Art Gallery Air Compressor

   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #1  

Golfgar4

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Joined
Feb 21, 2002
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Location
Janesville, Wisconsin
Tractor
None -yet. Until then FunBuggy (EZ-Go) will have to do!
My wife and I operate a small art gallery out of our home as a "division" of her interior design business. I do all the manual labor (wasn't he the president of Mexico once? /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif) of putting together the frames, cutting the glass, mounting the art work, etc.

I have a small Craftsman air compressor that is rated at 150 psi. Actually, it really is a tire inflator! My work shop is VERY small, so the size is perfect. It does not have a moisture filter, or any other kind of filter for that matter. The hose is 1/4" and comes directly out of the compressor housing, so there is no way to disconnect at that point.

Because I use this compressor to spray off the glass and the art work before the final assembly, I need to make sure that no moisture comes through. Clients don't like it when their limited edition prints have little speckles of water stains on their art work!/w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif I added a water filter rated at 150 psi about a foot away from the compressor by just cutting the hose and clamping the filter to each side of the hose. After completing the connections, I hit the start switch and promptly blew out the diaphram of the filter!

O.K. So I got a defective filter! I buy another one and install it, and wham, the same thing happens again! /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif Now I may be dumb, but I ain't stupid (well, that remains to be seen)! /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif I'm not buying another filter until I ask some questions on TBN.

Now, am I being stupid and missing something here? Shouldn't a 150 psi rated filter work on a 150 psi compressor? What can I do differently so this thing works?
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #2  
Everybody I have heard on this subject says to put the filter in line far away from the tank (at least 20 feet) to allow the air to cool. I think in your case the air is condensing after the filter.
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Steve,

Thanks. Do you think that simply by moving the filter farther away from the compressor, that will keep the diaphram from blowing out?
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #4  
Well, there will be less pressure for it to contend with. I have been following a lot of air systems talk here and at agtalk but have yet to install one or use a filter. Maybe Franz or somebody will chime in.
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #5  
Well, ding, or is it dong, I'll chime in.
The simplest answer is PULSATION. While the compressor is rated at 150#, that calculation would be made by running the compressed air into some sort of chamber (tire) which would act as a pulsation reducer.
The air hose coming from the compressor also acts as a pulsation damper to an extent. The compressor itself is probably reaching peak pressure waves of close to 200# if not over.
It's sort of like a hammer hitting an anvil, only the hammer in this case is a compressed air shock wave. This shock wave is also extremely HOT.
The simplest solution would be to mount the water trap with about 20 feet of hose from the compressor, and then use a second hose to the blow gun. Another solution would be to mount an accumulator (small tank) between the compressor and the water trap.
In the application described, I'd probably just go with the extra hose, and mount the water trap on the wall. Remember to set it up with a quick disconnect before the water trap so you can clear the line between the compressor and trap of water before blowing off projects, that would also make the compressor easier to move for important projects like blowing uup tractor tires.
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor
  • Thread Starter
#6  
WOW /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. That all makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the info. I'll try it out as soon as I can and let you know how it worked out.
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #7  
golf, the air coming out of the compressor is hot and if the hose is lying on the cool floor it will condensate inside of it. one of the best set ups is to use a water oil seperator along with a desicant filter to clean the air. it can get a little pricey, but i'm sure some of them prints are'nt to cheap. my set up was $400. complete.you can find them at an auto paint supply store or online tool supply store. most major brands make them, devilbis,sharpe viskon-aire....tgello
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor
  • Thread Starter
#8  
<font color=blue>"...it can get a little pricey..."</font color=blue>

I think $400 is a little too pricey for me! You're right, though. Some of the prints definitely aren't cheap.

None of my hose lays on the floor. I have it all coiled above me so that it's out of the way until I need it.

When we finally get our full gallery built, I will have the kind of system you're describing. But until then, I think first I'll try Franz's suggestion of moving the filter farther away from the compressor and see if that works.

Thanks for the tip!
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor #9  
golf, another option is to get a cartridge filter. they sell them at auto parts stores. cant think of the brand name , but it takes a filter the size of a roll of toilet paper. i have used a roll of toilet paper in mine and it worked fine. the filter housing with filter is somewhere around $60-80. they work really good.....tgello
 
   / Art Gallery Air Compressor
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I've never heard of a cartridge filter! There's a auto parts store I go by on my way home. I'll stop and check into one of those.

Thanks again! /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif
 
 
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