plumbing 4 air ?

[ray66v]

Maybe not all 'professional' installations are the same. I have seen 'drops' going upward from the main line in a body shop where they are quite concerned about moisture in the air.
I have about 30' of 1" copper line between the compressor and the 3/4" line that runs across above my bench that I expect condenses out most of the moisture. Has worked very well for me and uses fewer fittings.

Not all install's are professional. We had such an up flow system in my body shop. However, we put it in our selfs.
An up flow system can work, however the first sign of water in the air, is when the main trunk line is loaded with water, rather than a small amount in the drop line. If you reach this point, you have to bleed out the system to drain the trunk. Shutting down production while the air supply recovers, add to that the noise of such a bleed down, (+115db) and the mess. We changed it to a down flow and were much happier.
These problems are exacerbated by very high volume use of the air supply. If you don't intend to use a lot of volume, and can be very diligent about draining the condensate you may not have much trouble with an up flow.
A good drier after the compressor is always a good way to eliminate all these problems.

 

[SpringHollow]

Most homeowners and many contractors want the Pex Pocket Crimper

The Pex Pocket Crimper- For permanent crimp connections with PEX tubing fittings

Only $35 and does 3/8, 1/2, and 3/4 and can get into tight spaces. I have one and love it. I also bought their 1" crimper since i use 1" in heating systems. These crimpers are for the wedding bands style bands. I have used them on lots of fittings. I also have a large full size standard crimper but there are lots of places i can not reach with it.

Ken

 

[tlbuser]

but will use metal lines out of the compressor and likely a fined heat exchanger also to help ensure condensation will be encouraged well ahead of the plastic distribution plumbing.

Pat

A little over a year ago, I purchased a cheapo dryer. So far, so good on keeping things dry. Painting is one issue, but running dry for my plasma cutter is a huge concern too.

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[patrick_g]

Maybe not all 'professional' installations are the same. I have seen 'drops' going upward from the main line in a body shop where they are quite concerned about moisture in the air.

Perhaps their concern for dry air motivated them to install a dryer of some sort, even the throw away cartridge type. With sufficiently dry air it just doesn't matter that water flows downhill as there isn't any.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

A little over a year ago, I purchased a cheapo dryer. So far, so good on keeping things dry. Painting is one issue, but running dry for my plasma cutter is a huge concern too.

I bought a HF filter with water absorbing cartridge. It is a big metal canister with regulator. So far it has done well with my plasma cutter and paining but... the refrigerated dryer you referred to is getting mighty tempting.

Pat

 

[john_bud]

I bought a HF filter with water absorbing cartridge. It is a big metal canister with regulator. So far it has done well with my plasma cutter and paining but... the refrigerated dryer you referred to is getting mighty tempting.

Pat

Depends on how much juice it sucks down! You can't really just shut it off or the lines will moist up. So you have to blow down the air system just to power off the cooler. I'd bet it can run the meter hard.

jb

 

[ray66v]

I bought a . It is a big metal canister with regulator. So far it has done well with my plasma cutter and paining but... the refrigerated dryer you referred to is getting mighty tempting.

Pat

I have seen some great filters for absorbing and trapping water. But, I have yet to see a filter that removes water vapor, (there might be one out there I have not seen). Water vapor can pass through almost anything and condense downstream. This is why if you really need dry air, you need a dryer.
I use a desiccant dryer, (at home), because it was the only thing under $1K, 15 years ago. And it works great. If I bought today, I would get a refrigerated dryer.

 

[patrick_g]

Ray, I will be considering replaceable desiccant (filter? dryer?) as substitute for the mechanical compressor chiller thing. I may not do enough water vapor critical air consumption to warrant the mech unit.

Pat

 

[tlbuser]

Depends on how much juice it sucks down! You can't really just shut it off or the lines will moist up. So you have to blow down the air system just to power off the cooler. I'd bet it can run the meter hard.

jb

Some guys just always have to think on the conservative side Too bad the local and state gov'ts don't. Just made a run to northern NY and the amount of lighting on the bridges and roadways is astounding. No energy conservatio

 

[tlbuser]

Depends on how much juice it sucks down! You can't really just shut it off or the lines will moist up. So you have to blow down the air system just to power off the cooler. I'd bet it can run the meter hard.

jb

Some guys just always have to think on the conservative side Too bad the local and state gov'ts don't. Just made a run to northern NY and the amount of lighting on the bridges and roadways is astounding. No energy conservation concerns there