Air compressor moisture problem

[Diana]

What type of air drying/ moisture separating system would you recommend for the air coming out of the air compressor? We were told that there are refrigeration type units that work well in our part of the world, but we don't remember what brand, type they recommended.

Here are the things we've done to help with the moisture problem: Outside air intake for the compressor, on the bottom of the tank an automatic blow out on a timer, ball valves in several places that we open daily, bowl type filters that we empty daily, flowjet filters at equipment. The flowjet filters work well, our flow jets are living longer and decreased failure rate. We have several of the flowjet air filters and they blow a small amount of air ALL of the time, causing the air compressor to run too much, & the electric meter to spin.

It's been along time since I've posted, please be gentle if I didn't do this correctly.

 

[washme1]

I use an Ingersoll-Rand DS35 Drystar here in Iowa. I was getting a lot of water in the lines and valves for my doors and operators. After I installed late last winter, I've had no problems with doors freezing and no water in valves.

 

[Reds]

I just bought and installed a heatless regenerative air dryer from Twin Tower Engineering in Colorado. I have not had it in service long enough to comment on its effectiveness. Air dryers are not cheap. You can do some research online about air dryers and get a wealth of info. Particularly about the differences between dryers (dewpoint, maintenance, etc ). Be aware that dryers consume a couple CFM of air purging the moisture from the system. The reason I went with Twin Tower is because they were helpfull sizing the unit for my air compressor. I'm sure that there are plenty of sources out there that can help you. Ultimate Products also sells one, but it's expensive. I will never buy another air compressor that doesn't have a drier with it that was sized by the factory. Some other things to consider are that if the drier purges air it will run 24 x 7 and keep your compressor running. I'm trying to figure out how to wire (via a relay) mine into my wash controller so that it is only on when the wash is armed. One other issue is that they have solenoids in them to purge the air. I don't know if they are all alike, but the solenoids close on mine when it is turned off. So no air can get thru the system. I am working on ordering a solenoid that will open when the power is off and let the air bypass the drier. Make sure you do your homework before buying an air drier.

 

[DavidM]

We have two from Ultimate and they have been great. I would recommend them. We are planning to buy a third.

One nice thing about the Ultimate dryer is that they eliminate the problem that Reds is referring too. They connect to your air compressor pressure switch and the timer only runs when the air compressor is running. So if nothing is happening all night, the air dryer is not purging. I have not seen a noticeable difference in the amount of time the compressor runs since we added the Ultimate dryer.

David

 

[Mel(NC)]

Dianne, I have a flojet filter/dryer also. I removed the wire from the drain hole and braized the hole shut. I installed a large bowl type dryer between the flojet filter and the air compressor to remove as much of the water as possible. I manually empty it once or twice a week. The flojet filter is pretty small so it would not take long to fill up if you forgot to drain it.

 

[Mel(NC)]

Diana, not Dianne. Sorry about that. I need to learn to proof read before hitting enter.

 

[MEP001]

For future reference, you can edit your post for about 15 minutes after you send it.