Water separator for small air compressor.

[fried1765]

If it's putting out as much as you say, I'd think one of these would help as a start ... and it's fairly cheap to boot:

Automatic Compressor Drain Kit

$9.99 with 123 reviews, and only 2 out of 5 stars?
I would not waste even the $9.99 with ratings like that.
The concept may be valid, but NOT from Harbor Freight!

 

[JPRambo]

Purchase an extra 50 foot of hose and a fan. Put the separator after the new hose. And the fan blowing on the loosely coiled new hose. You will catch a lot of the water if air is cooled before the saparator.

 

[arrow]

What are some of these "desiccant" separators about and are they more viable than plain glass or metal separators?

 

[bigtiller]

What are some of these "desiccant" separators about and are they more viable than plain glass or metal separators?

The desiccant type would be used as a point-of-use dryer, down stream of the separator.

 

[ultrarunner]

I use several...

One is an auto drain that "Puffs" or "Vents" each cycle... not sure who makes it but it came from Grainger in 1995

Also have a end of line separator that should always be dry but is a great visual indicator if there is a problem than needs to be addressed.

Of course the ambient humidity will lesson or exasperate the issue.

Back in my machine shop days the main air line ran about 200 feet and was pitched... so the condensate ran back to a dog leg that I was charged with draining twice a day before going to an timed drain valve.

Also the taps vent vertical from the main line... worked very well and was a tribute to the design.

For critical air I installed an air dryer that is basically refrigerates the line and the condensed water collects and when enough collects it vents... about every two years I have to service the float assembly to clear the gunk... also from Grainger but even years ago was a 2k investment.

 

[rswyan]

$9.99 with 123 reviews, and only 2 out of 5 stars?
I would not waste even the $9.99 with ratings like that.

Then it's your loss.

Feel free to spend $100 or $200 for it's functional equivalent in another brand ...

The concept may be valid, but NOT from Harbor Freight!

The concept is valid and the HF part works fine.

It is not the be-all and end-all of moisture removal if you want clean, dry air however.

Up in the shop, I have four additional filter/regulators on the system:

1. East side wall - small filter/regulator (whatever Home Depot sells)

2. West side wall - an old Schrader-Bellows filter/regulator feeding the following:

3. 25' clean air hose reel

4. small HF filter/regulator ---> Motor Guard M-30 paper roll filter --- plasma cutter

5. Schrader-Bellows air tool oiler ---> 25' hose reel

The fixed air lines in the shop are plumbed in copper to aid cooling the air.

Down in the garage at the house I have a small blue (Kobalt ?) filter with a quick-connect fitting that gets swapped between the 30G Coleman and a 5G Sears portable.

 

[fried1765]

Then it's your loss.

Feel free to spend $100 or $200 for it's functional equivalent in another brand ...


The concept is valid and the HF part works fine.

It is not the be-all and end-all of moisture removal if you want clean, dry air however.

Up in the shop, I have four additional filter/regulators on the system:

1. East side wall - small filter/regulator (whatever Home Depot sells)

2. West side wall - an old Schrader-Bellows filter/regulator feeding the following:

3. 25' clean air hose reel

4. small HF filter/regulator ---> Motor Guard M-30 paper roll filter --- plasma cutter

5. Schrader-Bellows air tool oiler ---> 25' hose reel

The fixed air lines in the shop are plumbed in copper to aid cooling the air.

Down in the garage at the house I have a small blue (Kobalt ?) filter with a quick-connect fitting that gets swapped between the 30G Coleman and a 5G Sears portable.

Of 123 reviewers, more than half, found the the Harbor Freight separator to be unsatisfactory.
So,.... those folks are all mistaken?

 

[TractorGuy]

I put one of those whole house water filters on the outlet on mine. Seems to work pretty good at keeping the line dry.

 

[rswyan]

Of 123 reviewers, more than half, found the the Harbor Freight separator to be unsatisfactory.
So,.... those folks are all mistaken?

Without going through and reading all the reviews I can't offer an opinion on the validity of their complaints.

Who knows what they are whining about ...

One of the liabilities of relying on others' observations (or opinions) is that you leave yourself open to their own personal shortcomings (inability to observe the obvious, technical incompetence, inability to understand, etc.) Direct, personal observation is a far better route to go, if possible.

What I can say for certain is that I have two of the Harbor Freight automatic drains.

One is somewhere around 5 years old, the other is probably 15 years old ... perhaps more.

Both work reasonably well and do what they are advertised to do.

FWIW, these automatic drain valves are only rated for 100 psi according to HF ... the one on the 30G Coleman runs at 125 psi, the one on the HF 60G runs at 150 psi ... which might account for the fact that they bleed off for a short time before fully sealing after they close. The pressure loss is insignificant ... unless you plan on leaving your compressor on all the time (which is a bad idea IMO)

One of the complaints I have seen is that the plastic tubing gets too hot and melts ... I personally haven't had that experience.

The relevant point is that the valve itself is worth the $10 ... you could throw the rest of the components (tubing, fittings, etc.) in the kit away and replace them with higher quality stuff - like copper or aluminum tubing - and you'd still be money ahead.

 

[Turbys_1700]

I installed an elbow, 12" of pipe, and a valve to the drain valve located at the bottom of my 60 gallon vertical air tank. I drain the tank before I use it. I find that this helps qtremendously in keeping my air dry. I plan on installing a dryer eventually but my compressor location makes installation of the correct pipe length somewhat difficult. I may end up routing the pipe outside the building. My compressor is currently located at the entrance to the building where the door is located. I guess the best solution would be to move the compressor to the back of the building and run the correct pipe to the front with additional drops.