Setting up a compressor

[stocktr8er]

I was given a dual tank wheelbarrow style air compressor. Heavy as heck so would use it as a permanent mounted system. My question is what is the best method to set it up in my shop?

Is using a simple retractable hose reel the best or do I need to put something inline to control water or to do oiling.

Ideally I would like to have a reel inside for the work bench area and one by the door to use out in the driveway for working on the car.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks,
Curtis

[maxparot]

I would suggest not using a automatic oiler a couple of drops of oil in a tool daily is all that is needed unless you are going to be using the tool continuously for many hours.
As for water separation that should be done at many stages. If your compressor is greater than 2hp and has a tank 30 gallons or larger a automatic tank drain is a nice add on unless you are near the supply capacity for a particular tool and even then you can just close the valve to stop the auto drain.
Next stage of water separation is at the main air out or regulator depending on your needs a standard filter/separator should be fine. For humid environments or water sensitive work a refrigeration dryer can be used and if used will be the final drying stage. Otherwise as a final stage and for critical use a small separator can be used at the tool. Many people use a disposable dryer right at a paint gun. If using a separator at the tool isn't feasible then using it in between the main feed hose and a final short wip hose is a great way to deal with it.
I myself use a hose reel with 100' of hose followed by a filter separator then a 20' wip hose and finally a small 5 micron filter separator at the gun for painting.
If permanantly plumbing a shop for air adding in a drain trap at every outlet is a good idea.

[mpc]

Another thing to consider with oilers: most insert between the compressor and the main hose to the tool. That contaminates the hose - you'll never want to use that hose on a paint sprayer tool. I keep one hose "oil free" specifically for paint spraying.

Squirting in a couple drops of oil into air tools just before using them has worked fine for me. I keep the little plastic/rubber plugs that go into the air inlets of the tools installed when I'm not using the tools just to keep raw humidity out of the tool. Beyond that though I've never done anything special with my air tools and they're a couple years old now. I don't use them all that often either; home use is quite a bit different than pro-shop use where oilers and other gizmos pay for themselves in time/labor/tool savings. I can afford a minute or two of "downtime" putting oil into the tool before using it that day. A basic water trap at the compressor outlet is the only add-on I have so far.

mpc

[Uncle Cracker]

Also, read your tools' manuals. Some tools should not be oiled, which makes an inline oiler an even worse idea.

[cabinetman]

I like setting up a compressor with a flex hose to a point where I have a regulator and a filter and a few quick disconnects. It is fairly useless to have the filter mounted right at the tank where the regulator is. You should pipe the filter and regulator as far from the tank as possible. The reason for this is that at the location of the regulator (at the tank), there is hot air under a lot of pressure, that blows by the filter some moisture and debris. If you don't have a long run, pipe up as high as you can with a drain below to catch the moisture. If you have no room to take off at a 90 degree from that high point, just create a large "U" turn and come back down. What you want to create is to travel the air so it will cool, and get as much moisture out as possible. Remember, just moving the air will warm it.

Having the run of piping or hose on an uphill to the end point will help in the moisture collection. A rolled up hose can collect moisture from the air running through it.

[JimD]

Harbor Freight sells a hose reel for about $10 on sale that will hold 100 foot or so of 3/8 air hose. I have one mounted to my little Bostitch oil-less compressor. If you have an oil type compressor, it probably spits out enough oil for your tools. If it is oil-less, put a few drops into the nailers occasionally. I mainly use the compressor for nailing and I don't do any filtering of the air for that use. When I paint, I put a dryer on the gun. I have had good luck with the bead type sold for about $8 at Harbor Freight. It gets used up in about 3 hours of painting. I will try a cheap separator ahead of the bead separator next time to see if it extends the life.

My compressor sits in front of the garage door in my shop. I pull the hose out the door to reach the cars and into the shop to use with the nailers or the HVLP conversion gun.

