Installing the Cheapest (harbor freight) air dryer I could find in the shop how does it work
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- čas přidán 3. 02. 2022
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Time to do some work TO the shop, not just in the shop!
#shopwork
#airdryer
#shopproblems
#aircompressor
#install - Zábava
One thing I leaned long time ago was that the horizontal mains should not be dead level. Also droppers should be interspersed along the run with cocks at the very end to facilitate draining the water.
Great tutorial on air quality of compressed air! Thanks Mike and Jason!
Mike, others have commented the same but you should leave the dryer running so it maintains dew point and stays cold. What compressor are you running? If it is tank mounted, how often do you drain the tank? About 80% of the water produced will be removed in the tank. A zero loss automatic drain will greatly help the system. It will dump the water as it accumulates but won’t waste any air. 34 years selling servicing and designing compressed air systems.
Keep the good videos coming!
In addition here, you mentioned that you had a secondary air receiver. If you plumb that into the system the right way, it also acts as a precipitator, removing even more moisture before it gets to the dryer.
In saying that, my current workshop system has a rotary screw compressor feeding directly through the drier, then to the receiver (tank).
From there it feeds a 1" main around both buildings with 1/2" droppers to the work stations.
One building is panel/paint, the other is mechanical so the only oilers in the system are tool or machine mounted where required.
Nice upgrade, fun vid.! I operated a H.F. air drier (in an automotive research group) that fed filtered & dry air to a Constant Volume Combustion Chamber (C.V.C.C.), with 2" thick glass windows for hi-speed photography of combustion flame front studies & or fuel injection spray patterns.
The instructions stated (I know, I know, but I was paid to read, comprehend, understand & follow instructions!😇) to turn on the drier about 10 min. Before introducing comp. air into the drier. The gauge needed to point to a certain color, indicating the refrigerant section reached operating cold temp. Reason: Uncooled air would carry water vapor right thru the warm drier. In a precise research environment water contaminates the combustion air, altering combustion properties & exhaust gas analysis, i.e. junk data! In the real world the effect is tiny, especially if air demand is zero for the 1st. 10 min after opening the air valve.
Ideally an air system is equipped with 4 stages of moisture removal designed into it. #1) A CFM flow matched Air to Air aftercooler directly out of the comp. pump lowers 300 F deg. air to room temp., then into a triple metal pipe up & down arrangement, valves at bottom of each to drain water. #2)Next into a water trap/filter just BEFORE entering the tank. At this point the majority of water is removed before the tank & many tanks will have NO water to drain out, greatly extending tank life by decades! #3) Add a fine particle filter & Now the Drier AFTER the tank won't have to work as hard, helping it produce even drier air since it is not overwhelmed with such wet air. #4) At this point air may be dry enough for air tools & a sand blaster, & general shop needs, but plasma cutters, & paint systems may need the cleanest, driest air possible using a "toilet paper cartridge" coalescing filter &/or desiccant bead drier. This system design makes each section remove lots of moisture initially to help the next section be more efficient & not be overwhelmed. A shout-out to YTer "THE Compressor Guru, Bud Steiner for making Air System design wisdom & DIY compressor repair knowledge (& parts) available to the world! Paul from S. Central Tx.
Mike, i have set up a lot of air systems. The main line that you just removed from the shop line and put a 90 on up to the dryer should be a tee with a line running down and a ball valve on the bottom. You are going to collect a lot of water before your dryer in that line as the air cools. The drop would allow it to collect and the valve allows you to drain it periodically. This will also help you dryer out by removing a lot of water from the air before it gets there.
Would you agree with my comment here that the dryer should be placed between the compressor and the storage tank to avoid that the air has time to cool down in the tank?
@@RubenKelevra No I wouldn't. The time the air is in the tank allows it to cool and shed a huge amount of water. This will remove the majority of the water. The tank is or should be equipped with a drain. The air dryer would not be able to sufficiently. There are air coolers, not dryers, that can be installed between the compressor and tank, but their primary duty is to cool the air to help the water separate in the tank more efficiently. Mike has installed this correctly.
