to regulate or not

T

Treeslayer

Mike
Hi guys, newb with a dumb question here. i have read numerous times guys saying not to regulate at the wall but at the gun. this does make some sense to me, but i have some questions.......i guess most importantly, how much pressure can the gun and or those little at gun regulators handle? im a little hesitant to give her the full beans 170psi.
 
A real regulator is bulkier looking and the knob is quite large compared to a simple valve. Also the direction to turn to increase pressure is reversed, a regulator turns clockwise to increase pressure, a valve turns counter-clockwise to increase pressure.
 
i understand the regulator deal now, and the better ones i have looked at claim to handle 200 psi or more. thats easy enough, thanks.
now, desiccants.......what do y'all think of at the gun inline desiccants? desiccant snake? or those little at gun filters? will they handle shop air?
i have just finished piping my shop for air with 3/4 copper. 25' foot run sloped to a trap then to 20' in short runs in front of my 36" exhaust fan with traps and then into a 6' down pipe with trap and filter. idk what else i can do to try and cool/dry the air with out spending a fortune. but i do think some thing at the gun is a good idea? the desiccant snake, how long will it last? what say you fellas?
at this point i'm not going to buy a refrigerated dryer.
 
BTW if any one is thinking on plumbing for air, i used 3/4 parker push lock hose for flex joints. i didnt have any trouble at all pushing on the fittings. just be sure you are ready to have it on since its not ever gonna pull back off. also, yes, they will turn in the hose and act as a swivel. i bought and used swivels but didnt need to.
 
crashtech said:
I don't know what advice to offer, I've never used a desiccant snake. All I can say is that if you skimp on air quality, you will have a high likelihood of surface defects or even failures requiring re-shoots.
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i figure most of you guys doing this for a living can easily justify a refrigerated air drier. but, there has to be some sort of mitigation for us once in a while guys?
i dont yet know how much good my home made heat ex changer will do, but it cant be worse. i have some what played with the idea of some thing like the old truck air driers that used desiccant "beans" that would take some fabrication.
 
After my first refrigerated dryer died (12 year old used one), didn't buy one, just added more filters ending in a large desiccant canister. Worked fine until desiccant got wet. Then it would pass the water right through. Some days saturated in one day. Did this for probably a year until I realized the cost and hassle everytime the desiccant got wet. By the time to make a heat exchanger, pipe added, valves, multiple filters, and desiccant changed a couple times, won't be as cheap, and still will not be as dry as the air in refrigerated dryer. The moisture South Texas is almost impossible without one. IMO
 
texasking said:
After my first refrigerated dryer died (12 year old used one), didn't buy one, just added more filters ending in a large desiccant canister. Worked fine until desiccant got wet. Then it would pass the water right through. Some days saturated in one day. Did this for probably a year until I realized the cost and hassle everytime the desiccant got wet. By the time to make a heat exchanger, pipe added, valves, multiple filters, and desiccant changed a couple times, won't be as cheap, and still will not be as dry as the air in refrigerated dryer. The moisture South Texas is almost impossible without one. IMO
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its very humid here too king, im almost on the coast, about 50 miles from it.
its just a lot of money to spend for no more painting than im gonna do.
 
Treeslayer said:
its very humid here too king, im almost on the coast, about 50 miles from it.
its just a lot of money to spend for no more painting than im gonna do.
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Not doing much painting, can be done with desiccant. Depends on amount the moisture reaches the desiccant. A small desiccant may not last long enough to paint one day, or even less. Lots of variables, from compressors to piping, make a big difference. Used refrigerated driers can be found occasionally. They normally last a long time. The "snake" was only made as a last defense when most moisture is dry.
 
You will have a better experience punching yourself in the balls than using a desiccant snake.

I used one in 2015 when everything was blowing up on me. They are very inflexible, heavy, but the biggest problem for me was the desiccant started coming out of the snake and plugging up the air inlet on my gun. I threw it away.

I pipe my air from compressor pump through a transmission cooler, then into a water filter, then into the tank. This SIGNIFICANTLY cools the air before it gets to the tank allowing much of the water to be removed before it ever makes it to the tank. The result is much dryer air. My desiccant lasts longer now. Still not as good as a cooler.

I saw somebody here (it might be MP&C) made a homemade cooler with a little form fridge and a 5 gallon bucket of water inside. The airline went through a hole in the side of the fridge, coiled in the bucket and then out the other side of the fridge. This was copper. Then have good filtration afterwards.
 
Lizer said:
You will have a better experience punching yourself in the balls than using a desiccant snake.

I used one in 2015 when everything was blowing up on me. They are very inflexible, heavy, but the biggest problem for me was the desiccant started coming out of the snake and plugging up the air inlet on my gun. I threw it away.

I pipe my air from compressor pump through a transmission cooler, then into a water filter, then into the tank. This SIGNIFICANTLY cools the air before it gets to the tank allowing much of the water to be removed before it ever makes it to the tank. The result is much dryer air. My desiccant lasts longer now. Still not as good as a cooler.

I saw somebody here (it might be MP&C) made a homemade cooler with a little form fridge and a 5 gallon bucket of water inside. The airline went through a hole in the side of the fridge, coiled in the bucket and then out the other side of the fridge. This was copper. Then have good filtration afterwards.
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thats about as bad a review as there is lizer lol. thanks, sounds like i wont like it.
i think at this point, my best bet may be some kind of large desiccant filter. they are kinda pricey.......i have seen a couple big home made jobs that looked interesting.
 
The less your compressor has to work the less water it will make. Which is why a bigger compressor is always better. I can get away with painting with a desiccant filter because I have a big compressor that doesn't come on as often. That and properly run copper lines with water traps. And before every time I paint (base/clear or SS, not priming) I will pull my desiccant, and dry it in the oven. Will eventually get a refrigerated dryer but I can get away with it for now.
If you are setting up your airlines remember you need 50 feet minimum before the first filter. And multiple traps to catch the condensate in the line. If you are short on space you can run your lines up and down on your wall in order to get the 50 feet. Your filter order should be like this, water coalescer, then oli coalecser then desiccant then your regulator. If you get a desccant filter get something that uses loose desiccant. Arrow makes a good one. The Devilbiss ones use desiccant packaged in such a way that you can't easily dry it. Desiccant changes are expensive with Devilbiss.
 
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