My Wolf Dakota 90L 14cfm 3hp compressor and dryer setup

[Lazurus]

I did a similar revamp to my compressor recently but also added a precooled , basically used a generic oil cooler and AN10 hose and fittings put between pump outlet and main tank and situated so the air flow from the motor cools the rad...... huge difference in temperature between the inlet and outlet on the cooler and far less water in the tank.

 

[dai]

Have also found this thread really useful

Have now acquired most if not all the bits to do this to my setup and run plastic hard lines around the garage

Check the pressure rating on plastic!!

 

[indy4x]

Check the pressure rating on plastic!!

I have already, thanks for the reminder tho

 

[Pilzy]

I did a similar revamp to my compressor recently but also added a precooled , basically used a generic oil cooler and AN10 hose and fittings put between pump outlet and main tank and situated so the air flow from the motor cools the rad...... huge difference in temperature between the inlet and outlet on the cooler and far less water in the tank.

Liking the idea of that. Just need to throw down a base, build the garage and move my 150litre ABAC from the shed, plumb in some 20mm copper pipe and THEN add a pre-cooler.

Living the dream...... would just love to be living the reality!!!

 

[indy4x]

After some buying of bits n pieces and a few evenings work I now have my setup nearly finished.

Did it in plastic with push fittings, 16mm pipe for most of it with 1/2" BSP fittings

Box of bits



Took the bung off the end of the compressor tank which was conveniently 1/2" BSP and fitted an elbow, tap and big PCL coupling



16mm plastic pipe to the water dessicant thingy and off to the regulator and hose reel for general air tool stuff plus T off to separate filter for plasma cutter



Have also ran a 12mm plastic pipe to the workshop extension so I can have air by the lathe and mill



Still need to sort out the dessicant pot, have a brass? filter and am going to machine up a housing for it to stop the dessicant getting blown into the airline

 

[indy4x]

Ah, not sure what happened there, last pic is of my el cheapo plastic pipe cutter which broke, local Screwfix had a Rothenberg in stock

Yeah I know, buy cheap buy twice but in my defence I originally purchased it to do the airlines on P38 Range Rover so it has done some work, guessing the 16mm stuff was a bit too much for it

 

[indy4x]

Quick update on how my setup is working out. Still not done the dessicant bit yet but have been using the compressor air tools and plasma cutting. Happy with it performance especially with the plasma cutter. The reduction in dross on plasma cuts is significant. The grey filter unit at the bottom of the picture came from R-Tech and seems to perform really well.

 

[chris pruteanu]

Looks good, time will tell if it will last ! What pressure your compressor is ratted at ? Cheers !

 

[indy4x]

Compressor shuts off at 120PSI, all fixtures and fittings are rated higher than this

 

[brightspark]

wind up reels aren't very good as they collect water in the bottom of the coils not to bad if you pull it all out and keep it strait

 

[indy4x]

That's a very good point, am hoping once the primary water trap is built and the dessicant dryer finished that water wound be too much of a problem. There is also a water trap in the regulator.

But saying that, I don't have a water problem ATM, have a dehumidifier in the garage

For plasma cutting I don't use the wind up reel, separate air line goes into the grey filter

 

[RussBroom]

I've posted about mine in different threads since I've got it, so now I've just done some more mods to my air system I thought I'd cover it all in a single thread.

so this is the compressor I bought

http://www.ukhs.tv/Dakota-14-CFM-Air-Compressor

and my first issue with it was that I was unable to fit it under my workbench, so it got lowered 40mm,the back was easy to do, just by drillling a couple of holes

but the front required a small frame to be welded up to take 2 wheels at the side instead of one in the middle

people are also fitting drain valves for the reciever that are operated on electrical timers, but I already had an old clarke air filter with automatic drain valve

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cat152-14-mini-air-filter/

so the drain valve got removed and that was loctited into bush that was then screwed into the original drain plug position

Ive also recently changed the regulator on it as it was far too restrictive.the replacement filter is a clarke one, which is far less restrictive, but there is a small air leak between the diaphragm and lower and upper halves of the regulator body, I can live with that as its more hassle to take it back

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cat865-air-regulator-with-gauge/

here it is shown with the desiccant dryer I made earlier and now fitted with a new filter and filter regulator due to the original ones being too restrictive.

View attachment 109446

and the dryer on its own

View attachment 109448

the desiccant air dryer, uses silica gel desiccant, which absorbs moisture from the air, and changes colour as it gets wet so you know when to dry it out. (you can see this in the above picture as the beads have changed to blue at the top (wet) from brown at the bottom (dry)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380853696993

and a 10" water housing filter, the one in the link below has a working pressure of 150psi, but others have working pressures of as little as 60psi, which may be an issue

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112080808285

a copper tube is stick into the lid using car body filler, and the other end has some slots cut in it and a cap put on the end. the cap has been domed as is makes it easier to screw the filter housing lid back on

View attachment 109445

I ended up with the set up of compressor > regulator > filter > dryer > filter/regulator.

another alternative was compressor > dryer > filter/regulator

I could have ditched the first regulator as the filter housing has a working pressure of 150psi, which is the pressure at which the compressor turns off I have the pressure set at 100psi as the compressor turns on again when the pressure drops to 105psi. The filter is there to remove any water droplets (and possibly oil) before the air gets to the desiccant crystals. the filter/regulator is to remove any debris from the desiccant crystals and the regulate the pressure into the air line.