@@patrickcolahan7499 interesting. I was under the impression that the CFM printed on the air dryer is what it's able to cope with as a continuous flow.
I mean what's the point then to install a dryer in the first place? The air won't cool down any further until it reaches the exhaust port of the tool, so there won't be any additional condensation after it cooled to room temperature, right? 🤔
@@RubenKelevra Ruben, The dryer works by cooling the air down like a refrigerator which causes the water droplets in the air to condense and separate from the air. The CFM rating is based on an assumed air temp entering the dryer. The air straight from the compressor is the hottest which would very difficult for the dryer to cool sufficiently to remove the moisture.
@@patrickcolahan7499 hm okay, but isn't the moisture forming in the tank an issue, as the water droplets sucked away by the air stream from the walls will travel through the dryer with no resistance, as it's not water vapour? 🤔
I have the same dryer in my shop, & like the industrial dryers in my plant (my job) we never turn them off. Think of it like your refrigerator. It’s best to let it run continually & saves the compressor from cycling on & off where you could get into issues. My 2¢, you do you, just food for thought!
Another great video of you all having fun while doing an upgrade to the shop . Glad that you got the overhead hoist back to working . Looks like they did a great job at the machine shop repairing the valve body on the hoist .
Good to see Jason glad the dryer worked I need to put one in my shop eventually.
Well,once again a great job done by Mr. Dirt Perfect and one of his highly competent (who's more knowledgeable about the item being installed) sidekicks and of course there's Keystone Cops music during the time lapse period which obviously is fitting given the comic banter taking place 😀😉
Now, back to the show Y'all.
The entertainment value is incomprehensiblly (insert fancy word ) outstanding.
Thank you guys for answering so many questions i had about integrating an air dryer! I have watched dozens of videos about removing moisture from compressed air systems. I bought an FS-Curtis air dryer. Although pricey, it's neat, clean, quiet and works without a wall full of copper artwork, fans and mini radiators! Keep on truckin'!
Thanks for ride along, like your dryer system set up.
The high dollar air line oil is just 20 weight non-detergent. Can be hard to find. Ask your distributor.
It is a strain relief it goes in the knockout
Dennis gets me🙃
@@JasonWorksAlot yes sir
Mike, from experience, a lube point should be as close as possible to the point of need, as possible or practical. You don't need to lube all of your air lines. It might take a while to get the oil to the hoist, and won't be as reliable if your lubrication is at point of need, it will decrease the need to run separate air lines. If you put the lubricator at floor level, make sure you have enough CFM to move the oil vertical to the hoist.
A work around I did at work was to make a portable filter and lubrication station I could carry around, with about a 10' pigtail to connect the air tools that needed oil. All impacts, and air motors. I used one for an air turbine to clean boiler tubes. Good luck. Thanks for your response a few weeks ago on my basement project.
Will looks like I picked a good location then
It's amazing the extra mechanisms added to make other working parts more trouble free. And then when you add 'inventors' who connect it all together it makes interesting videos. Fun to watch guys.
Thanks
Great stuff Mike Thanks for sharing 👍
nice shop update mike .
thanks for the video DP
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and videos. Nice to see Jason, system looks good. Never was sure about pex being used for air, the only inexperienced opinion I’ve had come from watching the build show by Matt Risinger’s CZcams videos, he did an interesting comparison of plumbing systems with frozen water filled pipe samples, leading me to think the upnor pex seems to be the best, and coincidentally requires the more expensive tools. Glad to see the more common system you used worked just as well for you. Always interesting to see anything about the crane system you have in your shop. My only suggestion I’ve ever had that was appreciated was for a coworker who’s wife was nearly driven nuts by his compressor coming on in the middle of the night. Put a bathroom mechanical heater timer switch next to the garage light switch, whenever he needs air he gives it a twist and has air for a reasonable timed period without worrying about forgetting to turn the compressor off. For your shop I’d probably put a disconnecting relay in your compressor circuit tied to your lighting circuit. Wishing you and your family the best.
