yes, even my compressed air has a hard time staying dry in the Pacific Northwest winter. there are several ways to combat this problem, and none of them are very 'affordable,' at least with my current budget. I have been trying really hard up to this point to make sure that the more spendy items are prioritized, and will give me the best end product. so drying my air lines is one of those aspects of the build, that I figured I could handle myself.
no, this will not be the most riveting post, but what I have learned throughout this last week about air compressors, and equipment setup in general, will be a large part of achieving a solid end goal.
So now, we dive in to the science portion:
the basic idea of this "science fair" project attempt, is to dry the air that is coming out of my compressor. water is a paint gun's worst enemy. when air is compressed, it is heated. hot air moving through a line carries that moisture with it, and ends up blowing out of the gun at the end of the line. there are several types of air dryers available, so I did some research as to what the most effective system is, and SURPRISE! its the most expensive! so, what is it that this expensive system does that others don't, or, why is it more effective. well, its pretty basic, actually, it cools the air in the lines, allowing the moisture to condensate, then giving it a place to drain off before it enters the equipment at the end of the line (paint gun, impact wrench, sand blaster, etc.). It is typical that moisture is allowed to build up in the large tank of every compressor, and there is a drain valve there, for you to manually drain the water out periodically. so... where are we?
the compressed air goes into the tank, and water sinks to the bottom. that moist air is pumped out, and you can put a dryer between that and your paint gun to catch the water.
ok.... well--why not dry the air BEFORE it goes into the tank?? then install a small filter at the gun as an insurance policy to catch any other particles. I can do this. it will be fun. it will take forever, I will make an ungodly amount of trips to the hardware store, and have many failed attempts. but it will work. all to save $1000, you say?? exactly. I have far more time and patience than I have money to throw at this truck. (I would rather spend chunks of cash like that on shiny things later in the build:) ) All I have to do is cool the air.
so the 'to do' list began. there is a copper line that goes from the head of the compressor (where the air is actually compressed) and into the tank. I will interrupt that line, and install my dryer there, this will dry the air before it is stored in the tank. so what will I need??
20' copper line
plastic bucket (have in garage)
a drain w/ shutoff valve
garden hose (have a spare in the garage)
inline filter
fittings for copper line
with enough copper line, cold tap water will be plenty of cooling for the air. so I will use the drain to also hook up to the faucet outside, and fill the bucket with water (ice can be added to really do the trick). coil the copper pipe in the bucket, then run an inline filter to catch the condensate. then the cooled, dry air will go into the storage tank, and out to the gun. boom! dry air, for roughly $40-$50 at your local hardware store.
placement, and positioning of the copper line are critical, because the goal is to drain off the water, so everything has to be pitched to drain correctly, hence the coil. with a coil, I can get alot of surface area exposed for cooling, and by using a 1/2" line or bigger, the air moves slower, thus giving it more time to cool as much as possible before entering the tank.
fundamentally, this is how engines are cooled in your car. liquid is run through lines which are exposed to air (your radiator) allowing the liquid to cool, before reentering the engine, in order to keep the vitals of the engine cool enough to operate properly. apply this basic function to air, and you have a similar cooling/drying system.
after about 10 hrs. of work, what works:
the plumbing works. my compressor is functional. everything is in position, all fittings are airtight. the water filling and draining works beautifully...
what doesn't work (yet):
I have not yet managed to keep the water IN the bucket:) there are 2 holes in the bottom of the bucket. 1 for the drain/fill, and 1 for the copper line to exit the ice bath, and enter the inline drain. First, I tried to make rubber washers for the drain hole out of a $1 plunger head (thick rubber), that didn't cut it. I also tried 2 different types of spray foam, thinking this would be cheap and easy. it doesn't seem to be water tight enough though. its close. I get a very small drip at each hole, not good enough. so I guess my next try will be silicone sealer. yeah, I could have tried that first, but if I do everything right the first time, then this blog gets boring. learning is more fun if you screw things up first!
so here are some images of how the setup stands tonight. really, it won't look any different when it is finished, but it will hold water, then. as soon as I get it completed, I will be shooting paint in no time... SWEET!
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