Air/Water Separators?

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:45 am
Hi Guys,

Starting to shop around for a air/water separator. Will be used with a 2 stage 80 gal. compressor in a hobbyist shop. I am doing motorcycle parts--3-4 parts for the most part so, it won't be really worked hard at all. What should I be looking at or to avoid? I'd like to keep it around the $250 or less (if that is realistic). Thoughts?

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:03 am
I would get a basic unit with 3/8" minimum NPT fittings. They run in the $50 range.

The key is to have enough copper line between the compressor and the Regulator/Water Separator for the air to cool down and the moisture to condense.

I have 3/4" copper piping running back and forth across a wall and then just before it enters the booth a drop with a valve for draining.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 10:08 am
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:I would get a basic unit with 3/8" minimum NPT fittings. They run in the $50 range.

The key is to have enough copper line between the compressor and the Regulator/Water Separator for the air to cool down and the moisture to condense.

I have 3/4" copper piping running back and forth across a wall and then just before it enters the booth a drop with a valve for draining.
Thanks!! the 3/8" sounds very similar to what I have on my little 5 hp/20 gal portable compressor. Since I'm buying new, should i look to a 1/2" unit? I was thinking about this one: https://www.pneumaticplus.com/pneumatic ... ket-gauge/

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 11:53 am
Rebel Racing wrote:Thanks!! the 3/8" sounds very similar to what I have on my little 5 hp/20 gal portable compressor. Since I'm buying new, should i look to a 1/2" unit? I was thinking about this one: https://www.pneumaticplus.com/pneumatic ... ket-gauge/


I have that PneumaticPlus 1/2" unit and it works great. Amazon has it for $170 including shipping. I do have a DeVilbiss desiccant 130525 QC3 Air Filter that is used only for the spray gun. I also run 1" lines and have a 1" RapidAir water seperator/regulator as the first regulator.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 3:36 pm
OldFatBald wrote:
Rebel Racing wrote:Thanks!! the 3/8" sounds very similar to what I have on my little 5 hp/20 gal portable compressor. Since I'm buying new, should i look to a 1/2" unit? I was thinking about this one: https://www.pneumaticplus.com/pneumatic ... ket-gauge/


I have that PneumaticPlus 1/2" unit and it works great. Amazon has it for $170 including shipping. I do have a DeVilbiss desiccant 130525 QC3 Air Filter that is used only for the spray gun. I also run 1" lines and have a 1" RapidAir water seperator/regulator as the first regulator.

Thanks, I'll look it up.



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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 5:27 pm
OldFatBald wrote:
Rebel Racing wrote:Thanks!! the 3/8" sounds very similar to what I have on my little 5 hp/20 gal portable compressor. Since I'm buying new, should i look to a 1/2" unit? I was thinking about this one: https://www.pneumaticplus.com/pneumatic ... ket-gauge/


I have that PneumaticPlus 1/2" unit and it works great. Amazon has it for $170 including shipping. I do have a DeVilbiss desiccant 130525 QC3 Air Filter that is used only for the spray gun. I also run 1" lines and have a 1" RapidAir water seperator/regulator as the first regulator.
I went ahead and ordered it....maybe a bit overkill for my app. but I feel good about this. Thanks!!

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 6:08 pm
Rebel Racing wrote:...I went ahead and ordered it....maybe a bit overkill for my app. but I feel good about this. Thanks!!


I don't think that it is overkill, purchasing the correct tools that will last you is cheaper than buying the wrong stuff then buying the correct stuff!

Not a cheap hobby! Good compressor, filter system and gun add up fast!
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 15, 2022 9:13 pm
OldFatBald wrote:
Rebel Racing wrote:...I went ahead and ordered it....maybe a bit overkill for my app. but I feel good about this. Thanks!!


I don't think that it is overkill, purchasing the correct tools that will last you is cheaper than buying the wrong stuff then buying the correct stuff!

Not a cheap hobby! Good compressor, filter system and gun add up fast!
That's exactly how I feel. I know a 60 gal single stage compressor under a grand would work well for me--heck, I'm turning out nice work with my 5 hp 20 gal. portable unit (doing small bike parts), despite it's short comings but, I decide a 2 stage 80 gal unit will leave me room to grow.

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PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 10:57 am
OldFatBald wrote:
Rebel Racing wrote:...I went ahead and ordered it....maybe a bit overkill for my app. but I feel good about this. Thanks!!


I don't think that it is overkill, purchasing the correct tools that will last you is cheaper than buying the wrong stuff then buying the correct stuff!

Not a cheap hobby! Good compressor, filter system and gun add up fast!


:goodpost:

I started with an undersized compressor and thought it was working great, then someone explained why my paint was full of orange peel and why I could only run my DA for about 2 minutes.

Once I got the 2 stage 80 gallon unit I have now, it was amazing how things changed. It allowed me to get a better quality spray gun, a large blast cabinet and portable sand blaster. I could now run the DA all day and not have to worry about running out of air, paint completes instead of panels, use air tools, etc.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 16, 2022 2:57 pm
'68 Coronet R/T wrote:I started with an undersized compressor and thought it was working great, then someone explained why my paint was full of orange peel and why I could only run my DA for about 2 minutes.

This makes perfect sense........about a year ago I was having issues with peel on some of my projects. I had enough $$ set aside to get a better gun for clear and decided on a GTi Pro Lite. I was totally wrong to think my little
20 gal/5 hp portable compressor would supply enough cfm to run that gun and yes, it delivered less than desirable results--lots of peel and it took me several hours to cut/buff it out. While I am waiting to get a real compressor, I am using an AZ4 for clear and it lays glass like clear--it needs far less cfm than the big GTi. Lesson learned........use the right equipment, therre are no short cuts.

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