Great upgrade 👌
Will be great for all your air tools !
I love all your videos, very educational, plus fun to watch. I had the same experience with the pvc lines literally exploding in my machine shop. I would recommend replacing them. I was told it’s the oil in the air making them brittle. It took about 7 years for them to burst, and I was fortunate someone didn’t get hurt.
Keep up the good work and the awesome videos. I am a gold rush fan too, but I will take yours or let’s dig 18 videos over them any day!
Thanks
I would leave that drain running into the sink so you can see it is still working. I've had dehumidifiers set up with automatic drains, and when they fail you don't notice.
Love your video. Correct terminology is condensate is a noun, a thing, a product of the action condensation. Condensation being the action (verb) of the water vapor in the air changing state to water(condensate). You were correct and Your friend was incorrect in your opening description of what/how the refrigerated air drier works. Keep the videos coming.
Agreed Lloyd, as soon as his friend said it I knew he was wrong, even cocky people can be wrong ;-)
DP, what he said
Mike and Jason great video, you two guys make having fun on all the projects you do together! Thanks for sharing! Kevin
Thanks
Looks good
Cool.. Love to see people admit they procrastinate.. I do it a lot myself, when it is something that will be boring and not fun to do.. That being said, I love how ordered your video's are.. LOL.. Also know.. It is not easy to manage several businesses, family life, doing youtube video's, editing same video's & uploading them in a timely well thought out order... Also Murphy's law pop's it's head up when you least suspect it.. Thank you for making the time to share parts of your life with us. I for one very much love watching..
Awesome video. Good to see Works a lot.
Good to see you too, Jimmy!
Never a dull moment when u and Jason get together
Have to keep it interesting or he gets bored with my yaknow
Any method of chilling the compressed air below the dew point is a major improvement and the refrigerated dryer is the next step. Congratulations and you will recover the cost in much improved air tool life.
Nice job you two, another project out of the way. Glad your back up and running with a nice controller for your hoist👍🇺🇸
Thanks buddy
Good vlog DP. MITS was a great addition. As the compressed air get hotter it gets less dense therefore it’s ability to hold water increases. The dryer is just like fridge in that it cools the passing air to a point where at approximately 34 deg F the air is denser and and its ability to hold water decreases and therefore the water drops out of the air in the condenser. 👍🇬🇧👍👍
That's for an open system. In a closed system compressing air at constant volume increases density and obviously pressure.
It just needs to cool the air below the dew point temperature which is a function of relative humidity (rh), temperature and pressure.
The dew point of 75 deg air at a rh of near 100% and normal atmospheric pressure is slightly under 75 deg. That's how it rains (which is condensation) when it's 90 degrees. The dew point is much higher than 34 deg.
the background on the computer is the best!
Great video Mike as always I learned something new today I always enjoy watching your videos 🇺🇲
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Another great video.
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I’ve had my hf air dryer for going on 16 years now with only 1 issue. It has a float valve that is supposed to drain the condansate that it catches. This arrangment tends to clog so I replaced the float valve with an electric timed air solenoid valve that pops off periodically. I alsoo have one on my tank. My dryer has run constantly since I installed it. The timers also run constantly even when the compressor is shut down. When I need oiled air, I have oilers that I can connect with short 10 ft. lines for portable grinders, drills, etc. Works with no issues!😀
Mike, my buddy has the same harbor freight dryer in his shop. Has had it for a few years and has been a reliable and very good dryer. Just keep the dust blew out of it.
Nice job on the installation.
