Air Supply to Air Drill

[bill_lumley]

I have an air drill with my PRS and I have struggled with CFM requirements as it would appear I had too small a compressor at the outset . I am fixing that with a larger unit with more cfm to be sure I don't run out of air but my question relates to how to treat the air before sending it to the drill . My situation is that my compressor is in the warmth of my house while the shopbot is in my unheated garage so I think I need to be aware of condensation when the air line goes into the colder enviroment . I am looking at Desiccant dryers that go in the line and reduce the dew point down to -40F but they can be expensive. I don't know if that is overkill from the standard in-line filters that claim to remove moisture from the line . Any air experts out there ?
Thanks Bill

[Gary Campbell]

Bill...
You should always filter, remove moisture and oil an air line to the drill. In your situation, you might want to install a small metal surge tank in the cold area before the 3 step conditioner.

I have purchased these off ebay for <$20 in the past. The ones I've seen are about 6" in diameter, 20" long and have a fitting in each end and one in the center bottom. Use the center bottom one for a drain.

Air going into the tank will lose velocity and with the tank being cold, should lose moisture too. Then a relatively inexpensive conditioner should get the rest. Another trick (which works best in winter) is to take your intake air for the compressor from the cold, dry outside. Hope this helps.
Gary

[gerryv]

Hi Bill, without question dryers/moisture seperators are a must when you have temp drops BUT... just as the cheapest and most effective way to get the most bang for your buck with computers is to add RAM, the same goes for having a moisture bleeder valve on your pressure tank and (KEY POINT) draining it each and every day, which is free. It's a real good way to get you "most" of the way there and can mean a smaller investment in a dryer for the last important bit. I stand to be corrected though, so hope there is some other input as this is one of the biggest issues in all types of paint, wood, metal, auto, heavy duty mobile and industrial shops when it comes to quality and trouble free operation.