them on a cookie sheet in your oven and let them dry out over night on low temp. You can reduce the load on either the refrigerated or desiccant units by installing a simple air to air cooler ahead of them.