I have access to a large air compressor and I want to paint a vehicle. I live in a very muggy area. How can I keep the water out of my hose and gun? Or at least very little of it. I'll be draining the tank first. I'm looking at a regulator with a water trap.
You will need to build a water trap. I'm having the same problem. Lots of solutions on YouTube, or do a google search. I saw one guy had put water traps from the compressor to the tank, I might look into that.
It depends on the complete story here. A couple things come to mind, first, is this a one time deal? As in its in a buddy's shop and he's going to let you use it this one time? Two, how far away is the compressor from where you'll actually be doing the painting ? OK, let's ***ume a one time thing. Then I'd go with a cheaper regulator and water trap and put it at a point where I'm plugging the actual air hose I'm painting with. Example- there is a hose wall plug in where your painting, I'd put the regulator/trap right there then run a new air hose just long enough to do the job. You can pick one up at harbor freight cheap, I think 18 bucks for a 25 ft one. If the compressor is really close to where your painting, I'd run the regulator/trap straight off of the tank and new air hose from that. Eliminating the rest of the system to keep out any chance of contamination out of the equation as much as I could. But in either case I'd also run a small desiccant filter at the base of the gun. You can buy small ones cheap for 1 time usage that screw into the spray gun and the air hose into that. With the desiccant filter, some change colors when wet and the filter is a clear color so you can change them out as you paint and they become water logged. This way you can prevent any water from reaching the gun and causing paint surface problems... ...
Moisture is from temperature changes. Air from the pump is hot, tank is cold, it starts to sweat inside. That's what the drain is for. Hoses, cold floor, warm compressor air, water can form in the hose. It has to be nearly perfect conditions to make that happen including ambient humidity. Sometimes you can have the best holy-kiss my- what the water traps and still see mist from the tip of the blow gun. That's rare. As I seem fond of saying, don't over think it. Get a basic water trap at the hose outlet, small desiccant gig on the gun, keep the pressure right, knock it out. I'm in MI, we too know all about humidity. This is a tough time of year to paint. Floor is still cool from winter, air is warming from the coming spring, mist can happen at the hose. Sometimes just elevating as much of the hose off the floor as reasonably as possible does more than the best of separation equipment. Brain food. If you know what's happening you can mitigate better, but most of all be sure to enjoy the ride. AND DON'T FORGET TO VENTILATE. INCLUDING YOURSELF BETWEEN COATS.
Hose and fittings should be sized for the gun, too. HVLP is High Volume, so the cheapest hose and fittings are going to work against you.
Years ago I used a tolet paper moisture trap similar to the one below, they are installed in line to help prevent water from being mixed with the paint, they work pretty good. HRP
Eventually we ended up purchasing a 50 CFM Refrigerated Air Dryer, they are a little pricy but if you plan to do a lot of painting it will stop the water. BTW, I relly helps with your air supply to the sand blasting cabinet.HRP
Water trap at the compressor and add one of these . https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-nps-disposable-inline-moisture-filter-63951.html
You didn't give much info about how you have access or what the compressor is currently being used for but if it is in an industrial setting make sure it doesn't have an automatic oiler on it or one has never been used on the lines because if it does you are going to have a disaster on your hands without all new lines.
I'll be at least 100 feet away. It's my papa's barn and yard. I plan on buying my own hoses. I'll attach the trap and filter to the compressor's output. I'll be painting outside.
You will want to put the trap farther away from the compressor. The air is still hot when it exits the compressor and the water will not fall out until the air has cooled. Put the trap closer to the gun to catch the water.
When I painted my car I put some of the coiled up hose in a bucket of ice water right out of the tank to cool the air and get the water to fall out, along with a trap/filter afterwards and a filter at the gun. I also charged the tank/system in advance, let it cool, and drained out water in an effort to minimize moisture - place components so gravity drains water back to tank, away from gun, etc. where possible. If you have some flexibility, try and pick a day with low humidity to shoot.
Water, moisture, condensation, whatever you call it the sure thing is it will ruin your paint job, your equipment and your air tools. You have to cool the hot air coming out of the compressor and as stated there are many ways to pull it off. I made a cooling tower out of 60 feet of copper, sweated the joints together and hung it on the wall. It has a gravity water trap near the floor that automatically drains when water is present via a float. My compressor has an electronic drain that is set to empty the tank of moistures every half hour, and I diverted it outside so it wouldn't kick up dust when it opens with 120 PSI. The air leaves the compressor and enters the bottom of the tower, up and back down into an electronic dryer that cools the air in the line similar to a heat pump. The dryer has its own water drain that empties every 30 minutes or more often if water is present. After the dryer the air enters my air system in the shop. I have one line that feeds my blast cabinet with full pressure and a regulator that turns the pressure down to 80 for my air tools. I also have a dedicated line for painting. Needless to say, I have no moisture in my lines or in my paint jobs.
You need at least 15 ‘ of pipe between the compressor and the water separator for the moisture to condense in order for the separator to do its job. If you place it right on the tank you might as well not even bother with it.
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