Well the work on the truck has stopped until I install my new air compressor
So where is this post going, it’s not to recommend one air compressor over another. As far as I’m concerned you can get a good or bad (lemmon) air compressor from any manufacturer. The only thing I would say is get the largest one you can to meet your requirements plus additional expansion, within your budget.
After searching the web and talking to a few to solve some problems that I’ve had with my old compressor installation the next three posts will deal with Home/small shop setup. Divided into piping, electrical, and installation of the compressor to prevent old problems and possible new ones as well as giving the compressor the best chance to have a long life.
The first post of three air compressor piping
One problem I had with my old compressor installation is when I used a lot of air during a day the air hose would start spitting water out of it. I had a water separator placed close to the compressor outlet but it didn’t work good because when the air got hot enough to keep the water as a vapor it would pass right through the separator (not a good or desired thing for the tools, sandblasting or painting).
The one advantage of putting piping in a small shop even if you don’t need it to distribute the air around the shop is to give the air a chance to cool to separate the water out of it. The general agreement is that a minimum 25 feet or more of ½ to ¾ inch black steel pipe is enough to cool the air before getting to the water separator in most environments (may not work as good in high temp with high humidity areas).
You could run the pipe along the wall and back agene sloping the pipe away from the compressor. Or you could run the pipe back and forth a few times as I am when dealing with a small area. Put a drain pipe and valve at the end of the run to collect the majority of the water and be able to drain it, then on to your water separator to remove any that’s left. No one recommends plastic pipe its dangers to use and will not dissipate the heat and an air hose will not dissipate the heat either.
This setup should collect the majority of the water in the air before it reaches the tools and adding a drop or two of oil in your tools once a day before using them will make your tools last a long time. If you’re planning on painting with the air you might want to use an additional filter in the line to remove any oil or water that might be left.
I went a little overboard on the size of pipe I’m using 1 inch to give max pipe area for cooling, you can see what I will be installing in the picture below.
Another area water likes to collect is in the bottom of the air compressor tank and reaching under it to open the petcock drain is a pain. Probably one of the reasons it isn’t drained as often as it should be. I’m installing a 90 degree fitting and some pipe with a ball valve to make it easer for me. Maybe it will drained more often now.
For those that might want to install some black steel pipe in there shop I generated a little how to put NPT pipe and fittings together with the novice in mind (I’m a novice at this task myself) to minimize if not eliminate leaking. I think we all want leak proof pipes and fallowing the steps should help in achieving that goal.
The new compressor has been delivered and is sitting in the garage on a pallet. Now I just need to find three or four strong friends to come over and help me move this top heavy 300 pound item to the back of the house and down some stares. I think this is going to take more than a six pack of beer more like a half a case and a piazza to gather the help (HA HA)