# Shop Air - Dryer



## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Here in the humid Southeast, moisture in the shop compressed air system is a common occurrence. I've been watching some YouTube videos where guys have made some interesting gadgets to combat this problem.

The first is a manifold made of copper pipe. The air is routed up and down with a drain on each leg. The concept is that the air will cool and the moisture will condense prior to your air filter / regulator.






The second concept is to cool the air between the compressor and tank. The concept is to use some type of radiator with a fan.






Finally, there are commercially available air dryers which use desiccant. Some get pricey.






So, have any of you used any of these approaches? Thoughts? I'm looking for a winter project and my shop air system has been needing attention for a long time. Looking forward to retiring in about a year and wanting to break out the paint gun and restore a couple of antique cars.


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

After more research (i.e., watching countless Youtube videos), I found this guy who has a system that I like. I will probably try the transmission aftercooler with water separator before the tank approach, which seems to take the majority of the moisture out of the air before it goes into the tank.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

I have an automotive paint booth in my shop and have 4 series of dryers to keep my air dry and clean. I always keep the drain petcock cracked on the air compressor tank so it is always allowed to drain out water that builds up out the bottom. I have a dedicated shop air line and a second dedicated line that runs to booth air.

On the booth air set up, I run a whip to 20' of 1/2" coiled copper line to help cool it. The air hose connects to each end of the copper line via a threaded connector soldered to the copper. Inside the booth, the air then goes through an oil/water filter separator. Next in series is a MotorGard M60 submicronic filter which is very effective. AKA 'toilet paper filter,' because a lot of people use a roll of toilet paper in lieu of the MotorGard filter inside, though I use the actual MotorGard filter to prevent pieces of wet toilet paper from breaking off and going into the line. Next in series is a dessicator, which removes any remaining water vapor. The MotorGard is the single-most effective piece in the set up. But the dessicator also really helps. You just need to make sure you have fresh dessicant in it at the time of use, and you can recharge used dessicant in the microwave.

The last in series is the air pressure regulator.

This set up works really well for me and consistently supplies clean, dry air. The key is to let the air cool as much as possible prior to filtration to condense water vapor, as the vapor becomes a lot more difficult to remove. The M60 is pretty effective at removing water vapor, and the dessicant will remove whatever the M60 can't, but if you have excessive water vapor it is possible to saturate the system (though I never have). The M60 is also good at extending the life of the dessicant. Before I installed the M60 I had to change out the dessicant several times in the middle of a large spray, but now the dessicant has to do very little.


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