I’m thinking of doing something similar to this. My workshop is built on a block foundation with a crawlspace that is a pretty constant 56 degrees year round. It’s only about 5 feet tall in the area under the CF, but, if I go from 1/2" air supply and use 1" copper on the verticals I think I get an effective length of 20 feet for each vertical. If I do this, however, I’ll need some sort of auto drain and I haven’t figured out how to do this inexpensively.
I certainly don’t want to go down there to open the drains! I’ve got spiders down there that growl at me!
I think Harbor Freight has an inexpensive one that is typically used for the tank but could be plumbed into your crawlspace drain. It gets triggered by the on/off cycle of the compressor and opens for a few seconds. Worth checking out.
I did find one on Northern Tool, but too expensive if I need a drain per vertical. I’m now looking at some low cost 1/4" solenoid valves and I’ll control them from the area above (where my CF and associated HW & electronics are located). I already have a 12V supply for the ‘auto filler’, so I can use that to drain the dryer.
This all still in the conceptual stage (AKA, I’m trying to think how I’ll pay for it), but it looks feasible and effective.
Brown fox this is what I am getting on my system after letting the compressor run and cycle for 45 minutes with the fan set to come on and off with the activation of the compressor.
The ambient temperature here today is 82F
As you can see as the air moves through the after cooler with the fan, it gets cooler and cooler at each stage. You definitely have to have a fan of some sort in order for it to be productive at all.
Edit
“Dang, i just realized thats a 190deg difference from output of compressor to going back into the tank. The water separator is also pulling out a lot of water which otherwise would be going into the tank”.
Sorry for pictures being sideways. The forum is doing this.
Wow, what a great perspective, showing the temperature gradient. I’ll bet it would REALLY interesting with one of those Infrared cameras!
Thanks for posting!
Oh yeah I know I need the fan. Just thought it would be best to have it be able to run all the time vs only with the pump. Those temp readings are great though! Looks like only having it with the pump on is more than enough.
I got to say that it is great having this forum. Everyone is helping everyone and Langmuir is learning what to do to make their product that much better…and i believe that someone here is going to come up with an idea to make this table at least a 4 X 8 size.
Just wired up my DC converter to the motor and zip tied the fan in place. Ran a cycle and works like a charm. Definitely makes a difference and only running when the pump is on should be plenty. Will be nice not to have to hear another fan or have to keep flipping switches.
Waiting on a couple more fittings to finish my aftercooler setup but I did notice nobody mentioned that -8an fittings are the same thread and 45 flare as 1/2 flare fittings, so no need to use any automotive adapters on the trans cooler. I just went straight off the trans cooler to 1/2 OD copper line using 1/2 flare nuts, keeps everything looking clean. I’ll post pics when I’m finished plumbing it all up.
Nice! I’ll admit I test fit the the flare nuts right up against the cooler and it looked to be correct… but I chickened out and just used the adaptors since I already had them. It seemed like the swivel feature helped when putting them together, but I don’t think the swivel is necessary. If you get it running and everything is working I’ll update the original post.
The fact that there are 3 names for these fittings makes me want to pound my head on my compressor.
I searched a bit more and found that 8an fittings say they are 37 degrees, not 45, so technically not the same. They definitely look like they fit when you’re comparing them but I wonder if that 8 degree difference would cause a leak. You’d actually still need one of the 8an fittings I posted above to be able to go straight from the cooler into your 3/8 NPT water separator.
