Re: [ihc] Outfitting my shop

[Tom Mandera <tsm1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Binder wrote:

> So then... Would the reverse apply for a water trap?  I'd want it as close
> as possible to the compressor output (and as far away from the tool) as
> possible? I'm looking for a nice water filter for my compressor... OK
> humidity in the summer is pretty brutal for pumping "water" into the air
> tools. I saw a filter at Wal-Mart that looked "ok" I guess. It was their
> default air tool brand (C-K, G-K or something like that). Looked reasonably
> priced though. Wonder if water traps are like everything else... There's
> good ones & bad ones and you get what you pay for.  Probably so.
I think you want the water trap as close to your tool as you can.  The 
theory being that you want the air as cool as it can be (and thus, it's 
already dropped a bunch of moisture out) before you filter it to get the 
last little bit out.

That said, one at the compressor and one at the tool wouldn't hurt one 
bit, and keep some condensation out of your lines.

If you read up on air line plumbing you'll find that the "right" way to 
do it, is to not have ANY "drops" from the air lines less than 50' from 
the compressor.  Better yet, put a big drier/cooler system at 50' and 
then go another 50' before you add any drops/tools.

Most of us don't have a shop that big, and don't care to put big coils 
of air line on the walls or in the attics, so we skimp. :D


At my mom's shop, one unexpected "benefit" I noticed after I went from 
one 1hp/2stage 30gal compressor to a 1hp/2stage in tandem with a 
5hp/single/30gal was the extra capacity *and* "heat sink".

I had already put the 1hp where I wanted my compressor, and I was 
running hoses from it snaked to wherever I was working.  When I added 
the 5hp, I put it behind/near the 1hp, and just T'd the 1hp's fitting 
and ran a second hose to the 5hp.

Since the 1hp is noiser and doesn't make as much air as the 5hp, I 
adjusted the pressure switches so the 5hp came on first, and often was 
the only one to come on.  Only when die-grinding or sand blasting and 
sucking down the air *quickly* would the 1hp kick in to help out.

Most of the time it was just the 5hp.

When porting my heads, it ran constantly (aside from when I'd give it a 
break).  That gets the compressor unit hot, which gets the air it's 
compressing even hotter.

This hot air was going into the 30gal tank attached to the compressor. 
Tank was pretty warm, too.

Then the air came out of the tank into a hose, and went into the 30gal 
tank under the 1hp.  THEN it left that tank to a hose to my die grinder.

The second tank was a cheap moisture trap and cooling area, not to 
mention it added more "reserve" to the system.

I intend to just move the 5hp to my new shop, and locate it above the 
powdercoating oven, just like the 1hp is now at mom's (take advantage of 
those 10' walls!).  Later, I plan on getting a 6.5/7hp 60gal upright and 
adding that to my collection, T-ing both into the air-line system I'm 
building, and never worry about running out of air again.

The old 1hp/2stage/220 did a great job for most things.  I had to pause 
once in a while with the impact wrench, but it just hated the die 
grinder, sand blasting, or air-arc cutting.  It couldn't keep up.

-Tom