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Looks good an I like the back ground on ur computer
Mike another amazing upgrade to the shop, as always see yah on the next God bless y'all from Gaffney South Carolina viewer ❤️
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Mr Dirt - wish you well in your latest modification. but - as a maintainer of such equipment I have found that the most cost effective addition i almost always the tallest/ largest receiving / storage tank you can find / fit and inlet and add a timed blow down low and outlet up high. Reduce cycling of the compressor and a lot of water can leave via the blowdown.
Great video Mike….lol. The dryer thing is pretty important especially in shops where air lines run throughout the shop.
We have a Harbor Freight Too close to our house as well. Most of the time its one and done but I get it. I'd buy cheap American crap if I could find it. Thanks for the update, I have fun watching your videos so Thanks!
We used one of those harbor freight air dryers on our machine shop with 8 haas CNC machines for about 3 years. It actually worked pretty good. Especially for the price. The only thing that was a pain was the capacity of water it would hold. We bought a good timed drain and put it on. Worked decently.
Good deal
The refrigerant dryer is pretty awesome. I've wanted one for a long time but like you I never seem to get around to doing it. I have the run of the mill desiccant dryer which does alright, but I can't run my big impact on it. Other than that, it does an ok job. Maybe one of these days I'll have to upgrade. Thank God for machine shops. I got a mill and a lathe but in no way could I do a good enough job to machine an air valve like that. Have a good one DP!
Thanks buddy
Heck yeah brother !!
Key points.
It is mostly the pressure swing, not the temperature swing, that drives the moisture to condense.
Treat horizontal runs as if they are flowing water. Always have them run down hill with air flow. Always terminate a horizontal run with a drip leg.
Always T off a horizontal run to a point of use (POU) by facing the T fitting up and doing a 180 degree to a vertical drop. This keeps condensate flowing along the bottom of the horizontal run and not into the POU.
Every vertical run needs a drip leg. Input to the oiler is no exception.
Keep the oiler close to the process. Oil mist will drop out of the air and collect as liquid in the pipe or hose. This results in irregular oiling and a lot of extra oil discharge at your tool.
Segregate your hoses. Hoses for oiled tools will contaminate your clean processes. I use Trueflate Automotive quick disconnects where I have oiled air, Industrial interchange for clean air.
Good news been working perfectly for the last three months 😁
I’ve said before,when you get together with any of your cohorts,you become a great comical relief.that’s a lot plumbing.great video.keep it up.😎😎😎👍👍👍
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I have had tools from harbor that ran circles around the name brands. And like you said some were not worth the money for it.
Interesting video Mike
Thanks
...good one, keep safe...
Love the Pepsi truck. Will it be going to job sites? LOL
I’m going to put one in my garage now DP great video
Loving it so far
Small airline oiler at the hoist that's along way to push the oil . Nice plumbing job.
Good job 👍
Thanks
@@DirtPerfect I’m retired now but I put in 35 years in construction and because of that I can relate to your trials I enjoy your videos and your honesty
Hello Mike, it is Wintertime and you have time in your good assortment Workshop the Machinen to await and new part to install. And too the Work Shop the Air at to improve. You will always have the best. Good Video, and not great Winter weather., 🌬️❄️
Greeting 🇦🇹
Nice looking truck
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The three valves are good in case the dryer fails. You can still use the air while the dryer is down.
Nice shop
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😂😂 Watching this Time Lapse was like watching a Keystone Cops episode (I know a lot will not get that reference, but it's hilarious). This dryer will make a huge difference. Great job Mike & Jason.
We had the same dryer,lasted about 5 years,but we used everyday,hope you have better luck.
LOL. Have idea what you did. Your explanation was great and the chatter was fun. Only -10 this morning in Iowa.
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hey mike, just leave the unit on and use the breaker to turn it off and on.
