Help with air compressor and water

[brads70]

I have a 5hp air compressor and it's been really humid here lately and lots of water is coming out. I keep draining it at the bottom of the tank and have a water trap on it but it's still like a fire hose?  I'm wanting to paint my fenders but not with how it is? Any economical idea's? 

[johns cuda shop]

Hi Brad, I live in a area of the country that is very humid most of the time ,so I am familiar with that problem. What I do is open the valve without any air in the tank. , and let the valve stay open over night if I can. What this does is allow the tank to drain all the way instead of sealing back up with condensation inside. Since you have a small compressor wheel it into a air conditioned space if you can, (mine is inside at my shop) this way it gets dry air in the intake. If you have a water seperater on the line , disconnect it and make sure there is no water in it the trap. When you close the valve at the bottom of the tank ,leave it cracked a little allowing a very small amount of air to escape. What this does as water is heavier than air it will drip out the bottom instead of condensating inside the tank...Once you run your compressor a for the first time after this ,you may still have some moisture in the lines to blow out,but you should be good to go.  Lets see those finished fenders when your done. 

[edl94]

What I have found is you need to cool the air after it has been compressed to condense the water. If you add 50 to 75' of air hose from the compressor and then run it through a cheap harbor freight style water separator the air will cool and condense the water in the first length of hose. Then the water separator can remove it. Worked for me. If you run the hot compressed air through the separator the water will still be in vapor form then it cools and condenses in the air line and spits out your tool.

[Cudaragtop]

Anyone use these?

[Topcat]

I've used this when sand blasting and it worked very well keeping it CDA.

http://www.harborfreight.com/industrial-air-filter-regulator-68247.html

[shawge]

I built a column manifold out of copper tubing.  Air from tank goes in one side, up/down a few times - drops and drains on the down for water collection/expulsion, air out the other side into the water trap and regulator.

Not mine but I did something similar


Ideally, there'd be an intercooler + water trap between the compressor and the tank to cool the hot air down and give the water a chance to separate before going into the tank. An A/C condenser would work well.

[Bullitt-]

I have the a couple of separators in line and when humidity is up an evaporator is needed.
For a quick evaporator I coiled up an extra 25' air hose in a tub of cool water...the separator after that collected practically no water.
Also heard of using compressed nitrogen, never tried it. 

[brads70]

Good idea's guy thanks. When I drain the tank ( 50 gallon vertical tank) it also has some oily stuff in it too?  Mostly water but it's a white milky substance.   Is this normal? I do have an oiler downstream  but don't see how that's getting in there? Pump going south maybe?
Looks like I might have to get someone else to paint it for me? 

[shawge]

I've read that the white milky fluid is normal.  Air trapped in the water - when left to sit (on the floor, in a cup) it should eventually turn clear.  Your main filter should catch any oil in the air.  Wouldn't hurt to have an extra filter at the paint gun.

You might need to start worrying about the pump when the fluid is yellow/brown.

[brads70]

I'm looking into getting someone else to spray them... I don't trust the compressor.

[rhamson]

I'm looking into getting someone else to spray them... I don't trust the compressor.

I spray a lot here in Maryland. Mostly I spray cabinets but I occasionally spray a car or truck. In the summer it can get very humid so I drain the tank at night and when I come in the next day I let it fill the tank. When I begin to spray I open the bottom valve on the tank and let a dribble of air come out which I usually see a drip of water occur. I also use the inline disposable filter which usually does the job. Now getting the lacquer to dry on cabinetry turns me into a chemist with the retarder amounts. But that is another story.

[torredcuda]

Any compressor will create moisture and some oily stuff. You need to run the hose/pipe up and across to cool and then down to a drain/water separator. The plastic disposable ones are good at the gun as a last safety measure.

[plumcrazzy]

Here is what works for me. The bottom of the tank has a female pipe thread (NPT). I installed stainless fittings out from under and then up the side of the tank to a momentary spring loaded valve. Then ran tubing from the discharge side of the valve through the shop wall and turned it down at a slight angle towards the ground. Whenever I walk by the compressor I give that little valve a blip and all the condensation that has collected in the bottom of the tank is expelled through the tubing and outside to the ground. I also installed a moisture separator at the pressure regulator right before the hose. Not a perfect solution but works well for me.

[Topcat]

How much water are we talking about being collected within a 2-4 hour timespan?

I still think the industrial filter I mentioned earlier should catch most of the water in the air compressed.

[brads70]

The more use it got the more water it produced. When I used the air gun it put out a mist about 2-3 feet long. Water was also coming out of the DA sander.
I took them to a body shop to get painted. I'm heading out on holidays for a week they should be done when I get back. Just bought the paint this morning.