Some pictures of the copper air dryer I made:
Tested it with air from the bottom of the compressor. The air came out dry and there was only water in the first drain valve. Should keep the torch lasting as long as possible.
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Since the water is only in the first drain valve, that means the second and third sections are redundant. I like redundancy to a degree. So maybe the design should be cut down to 2 sections.
I’ve see this type of design before and rather like it. You can use larger diameter copper to get slower air flow as well, so it spends more time in the copper heatsink. Another option is to put a fan on it increase its heatsink ability. The only problem with copper is air tools don’t like the copper ions. If you don’t use a lot of air tools, that isn’t a big deal at all.
I’m going the other direction with mine: I’m going to use a couple universal aluminum AC condenser units ad put an automatic drain valve at the bottom. I’ll plumb them into the outlet of the compressor pump sending the air through the condenser, then through a tee into a check valve finally into the tank. The tee will have an automatic draining water separator on it. When the unloader unloads the pressure from the line and condenser, the spring loaded drain valve pops up and drains out the water automatically. I’m going to wire a cheap box fan in that blows across the condensers when the compressor runs. I’m kicking around either using a switch that is controlled by pressure so that when the condenser is pressurized, the fan will be running or a simple AC Timer running on a “On Make” or “On Power” signal I’ll tap off of the compressor. Not sure which, yet.
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ive seen this design and looks to be working great for lot of ppl
im using thermal dynamic cutmaster38 from my dad
its 8 yrs old and we used it handful of times as we always had problems with cutting in and out - (loosing Arc and just blow air) since day one
thats with expensive DeVilbiss CleanAir 3-Stage Dessicant Air Dryer System
with this experience i decided to go with HF air dryer for around 400$
hoping this will fix the issue im having with the plasma i have yet to try out how it cuts
after the air dryer
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@fredycruger How’s your dryer set up been holding up since you installed it? Have you changed anything since your initial set up? I just picked up a big 2 stage Porter Cable and refrigerated dryer and before I start plumbing anything, I’m just looking for feedback on what to do and what not to do.
I don’t have a very complicated set up planned. Essentially going to run a T off the tank with one end going through a regulator/oiler to my 50ft retractable hose for air tools and the other side going to the dryer for the plasma with an extra quick connect to run my powder coat gun or paint gun. Eventually I may add an after cooler type set up between the pump and tank but I was going to just try the dryer for now.