Switch downstairs will be a nice last step
DP with the cost of tools and such Harbor Freight is the go to place. There tools are pretty good for the price. I shop there all the time. Granted there not name brands but sometimes your paying for the name instead of the tool or in your case an air dryer. As with anything. It could last a lifetime or break tomorrow. Very nice job you guys did !!! 👍👍👍👍
Mike you can only do what you can do when you can do it you got a good Channel enjoy watching you your very informative keep up what you're doing you're doing an excellent job and I love when you build ponds and put in your Wix I just think you need just a little bit bigger sheepsfoot compressor I mean sheepsfoot roller I love what you do the best to you and all your crew
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One thing different Mike I did was to take my main line from the compressor tank and run it to a far side and down. First thing I would do is open a valve at the end of the run and let it blow off say a minute or so of air just draining from the tank. First thing air does is fill the line and water is heavy so it would for the most part all go that way for the start. Also, at night, I would drain the tank on its bottom as water is trapped there. I forgot... I had my main tank at the compressor but I also had a second tank like under the equipment IE trucks with air brakes. I shut the air off on the small tank and drained it seperate from the main tank. I did the same as you with ball valves to shut off lines or tanks everywhere. Every morning, the small tank would drain about two gallons of water out of it. Its not absolute but I figured if drained the furthest point that it kept most all of it out... never ending battle
CZcams background was awesome
You hear about the Pepsi driver that was fired for testing positive for Coke?
You probably have wired in a switch but have you considered a relay from the compressor switch so the air dryer will run every time the compressor is turned on.
That way if someone turns one the compressor without the dryer your lines will not become contaminated with water.
Take the human factor out of it.
I have always installed a valve and a pipe extension at the lowest part of the system to drain the pipe on very humid days where the dryer can't keep up.
As always be good be happy be safe looking forward to the next one.
Very interesting Mike. I probably would have mounted the lube tank at ground level, running 1 hose down to a split (For paint) and then a new hose back up to the lines above. That way, you down have a nested hose mess in your office/TY area!
since you do have the first drop that is where you need to install the desiccant filter. The drier the better
You can run your power wire from dryer thru the box for power on comp. so when you turn air on it all comes on same time.
You guys are nuts :)
If you add a contact to the air compressor contacted switch. So the dryer works at the same time as the compressor.
Looks like you got a great air system now.
Be safe working on equipment.
i liked ur screen saver pic. my dad drank Pepsi all his life(68 yrs) so i grew up drinking Pepsi too. same for Jiff (smooth) peanut butter, and Smucker's jelly too(prefer strawberry).lol
Jason you wrap the Teflon tape clock wise. Lol God bless
Shhhhh
2 things Mike one not sure .. the dryer it could move on the shelf ??? maybe put a block of wood around the edge so it does not walk off the shelf .. # 2 big one make sure you mark your air hose that has no oil ,, so nobody hooks it on the normal line ,, it would suck to try and paint and spray oil on the paint job ,, or blow dust off your self and spray oil on your body ,, great video ..
Bodge it and leg it Inc is back in the shop lol nice to see Jason sir works alot is in an video and spaghetti junction is worse than that pipe work lol.
Good one Mike - the plastic pipe is the way to go. John
A strain relief is the clamp that fits into the hole that is left when a knockout is removed. It holds the wire in place to prevent rubbing, pulling and other forces that might loosen or damage it.
MOzark Mike… where are you from? I’m in S/W MO.
@@sassafrasvalley1939 I’m from the STL area, but I spend most of my time now at my property in Crawford County
@@MOzarkMike glad to meet ya! I’m in Jasper County.
Hey DP I seen all them hoses in a milking stall LOL thanks for Gary
It doesn't matter what you are doing, you always seem like you be having fun doing it. 🤣
Best way to make it through life :)
Don't let the door hit you Larry
If you have issues with the amount of cfm your compressor can put out (sounded that way) just install an additional large air tank (best behind the air dryer) on a T. You just need a single pipe to it and a valve.
If you know you need a lot of compressed air that day, just open the valve.
Once the pressure is reached you have a lot more storage available which gives your compressor a lot longer time between turning on because of low pressure and you having too little pressure to work with.
