Menu
What's new

Air Line setup,, Water troubles

larry merlau

larry merlau

Member
Messages
18,741
Location
Delton, Michigan
just got off the phone with a tech from a reputable company and he has told me that my setup is all wrong and thats why i have water troubles,, so here i am going to ask you folks that have been in ;arger shops where the air system was larger than just running a hose to your tool from your compressor.. i had been told prior to building my setup on how to go about it,, i have what was referred to a cooling rack with 4 drops right at the compressor for water dismissal.. then it goes across to a actually water trap device before ever entering the shop piping to get air to my tools or spray equipment.. worked well for some time then has been giving fits for the last year or so.. the trap doesnt seem to be stopping it at all and i have changed out he filter-- so to those who have seen larger setups how does it work there and how was it done.. this guy say i need to replumb it:eek::eek:
 
Larry, the best solution I've seen here on the Forum is the system Vaughn McMillan set up. He showed it in this thread. I bought some of the parts to build it but haven't done it yet.
 
Last edited:
i will take some shots of what i have bill,, its similar to vaughns setup and was a suggestion from someone that knows wood work,, tod.. but i must have missed a step some where..
 
Hey Larry do you remember my setup? I don't have any water problems and mine is very simple to boot. It comes straight from the compressor at about 5 foot off the ground around to my work bench. From there it tee's and one goes up to my hose reel and the other continues under my work bench and down the wall under ground to Norma's shed. I have one more tee at the corner of my work bench and that goes straight down to the floor with a valve on the end. In 4 years of service I've yet to get any water to drain out of it.
 
i have been looking back at the old posts i knew i had posted my setup but i cant seem to find it alan,, i still think it should work but i got water now that i didnt used to have for some time.. i always blow off the drains at the tap i am gonna use and before i wouldnt worry about it.. will do my best to get some pics..
 
Last edited:
The type of air compressor makes a difference also I had a Black Max's that ran at 3450 RPM's and made very little water. Then when I upgraded to a better compressor it ran about have the speed with a cast iron pump. It made a lot of water everyday. I installed a ball valve in a line running for the bottom of the tank and out the back wall and when I shut down at night I would drain out all the water for the day and I also closed the supply valve every night then had water traps at all the outlets. The main supply line (1 1/2") ran up an overhead with 1/2 drops. The drop lines came down an I "T" them in and had a 12" piece on down with a petcock in the end of it to drain once in a while if needed which wasn't very often.
 
this what i have now,, first pic is how the compressor connects to the air line system.
tn_compressor to cooling rack.jpg

the next 2 pics is what my cooling rack is like, its 1" black pipe 4 legs of 10ft pipe connected in a loop with drain valves at each drop end.
tn_last cooling drop to water trap.jpg tn_10 ft cooling rack top.jpg

then it comes threw my wall to the water trap and transitions to copper going up to the ceiling.
tn_water trap to copper.jpg

this what my normal drops are like.
tn_normal drop.jpg

and then i have this setup in my finish room to catch any water that got threw.. which for a long time was none, then the first trap filled up and i cant seem to get it back to being dry again??
tn_finish room drop.jpg
 
Here is a shot at my compressor. Just a piece of air hose connected to the white air line.
001 (600 x 450).jpg
From there it runs horizontally down the side of the shop and accross the back to the middle.
002.JPG
From there it goes down and tee's off to the hose reel.
003.JPG
And from there it runs along the side of my bench where it tee's off again to go under the bench to the wall to go underground to Norma's shed. I also have a piece running down the front of the bench with a valve on the end to drain any condensation. I opened it tonight and there wasn't any as usual.
004.JPG
No where in the system will you find a water trap or a drier. Just a very simple setup.
 
We have been in a drought this year but this setup has been in place for 4 years and never had a problem and yes it gets very very very humid here in the summer.
 
Larry,

If your compressor runs a lot, the air in the receiver can get very hot and a lot of water will condense out though out the entire run of cold piping. Most systems I have seen in industrial plants generally have a cooler right after the compressor to pull out much of this water vapor before it makes its way down the system. I would think this would be aggravated if the air intake to the compressor is pulling in air with a lot of water vapor. Here in the PNW our relative humidity is very high in the winter, somewhere in the 70's. Heat that up by the act of compression and then send it out through long lines of cold metal pipe and you are going to get a lot of water condensing out. Maybe there is a way to add an inexpensive hillbilly cooler.
 
I just looked at Alan's pictures and noticed he appears to have pvc piping. I suspect it is not acting on the water vapor in the lines like your metal pipe is. My guess is, that is the reason he is not getting the amount of water in his pipes, as it is still in the air as vapor.
 
So from everything we've seen, it looks like you are doing what you can to try and get the moisture to condense out of the air before it even gets to the moisture trap.

A few questions.
1) How does the expert recommend you replumb? Does he know what your system looks like?
2) What is the problem you are getting? Are you having some kind of finishing problem?
3) How do you know the problem is water? Could it be something else?

Seems like time to widen the search a bit...
 
Larry, I sure can't see anything in your system that looks like it could cause a problem. My first suspicion was the weather. I know I collect more in my cooling rack (and tank) when it's humid out here. (Not an air conditioned shop, though.) You also mentioned that your first trap filled up once. Do you know that you got it dried all the way out? I'm assuming you did, since you said you replaced the filter.

If your system was working fine in previous years, then something must have changed to cause you to get more water in the lines. My money is on the weather. Don't really have a cure, though, other than to just be diligent about emptying your water drops and traps. :dunno:
 
larry merlau said:
hadnt given the thought of the weather this year it was pretty wet for us.. but the shop is conditioned air ken..
Click to expand...
I'm far from being any kind of an expert on air systems, but it seems you have it covered as far as getting moisture out of the air. I don't know what kind of volume you're putting through your system but I'd think the 1" pipe should slow the air enough to help remove moisture. Since building my air system (1/2" copper), I've only seen water condense in any of the drops on one occasion when we had an extended period of very humid weather. I have a drier at the output of the compressor and rarely see any water in it. I also have a small drier on the drop where I spray finishes as insurance.
 
the only thing that i can think of on the changes brent to widen my search is the compressor was runing sprodically for awhile this summer.. didnt understand why and so i started checking that out talked with alan beinlien about it and found out he oil level was low which caused the intake valves to stick open or closed.. replenished the oil to right level and it cleared up,, i have a small air leak in the line which causes the compressor to run occasionlly when i am not there like 3 or 4 times a day maybe.. but it has a auto spit for condesation on it that does work.. and i have never had a puddle of water coming from the intail 1" lines that are there to cool the air prior to me gettin it in the tools.. but this summer i used a air line that was at the end of the run and got a shower which surprised me and now i drain each time before i hook up a tool.. but i dont feel i should have to.. i tried to describe my set up to the guy on the phone and his first response was i had done it wrong and this is how to do it.. will try to send him the phots to a eamil address and see if i can get another thought on this from him..
 
Larry try every place you can connect a hose starting closest to the compressor and see where you start to get moisture at.

As for mine being pvc and the moisture still being in the lines then I would think all my cast iron tops on my tools would have been showing signs of rust by now and I don't wax them like I should to prevent rust.

I spray all my finishes and have no moisture related problems and my system is as simple as it gets.

When I use my nail guns no moisture comes out of the exhaust and when I use the air nozzle no moisture comes out and nothing gets wet.

It sounds like you still have water trapped in the system some where.

Are your lines level?

Do they dip anywhere where moisture could collect but you can't drain it?

I would think that if possible you would want the lines to slope in one direction or the other to help control and contain any moisture.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top