Jim

[Uncle Cracker]

When my house was built, I had shop air piped to both benches, two ceiling reels, and next to the garage doors.

[thrytis]

I see that the auto-rewind reels range quite a bit in price, from around $30 to several hundred dollars. Are the cheap ones junk? I saw a plastic one get horrible reviews at Sears, but what about metal ones like this. Does anyone have experience with the cheap reels?

[Uncle Cracker]

I see that the auto-rewind reels range quite a bit in price, from around $30 to several hundred dollars. Are the cheap ones junk? I saw a plastic one get horrible reviews at Sears, but what about metal ones like this. Does anyone have experience with the cheap reels?

I have two of these HF reels. Have had no problems to date, but only had them for about a year.

[stocktr8er]

thank you

Thank you for all the help and ideas. I know where to start now.

I try to log on every week to look over ideas and deals. I appreciate all the folks that regularly contribute solid advice and ideas. Has been a help more than once.

C

[footprintsinconc]

hi,

i have a 60gal tank. coming out of the compressor, i have a main valve (ball valve), inline water filter and then a regulator. i have one of these hose reel from hf for $10 or $15 when on sale: hose reel. i then bought (3) 50' rubber hose by micheline from costco for $15 each. i cut 10ft off of one to go from the compressor to the reel (mounted above the compressor) and the rest of the 140' is on the reel. it is only 100ft reel, but i holds 140' fine. when not in use, i turn the main valve off and then release the air pressure in the hose. the hose is really great - its soft, doesnt kink and easy to clean. the reel rolls fine and just occasionally leaks air when the reel in turning.

keep in mind, if you install the hose reel above the compressor, you have to make sure that the hose doesnt touch the compressor pump or any of its piping, because they are very hot when the compressor is on and for some time after its shuts off. you can burn through the hose if it touches the compressor.

hope this helps.

[liftoff621@hotmail.com]

Setting up a Compressor

I see that the auto-rewind reels range quite a bit in price, from around $30 to several hundred dollars. Are the cheap ones junk? I saw a plastic one get horrible reviews at Sears, but what about metal ones like this. Does anyone have experience with the cheap reels?

I have the metal Harbor Freight one mounted to my garage ceiling. It works fine. Got it on sale for $39.95. I like that it retracts.

[guycox]

PVC piping and water trap.

I was given a dual tank wheelbarrow style air compressor. Heavy as heck so would use it as a permanent mounted system. My question is what is the best method to set it up in my shop?

Is using a simple retractable hose reel the best or do I need to put something inline to control water or to do oiling.

Ideally I would like to have a reel inside for the work bench area and one by the door to use out in the driveway for working on the car.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks,
Curtis

I've been meaning to ask the same question but with regards to permanent piping.... A buddy of mine who used to run an automotive repair shop (brakes and mufflers) is using PVC piping for his air... so I'm assuming that with the proper pressure rating it's OK -- anything else to consider..

Additionally - the other night I was blowing the dust off a huge ambrosia maple bowl and notices that I was getting some "damp" spots on the wood -- these blank spots "flashed" off rather quickly - but I can't help what would have happened it it had been over a lacquered surface of if I had but spraying laquer ... -- Should I invest in a water trap?

[Jeffrey Schronce]

I have two of these HF reels. Have had no problems to date, but only had them for about a year.

Same here . . . about a year, no problems. As usual wait for a sale to buy it.

[Uncle Cracker]

With regard to permanent piping, I used Schedule 40 PVC, it's rated for 315psi working pressure. I have a water trap on my compressor, plus the tank itself is a water trap. Plus, on the downpipes to the outlets, I have installed a tee, with the couplers on the branch, and a 6" pipe stub on the tee outlet, which, in theory, would trap any condensate, where it could then be exhausted through the schrader valves I have installed on the bottom of the pipe stubs. Probably wasn't necessary, though, as I have never had any water come out of them when I checked.