How do i keep my compressor from cramming all sorts of water down my lines? I have a small water trap in line already...but it doesnt seem to trap jack ****...i'm sure it doesnt help that i have about 60 feet of hose hooked on. I cant keep my flatboard from hydrolocking up every 2 minutes...its that bad. Any thing i can do?
If you can run hard lines with a drip leg every ten or so feet, that will force the water to drop out of the lines. A drip leg is simply a piece of pipe in a vertical position installed witha tee in the line. You can also get the orange tool end filter from Motorguard corporation, but they are designed for paint guns. I would also suggest draining the water from your compressor after every use. Your tank builds up condensation from the heating of the air through the pump and the consequent cooling that occurs as the air goes into the tank. As the air moves through the lines it warms up again due to friction and creates a bit more water, just not like the volume that is created in the tank.
I'd like to put some hard lines in....but just dont have the time right now, plus i'm moving in 6 months. I constantly drain the tank, to try to cut down on as much water as possible.
If your compressor is warm it will generate less water than if it is in a colder area. Also water traps do not work well if they are too close to the compressor. We run 20ft of line in our shop between the compressor and filter. Old compressor tanks are great for creating a bigger reserve and serving as water traps. Ideally p***ive water traps should be in a colder area than the compressor to maximise condensation.
even putting in only 20 feet of hardline, with a tee and drop at the end, then the water trap before you connect the hose to it, will help....it won't really take that long to do it...give it a try....
This works for me real well. If you have your water trap close to the compressor (or mouted directly to it), it's pretty much pointless. Even if the only place to put the trap is 5 feet from the compressor, it will help to have 20 ft (or more) of hose between the trap and the compressor's tank. Extra points for keeping the hose higher than the tank outlet and the water trap. That way gravity will pull most of the condensation back into either piece so you can more effectively drain it.
wrap a thermal blacket around the tank...it helped my buddy in Montana. run 20 ft of line and place a water trap. then 5 ft of line then hose connect. run the comp for a while then air blast till it kicks in...that should blast the water out....
The TIP sandbalster web site (I don't now the web address ) used to have a diagram that showed the best way to pipe a system. They recommended a minimum of 14 feet of metal pipe to allow the water to condense in it. I used a flexible hose to the wall and hard piped it up the wall and along the ceilingl dropped down, added a blow off at the bottom of the line. Above the blow-off, I branched off with the dryer and regulator. It wouldn't take much to remove the pipe and take with me if I move. This made a world of difference and eliminated any moisture problems I previously had.
Get a dessicant moisture filter from the compressor store. There are several different types and prices can vary . Low side 250.00 high 700.00. Cheap insurance if you consider the cost of one screwed up paint job
FWIW, Here's my setup. Not to scale, but my water trap is about 20 feet from my compressor, with a cheap 50' hose in between. I didn't want to spend the time to run hard lines for pretty much the same reason (keep thinking I'm gonna move...), but this works real well for me.
Put an auto drain on the tank, and some drip legs in your lines and your done. This dosen't have to be a complicated, or $$$$$.--TV
threaded black pipe is fairly cheap. unscrew the whole thing and take it with you to your next place. run flex from the compressor to the wall, have a drain at the bottom, then run as high up the wall as you can, then over and down. have your water trap T off this with your water trap and outlet. and a ball valve drain at the bottom you will always have excessive moisture with rubber line only, unless you spend a couple hundred on a dessicant type water seperater.
i live in ultra high humidity a few hundred yards from the ocean and i use an old 29gal tank as an additional storage unit and it fixed my moisture in the line problem
i have limited space, what about going from the compressor up about 10ft, doing a u turn back down to the ground to a drain and having a tee to the water trap above the compressor out. so basicly like a real long upside down U.
The H/F add says the autodrain has a 100 psi max but the guy writing the article was using a compressor that goes higher than that. I wonder how long it will last?
industry say water will condense in the first 20 feet of an air line. a dryer works best if it is 20 feet away. if you plumb your lines right you can run them with no dryer or filter. best way is to run your hard line to 6 " below the celing and across the shop with your drops teed off the top and looping down with the lines coming out the sides with a 24" drop below the line fittings for a water trap.
go to any auto paint supply and ask for a filter for painting cars about 50 bones and you can use whole toilet paper rolls for replacement filters painted my whole truck with my 110v upright craftsman compressor and not a drop of water in the paint works for me its the best set up ive found but you must drain your tank every time you run the compressor for sure it helps alot plus extends the life of your tank and i never leave air in the tank when im finnished using it my opinion
Princess Auto (A CDN Co) has them for about $100.00CDN (see pg 141 in the first link below) http://members.shaw.ca/DL0002/AIR-CAN.pdf Main page (their site is a PITA) http://www.princessauto.com/PAcountry.cfm?CTRY=CAN&INF=home HTH James ===========================================
an old painter had his set up like this and I been doing it for the last 18 to 20 years.turn on your compressor and fill it up.open the drain plug just a bit til you hear the air start to come out.don't just crack it open.just a bit so you hear it lightly and leave it alone.run your drop line like everyone else said and use one of those orange bong filters(for paint gun)on your air tools.you should be fine.the valve open on the tank will kick the compressor on a bit more but you can see where the water is rolling out from under the compressor.mine is open just enough that I've heard where the water sealed it up and when it starts to drain it pops and shoots the water out of it.
This has been covered before---I did a post on it last year http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105963&highlight=dewatering+manifold
I built a water bong for mine. Exit the compressor, then 20' of 1/2" copper coiled into a 10-gal ex-oil-bucket full of water. Then the coalescing filter. Put the in/out below the lid so you can minimize moisture escape. Not the prettiest thing. but I was renting a shop and couldn't run anything on the walls. TR
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