If you need only a little compressed air you can close the valve and avoid that the compressor has to fill this large tank too
Can't wait to see Arron's reaction to that piping expertise.
No need to wait he love it
We need an air dryer in our shop. It’s bad enough you can see the water coming out of the blower nozzle when we use it. I think we might could get away with the cartridge style but honestly not 100% sure. Keep up the good work sir.
cartiage stink, got to keep buying filters, better off with a system you can drain
Nice job on the pipe work spaghetti 🍝 🤣🤣. Permanent installed airlines are job I need to do in my shop too !
Pretty similar to the systems I have had and have right now. I have a T with the ability to catch some moisture as well. I never installed any of them as I have a buddy that is a plumber and he has also installed many of these in addition. He in not actually a compressor guy though. We can almost get by without these here in Central/Southern Alberta, but it’s better to have them than not. It can be pretty dry here,,, heh heh.
hey mike! I've used one in my shop for 20yrs, bought it at a scratch and demt sale for 20 dollars, and the only thing I've had to keep an eye is keeping the dust blew out, mine has thermal protection and if it gets hot it will shut off! good luck buddy.
Good to know thanks
You can add auxiliary contact to that air compressor disconnect and turn both on at one place.
Good to know the air drier lasts longer than a week, just come off one leg of the compressor disconnect and run an outlet up to the drier that way its a single disconnect for both
It's a 3 valve bypass, if the dryer fails and gets to cold it will freeze up and no air can pass through until it thaws out, which can take hours. If that happens you will be glad you installed the bypass. Wet air is better than no air at all.
nice job
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Howdy Mr. Dirt, I'll keep this simple - Better late than never! Good job! Take Care, Jim
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Great job and I see you didn't get hose extensions so MBTS could reach the chain fall controls without his high heels!
Something I would have installed is a relay in your compressor main power switch that turns power on to the switch you want to add to shut the dryer off so the dryer would power on at the same time as you power the compressor. That way there's nothing else to worry about and you'll know the dryer won't be forgotten by anyone it would be automatic
I've had the same dryer for over half a decade and it works great buuuuut now onto the install....
EVERY vertical line MUST have a drain, including the pvc line feeding the pex to the dryer. Over time it will fill up and be feeding the dryer some pretty wet air otherwise.
EVERY horizontal line needs to have at least a 1/4" fall per foot and then have a drain point at the lowest point within that line. So with your luber location you'd need two more drain points even after the dryer your going to eventually get moisture build up and its going to need to be drained. Last but not least an AUTO drain on the air compressor will work wonders for this whole system along with the dryer and everything else you've done so far.
All good ideas but not must system is working great and has for a while now thanks
Use the power from the compressor to energize a relay to power the air dryer. That way there is only one switch to throw.
Old Mike still doesn't realize all that head scratching. Has left him with a bald spot. Lol God bless
Yep, later!
Mikey… do you you ever notice a change in humidity when you and JWAL get together? As I recall… hot air carries more moisture.
I take pride in the plumbing jobs that I do. I planned to replace the 1/2” CPVC main lines under my house with 3/4” PEX.
So, I sat down, sketched it all out and figured about 200’ of PEX would do it. I then proceeded to procrastinate the project for a year.
In the meantime… my wife decided we needed to add a water softener. That required a revision to my plan… so, I drug it out and sketched out a feeder loop for the mainline. That added 35’.
When we met with the water softener technician to discuss the installation…. I made a copy of my plan. To say he was underwhelmed would be an overstatement.
He laid the plan down and listened as I explained my reasoning for the loops and jogs. As I did so, he was reaching for the pen in his pocket.
Then he said… how about we do this? And then he drew a straight line from the water tank to the water softener. He then put an outlet line over to the hot water tank and the old feeder line…. He cut my 235’ of piping in half! And bonus… it was included in the original quote!
Mikey, your plumbing looked great to me… but, the Water Softener Tech proved… I ain’t no expert!!!