Air comp ? OT sort of

When's the last time you drained the tank?

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

it's condensing out in your hose or at the nozzle. you need to have 2 water traps, one at the compressor, one near the end of the hose. if it's really humid out, you might need an air dryer too.

I drain the tank several times a day. The main water/partical filter is at the tank and the hose is only 25 ft long. I guess then I would need an air dryer? rich

well, maybe. if you use copper piping instead of a long rubber hose, have the piping have a downward slope to the air tap, and a water trap at the tap, you might be able to avoid having one.

hf has an air dryer that isn't an arm and a leg.

If anyone in Eastern MA wants a real refrigerated air dry, cheap, I have a couple. Want to sell at least one.

GTO(John)

whats cheap? As you can see I am having finishing problems and you seem to be right on the mark!

rich

the water separator needs cool air to work. the air right out of the compressor is hot enough to keep the moisture in it right through the separator. try a length of hose between the compressor and the separator.

Great thought, I will change my set up around to give the air a chance to cool down. I am not getting much water in the separator come to think of it.

Thanks for the tip I'll let you know how it turns out.

Rich

Also - get one of those orange bulbs that go on your gun. They are water traps and they screw into a standard 1/4"NPT fitting. One side is male and the other is female so you may need to buy an adapter as well, depending on what your gun needs. These things work very well. Very well. I use one on all of my spray guns and I've shot cars with a small compressor that thought part of it's purpose in life was to provide a refreshing mist as well as compressed air. I get absolutely no water through these things and have not experienced any finish problems since going to them years ago. And - as was said before, drain your tank - right before you are going to spray.

Orange bulb? Forgive me but I have no idea what an orange bulb is. That sounds like my answer! Where do I go to look for one?

Rich

Here's the url...

These things are available in most auto parts stores and from any automotive paint supplier. Just screw it on your gun and forget about it. They last forever with occasional spraying.

Try it - you'll love it. The url is

They are available in most auto parts stores and in all automotive paint supply houses. I think they're around $5.00 or so, but I'm not sure. When I need to get one I don't really pay attention to the price - it's one of those things that if you need one, you need one.

try moving your water filter away from the compressor. get a 10 or 25' legnth of hose to run from your compressor to the filter, then add another legnth to your paint gun. Make sure the tank is drained. I have painted several cars and this certainly helps!

Dave

Today, I did move the water trap from the tank with about 6 ft of hose between the tank and the hose reel. I drained the tank and hopefully I will see a difference when I go to use the sand blaster this weekend. I am also going to look in my area for the "orange bulbs"/

This is the best solution, especially if you plumb your lines so that you have a trap (similar to the p-trap under your sink) with a drain valve and a bit of a vertical run before you get to your water filter. For many, they just don't go to the extent of plumbing a compressor properly - sometimes because they just can't, so the alternatives like the gun mounted filters make a good second best approach.

How big is your compressor and tank Rich? Sand blasting takes it's toll on a compressor, just like body tools do. It just demands a lot of air volume. Smaller compressors end up cycling a lot, and they generate a lot of water in the process. A lot of siphon blasters won't even pick up sand after a while, simply because of this problem.

One of the things I've found to contribute to moisture in the air stream is too small a tank. I used to use a gallon tank on a portable used with a pneumatic drill. Water out the drill's exhaust all the time. Needed to be portable, water didn't hurt the drill. Hooking the same drill to a compressor with a 20 gallon tank give no condensate out the exhaust. How big a tank are you dealing with?

bob g.

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