Air Compressor Filters ?

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I am getting a nice new air compressor to use with both my plasma cutter, and variour air-operated tools. Now I understand that water in the system is bad juju for the plasma, but what about the oil from the compressor? I would think that the oil would also be a contaminant in the air supply, but isnt it necessary for proper lubrication of the air tools? If you have a filtration system that you are using that you are pleased with, let me know. Better yet, post a link.Thanks,Revenos
Reply:For your plasma cutter you will want a clean dry air without any oil etc in it. I use two air filters for mine one on the air line and then a motor guard air filter at the plasma cutter, I guess actually I have three filters as there is also one inside my plasma cutter which is a Hypertherm 350. For your air tools you can put a couple of drops of oil in them before each days use or you can buy an inline lubricator, or even a small lubricator that hooks up very close to the air tool itself. Company I work for has been using air tools for years and never use any inline type of oilers they just place a few drops of oil in the air tool every few times they use it. I'm not saying this is the proper way of doing it, but just letting you know that is what they have done for years and the airtools there probably get used a lot more then  a home owner regularly uses their air tools.   If you use an inline oiler you need to have a way of either shutting it off or disconnecting it so that you don't have it supplying any oil to your plasma cutter. Some of the guys on some of the sites have a dedicated air hose coming off of their plasma cutter that hooks into the airline after the air filter but before going through any lubricator. If you do some searching here you should be able to find some pretty elaborate systems some have used to keep the air dry and clean.
Reply:I get too much water in my air. I think I need to break down and buy a seperator.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneI get too much water in my air. I think I need to break down and buy a seperator.
Reply:OK, Tek.  I'll show my ignorance.  What is SFT?  What is a "franzinator"?The type of filtering you need has a lot do to with your local climate and the type of compressor you are using.  Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, which usually has moderate weather and about 50% RH, I've gotten along fine with a consumer grade oil-less compressor and a common string element filter.  However, I'm not usually drawing air for extended periods, which can lead to water problems.For dry, clean air for use in an air gun for cleaning instruments I have a government surplus oil-less compressor with a dessicant-filled air dehydrator.  It functions on a common air drying system wherein the compressed air passes through the dessicant during the pump-up to about 90 PSI, then the moisture is purged from the dessicant by letting a small amount of dry air from the reservoir backflush the moisture out of the dessicant.  When the reservoir pressure has dropped to about 65 PSI due to backflushing the dessicant, the compressor kicks in again, passing the compressed air through the newly dried dessicant.Probably not very energy efficient, because even when I'm not using air, the compressor cycles on for maybe 30 seconds every few minutes.  But it works fine as long as I don't draw too much air, which prevents the drying cycle from happening.  This compressor was designed as a portable air supply for a mobile dental clinic, so the intended demand was probably not very great.  That's why I don't use it for my Thermal Arc Cutmaster 50.I think this could be a very effective system in climates with high humidity.  The same basic system is offered in larger versions and with two dessicant filters that are alternated so you don't have to wait for a single filter to be redried.  I think one could also build such a system with a little inginuity and a couple of timing relays and solenoid valves.If you don't want to get that fancy (and most users will not want to), a good alternative is to pass the hot air directly from the outlet of an oil-less compressor through a cooling radiator (ambient air cooled or better, fan cooled), then through a "coalescing filter" with a float-operated automatic drain that drains off the condensed water, then into the reservoir.  This approach reduces the amount of moisture getting into the reservoir in the first place.  Then you use an ordinary air filter on the reservoir outlet to catch junk coming from the reservoir.  This approach is easy to implement with easily obtained hardware.This is a poor man's version of the gold standard in moisture removal which is a refrigerated air dryer, wherein the radiator is followed by a refrigerated heat exchanger that takes the air down to very low temperatures, condensing out virtually all the moisture.awrightLast edited by awright; 08-27-2006 at 02:16 PM.
Reply:northern tool has a good one for $44.99item # 15641-1701 (1/4 NPT)i tried to find it online with no luck but i just got the new catalog yesterday..they have it in thread sizes up to 1/2 NPT for the same price......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:awright, I wasn't sure if this was ok to do or not but here ya arehttp://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/...earchid=243621
Reply:Yep - I just picked up a nice 3/8 biggie filter with adapters to fit on my compressor at ACE Hardware. They had a 1/4 inch filter but I thought it was too tiny. It works GREAT, I'm a happy camper I bought it today at $42.00.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Thanks for the link to SFT, Tek, but in a half dozen tries I get, "Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms," and in a half hour of searching I did not find "franzinator."  Can you tell me what forum and thread it is mentioned in?Another neat site to soak up more of my time!Thanks.awright
Reply:Hope this one works. Did for me anyway.http://www.shopfloortalk.com/forums/...read.php?t=481
Reply:Thanks, Tek.  Very interesting info on the franzinator.  I'll yield to Franz' experience in building water separators.And I strayed off the trail and spent another hour on all kinds of interesting stuff.awright
Reply:Happy to help
Reply:I actually work in the air compressor industry. You probably want a coalescing point of use air dryer. Or spend a little more and geta refridgerated dryer. Technically in the industry a water seperator is something all the filter and compressor water drains go into and the oil and the water is seperated into their respective containers.