Art Gallery Air Compressor

[Golfgar4]

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?

 

[rdln]

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.

 

[Golfgar4]

Steve,

Thanks. Do you think that simply by moving the filter farther away from the compressor, that will keep the diaphram from blowing out?

 

[rdln]

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.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

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.

 

[Golfgar4]

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.

 

[tgello]

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

 

[Golfgar4]

<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!

 

[tgello]

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

 

[Golfgar4]

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

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I\'ll make you guys a deal

Since I've gone half way to nuts (no comment necessary) trying to post pictures on different web sites, one of you guys volunteer to do the posting, and I'll walk out to the shop and shoot a picture of a real air/water seperator you can build for under $20-.
I'll even toss in a picture of a sketch showing exactly how to build it. All you need is 3 feet of 2" pipe and a few fittings, and I guarnadamntee it will pull more water out of compressed air than anything Binks or Gardner Denver sells for $300-.
Who wants to be the poster?

 

[EdKing]

You could also put a pressure regulator in before the water filter. 150 psi is quite high pressure for blowing dirt off of prints. A slip with the blower at that pressure could damage the print itself./w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif At the place I used to work, all the airlines had regulators on them, I think the maximum allowable pressure to use with the blower was 40 or 50 psi, to prevent injuries and damage to equiptment.

 

[tgello]

GOLF, the brand name for the cartridge is motor guard. the desecant filter is used more for painting . to pricey for what you want to do with it.a water sererator is good for stopping water to some extent but you have to worry about oil in the lines also and thats where the cartridge filter is best. you should also drain your air tank after your done with it for the day....tgello

 

[bgott]

Re: I\'ll make you guys a deal

Bump it up to 3 feet of 4" pipe and he has his accumulator, too. Or tank, if that's what you want to call it.

 

[EdDekker]

The components used to get dry air are:
Metal distribution pipes with drain valves
Water separator/filters
pressure regulators
Coalescing filters
Desiccant Filters

TP tools has a page with the basic plumbing of an air line system Air Line filters


The Water separator/filter will filter out large particles and droplets of water. The filter separator will have a bowl to catch the captured water and a drain to remove accumulated water.


A regulator placed in line will reduce the pressure and temperature of the compressed air forcing more condensation of water vapor.


Coalescing Filters have an element which looks a lot like a roll of toilet paper. The compressed air is forced to follow a serpentine path through the filter. This brings the small droplets of water together forming droplets large enough to stick to the filter. After use for 'a while' the filter element in the Coalescing filter will be wet and must be replaced. (The wet filter can be dried and reused.)


<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tptools.com/prod_list_display.asp?dept%5Fid=L2%7E73&dept%5Fname%5Fp=Paint+Sprayers+%26+HVLP&mscssid=KUM3H57XCFTU9KFALFJDX44XMAR34R49>Desiccant Filters</A> run the compressed air through a bed of a desiccant material like silica gel which can remove water vapor. When the Desiccant bed is saturated with water vapor the bed must be replaced or baked in an oven to remove the vapor and returned to the bed. Desiccant filters are used for sensitive spray painting. When you are spraying $70 per gallon paint and a little water vapor will ruin a paint job they are useful. For less critical applications they are usually not worth the expense.


A package with a water separator, pressure regulator and coalescing filter after metal distribution pipe is good enough for all but the most critical purposes (see <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tptools.com/product.asp?base%5Fno=3411%2D06&str%5Fbase%5Fno=3402%2D00%2C3403%2D00%2C3405%2D60%2C3409%2D00%2C3411%2D02%2C3411%2D03%2C3411%2D12%2C3411%2D06%2C340%2DGAUGES%2C3500%2D60%2C3407%2D00%2C3405%2D60B%2C&header%5Ftitle=Air+Line+Hookup%2D1%2F2"+Inline+Water+Separators%2C+Air+Regulators&page%5Fname=prod%5Flist%5Fdisplay%2Easp&search%5Ftype=L2%7E113&size1=&size2=&gender=&ShowImages=yes&sq=0&cont=1&intPgNo=1&mscssid=KUM3H57XCFTU9KFALFJDX44XMAR34R49>Filter Regulator System</A> (I just purchased this package to filter the compressed air going to my plasma cutter.)



Are you sure you are connecting the filter up in the correct direction? Connecting the filter outlet to the compressor can easily blow out filter elements.

Does your 'tire inflator' have an air tank? If not and if you are running the motor continuously for longer than the time to blow up a tire, you will have problems. I would expect a very short life for any compressor running continuously. The rule of thumb is that the compressor should cycle on and off filling the air tank, being on for 1/2 to 2/3 of the time for heavy duty and commercial quality equipment. For a low duty cycle device like a tire inflator I would expect a short life with the pump running for more than a few minutes per hour. In addition to fabricating an accumulator(tank) (as others have already mentioned) you will need a pressure switch to cycle the tire inflator on and off to maintain the pressure in the accumulator within limits and avoid running the compressor continuously.

 

[Golfgar4]

<font color=blue>"...150 psi is quite high pressure for blowing dirt off of prints."</font color=blue>

Yeah, it is. But I can reduce it at the nozzle, which I do. The 150 is coming straight out of the compressor into the water filter.

I got to thinking last night, that since I already have a blown filter in the line, why couldn't I just add another filter farther down the line and leave the blown filter in place? Wouldn't the blown filter act as an accumulator, reducing the pressure enough to keep from blowing the new filter?

This is not a sophisticated compressor system I have here. I really don't want to spend a lot of money or get real involved with upgrades since within a year or two I'm going to be building the new building.

I do appreciate everyone's input and ideas. Very much appreciated! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif