Air Filtration/drying

[John Pierce]

I've looked through the forum, but can't find the answer to this particular question.

I've got a 80 gallon Eaton 2-stage compressor with a long black pipe run to cool the air. So far I've got a single drop for an air filtration/drying set-up just prior to the end termination, so water doesn't come down the drop. I will be doing painting and cabinet media blasting.

The questions are:
1. Should I plumb a second drop solely for the cabinet media blasting? If so, does this need any type of filtration/drying?
2. For painting, the Sharpe 3-stage Dryaire looks good, but is it overkill as I will be painting in my garage? If so, do you have any recommendations?

Thanks.

John

[Len]

John
How long is the pipe? You'll probably need more moisture control at the blaster than for spraying.

[John Pierce]

John
How long is the pipe? You'll probably need more moisture control at the blaster than for spraying.

The first 16 feet is angled back towards the tank where it is connected with a flexible hose. The next 24 feet is angled down to a 7 foot vertical termination for water collection. The drop for the painting air supply first comes up the drops down vertically about a foot from the end of the 24 foot run. This has a lot of cooling potential and any condensation should drip down the termination.

If the media blasting cabinet needs filtration and drying, I was hoping to combine one air purification set-up for both the media blasting and painting. I don't know if this is possible as the cabinet needs a lot of CFM. In addition, should I connect the air tools to the same drop? I've got a small oiler that connects to the tools.

Thanks.

[Len]

With the size and output of your compressor and the piping length you'll probably only need a filter/regulator for spraying but for blasting more than a small amount you're going to need an air dryer.

Dryers come in all shapes and sizes so the amount that you use your blasting cabinet can determine the amount of moisture control you need. For a commercial operation or a blaster that is used daily you may want to consider a refrigeration unit but for most applications you could probably get away with a desiccant filter. You could use the same desiccant filter for spraying so that you can eliminate the need of a filter/regulator but other air tools could be run though the filter regulator to help eliminate the over-usage and frequent changing of the desiccant.


http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/SHP-6730.jpg

http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/Sharpe6760.jpg
Air Control Equipment Link (http://autobodystore.net/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=FAR)

[slyhog22056]

Maybe i have an overkill solution set up in my garage, i have 20' of 3/4" copper pipe coming off of my 10 hp compressor down into an evaporative cooler that has an automatic blowoff placed 5' from the compressor with the last few feet being in a U shape with a boiler steam trap placed at the bottom of the U. after that i have 3/4" copper running 10 feet to a 30 gallon tank with a water seperator before the tank, then i only use 30' of 3/8" id air hose for my blasting and painting needs. Seems like overkill but have never had any water even reach the second tank yet. Besides having the second tank gives me a total storage of 90 gallons of air. With the 65% to 90% humidity here it does really good.