Compressor setup.

O

OJ86

Promoted Users
Ok, I have a Quincy 325 compressor in my garage that I use for painting. I want to move the compressor into the back closet I built(ventilated) and I'd like to pipe up and around the garage to my devilbliss clean air system. If I pipe up and around with 3/4" copper say 50-60 feet it should help cool the air and help eliminate water in my lines correct? Heck, I would cincider 1" just for the added air storage. I have an 80 gallon tank.

Any thoughts??
 
I do know in Michigan you can run your compressor from a non heated source and run the air lines into the heated shop without problems. A friend had his compressor in a vented closet like you have and ran his lines up into the attic and dropping them down into his paint room. In the winter that hot air from the compressor would run up into the freezing attic, hit the cold pipes, turn to water and he had a lot of water problems until he figured it out. Just don't heat the air, cool the air, and re heat the air. My compressor is unheated and runs into the shop and I don't have water problems. I think for the price of copper you can buy a refrigerated dryer or build a dessicant system like others on here have explained. I have a 20 lbs dessicant system that works good but you have to maintain it.

Nice compressor btw. Grandfather bought a new 325 in 1961 and he still uses it and it's been overhauled once. I just bought a quincy 350 compressor to replace my 2 year old eaton that is going to be getting it's third pump tomorrow. China sucks for quality.
 
I planned on keeping the pipes on the inside of the heated portion of the garage, just mounted to the ceiling. I jut need to get the compressor seperate from my painting area. I am tired of having to plastic it off all the time and it does take up room.

Maybe I'll just use black pipe and run it over. Right now, my filters are off of the compressor and when the air gets to my gun it finally cools and I get water. I am trying to run enough line so that it cools before it gets to the filter.
 
on your drop downs install a drum drip. it will help catch the water and help keep it out of the gun. Drain it often and it should remove a good amount of your water issues. my drums run down at least 2 feet below my outlets. install a valve then another piece of pipe and a second valve. leave valve one open until you drain the drum. then close #1 and open #2. this will keep the water from blasting all over the shop.
 
Anyone use SHARK pushloc tubing and fittings? rated to 200psi. I only run mmine to about 160psi.

This would definitly make things cheaper and easier! Any down falls?
 
First pump started knocking within six months and the second has lasted a little over a year. It's going on a 5hour ride tomorrow with a buddy to be swapped out. Warranty is great except for logistics. I'm just sucking it up and replacing it with either the quincy 350 pump I have or the saylor beall pump I have. Whichever I choose I have to rebuild but once rebuilt I won't have to worry about it. I'm kinda pissed now as two days without air plus some time to pull the pumps. My compressor is a 10hp single phase 3 cylinder pump and I thought I was buying something quality as the warranty must mean something.

Only mad at myself though. Life is a bunch of decisions and I choose to buy foreign from a price point. I saved 1500 bucks or so not buying something made in the USA locally. Now that I'm out some time and will have a grand into the quincy pump well it doesn't take a genius to realize it was my mistake. I'd sell it if I could recoup most of my money but it appears it isn't worth much. When the eaton is running the big cast flywheel is kinda crude and wobbles around. I used to use an electronic balancer where I used to work so I have a good idea of what balancing means. Any of my other compressors have perfect runout on the flywheel and are known to last a lifetime.

Those drum drips work really good. I use black pipe also but the dessicant system is the key to dry air. Traps help but why not nip the problem at the source?
 
My friend delivered my new pump tonight. When I spin the flywheel it runs true. I'll hook it up in the morning but my guess is my poorly casted flywheel on the other one shook the crank apart. My original pump had a small 10" diameter flywheel with a big plastic fan and I never knew the runout since it was plastic. Curiousity will have me run it until failure again.
 
I run 3/4" copper. Have about 20' from the compressor to a filter/trap then through a Speedaire Refrigerated Dryer then another 20' to the booth through a regulator/trap and a particulate filter to the airline.
The copper pipe is not all the expensive it is the fittings where they really gouge you.
 
orangejuiced86;8160 said:
I planned on keeping the pipes on the inside of the heated portion of the garage, just mounted to the ceiling. I jut need to get the compressor seperate from my painting area. I am tired of having to plastic it off all the time and it does take up room.

Maybe I'll just use black pipe and run it over. Right now, my filters are off of the compressor and when the air gets to my gun it finally cools and I get water. I am trying to run enough line so that it cools before it gets to the filter.
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I had three things going against me having clean dry air.
  1. Florida humidity -- less than a mile from the ocean.
  2. Rubber hoses.
  3. Oil-less 110v "5 horsepower" compressor on a 25 gallon tank.
Not much I can do about number 1 -- mold and mildew have fastened me to the place.
To fix the insulating qualities of the rubber hose, I ran 50 feet of 1/2-inch galvanized pipe from the compressor to a cheap desiccant dryer and 15-feet more pipe back to the compressor setup where the rubber hoses connect. Couple of drops to let me drain the condensate and the water problem is gone.
The oil-less compressor had a mysterious accident that blew apart the case and forced me to buy a new compressor with a 60-gallon tank. Because the new one has oil in the compressor, a coalescing filter has been added (using some huge quick-disconnects.
As soon as the electrical bootleggers ship me some new double-breakers, I can finish wiring the 220v outlet. My new regulator gauge arrived today and a water separator should be arriving tomorrow.
 
Any downfalls to PVC? I was looking last night and its rated to 450psi, and with the heavy duty cement the joints will be rated over 200psi. No worrys about rust, 1/8 the price of copper and super easy to install. I think I may go that route.
 
I have read the danger with PVC is that it will become brittle over time and can fracture (explode) causing injury. Seems many guys have used it without a problem but I don't know for how long.
 
PVC, beyond the potential for flying shards of plastic, doesn't do a great job conducting heat (or cool). If you are going to have a refrigeration unit dry the air, PVC should be OK but if you are relying on the pipe to cool the compressed air and condense the water out, I don't think PVC is the way to go.

The biggest expense in the 50' of pipe in my system were the valves and fittings. I have seven 1/4-turn ball valves and five unions that totaled nearly $80. Tees and elbows ran another $50 and probably $100 in straight pieces of pipe. A close (1.5") nipple is $0.79, a 12-inch nipple is $3.13 and a 10-foot piece is $13.44. It's pretty easy to spend a couple of hundred on a setup.

Simplest cooler would be a coil of copper pipe. Lowe's carries 60-foot coils of 1/2-inch type L for $145 and 3/4-inch for $173. A couple of fittings and valves would do it. Some have put the coils in water-filled drums.
 
orangejuiced86;8271Do you think 60' of 3/4' copper line is enough length to cool the air to help prevent moisture?[/QUOTE said:
I read somewhere that you need 100', I didn't have room for that but I did manage 40' above my workbench.
I hardly ever get any water out of it, but my compressor has a intercooler on it.
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Here's something I have never quite figured out. There are painters I know who have the most archaic air filtration systems imaginable and almost never have a problem. Others I know who have spent time and money designing a good system sometimes have more problems. Maybe it's better to be lucky than good ...
 
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