I ended up getting a shako filter and filter/regulator, as they were cheapish, you can get the full specifications of them and they have automatic drain valves on them.

http://www.shako-online-sales.com/frl/filter-regulators/filter-regulator-NUFR02-NUFR03-NUFR04

http://www.shako-online-sales.com/frl/filter-NUF-02-NUF-03-NUF-04

if you buy from the manufacturer you can specify the options you want, but I got them from here

http://www.solenoid-valve.world/

but the filter/regulator comes with a 25mm diameter gauge which is pretty useless( they dont supply them with standard 40 or 50mm gauges).

I was pretty impressed with the build quality of these and they seem to be better than the quivalent clarke products. the bowl and cover for the filters just twist into place and the bowl is sealed with an o ring on the outside. looks like they will be easy to remove if I need to take them off again in years to come

View attachment 109493

I ended up making a new pressure gauge adaptor for the filter regulator from an offcut of aluminim. you can also fit a pressure guage to the filter on its own if you want. I also mounted the gauge horizontally so I don't have to bend down to read it when I adjusting the regulator.

View attachment 109494

inside my garage I just use normal air hoses, but for my connection on the outside of my garage I have used 10mm pvc hose and 15mm copper pipe. to join those I used

10mm 1/4bsp hose tail > 1/4bsp socket > 8mm to 15mm plumbing compression reducer

View attachment 109495

and the outside I used

15mm compression elbow > 15mm to 8mm reducer > pcl coupling

View attachment 109497

the reason why I've recently upgraded parts of my set up was that one of my spray guys wasn't getting enough air. even though its a Low Volume Low Pressure (LVLP) with a regulator on the spray gun the maximum pressure I could get at spraygun was 10psi with all the original mini regulators wound down to give full pressure.

I've ditched all the regulators on the spray guns and now just use a T piece with the gauge and pcl adaptor on it (also now xf fittings to flow more air). Ive now got plenty of air for my requirements, and its easy enough to alter the pressure on the filter/regulator by the desiccant dryer.

View attachment 109499

think that me sorted for the time being until I decide to change something again, and some bits of this might be of use to someone else

Hi
I have the same compressor, and like you, I found the regulator to be a massive restriction.

I looked at replacing it but decided to go a different route instead.
I needed to get the best flow I could out of it for air tools, so took a supply directly from the receiver instead, via a Y filter.
This feeds a 3/8 pipe to my wall mounted regulator & water trap.
I’m not spraying, so don’t need the elaborate filtration system, but I have plumbed my garage in with a 15mm push-fit airline system, and a second receiver (modified Calor bottle!) downstream.

 

[RussBroom]

Hi
I have the same compressor, and like you, I found the regulator to be a massive restriction.

I looked at replacing it but decided to go a different route instead.
I needed to get the best flow I could out of it for air tools, so took a supply directly from the receiver instead, via a Y filter.
This feeds a 3/8 pipe to my wall mounted regulator & water trap.
I’m not spraying, so don’t need the elaborate filtration system, but I have plumbed my garage in with a 15mm push-fit airline system, and a second receiver (modified Calor bottle!) downstream.

View attachment 297479 View attachment 297480

Oh another thing…
The standard pressure switch is only a 6bar switch, and although the cutoff pressure can be adjusted, it quickly goes beyond its ooating range, and I found the differential increased massively as a result.

I wanted to run it close to its max operating pressure of 10bar, but the switch wouldn’t cut back in until about 6bar, which is no good at all.
So I replaced it with a proper Ne-Ma 12bar switch.

PRESSOSTATI Mignon 4-Way Pressure Switch for AIR Compressor - 1PH : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders. Shop PRESSOSTATI Mignon 4-Way Pressure Switch for AIR Compressor - 1PH.

www.amazon.co.uk

Now it runs happily on an 8-10bar range, and I run the regulator at 8bar running pressure, so barely get any pressure drop at all.

 

[optima21]

Ive recently had issues with moisture in the airline for my airbrush compressor recently, so have made a smaller version of desiccant air dryer using a smaller water filter housing, these have 1/4 bsp fittings.

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and 500G of colour changing silica gel desiccant from here (250g would be enough)

Silica Gel Desiccant Granules Beads Self Indicating Loose In Resealable Tubs | eBay

Self indicating (Orange to Green) Silica Gel Desiccant in sealed tamper evident tubs. Choose the quantity required from the drop down box at the top of this page. Supplied in resealable tubs. Silica Gel White Desiccant Granules Beads Loose In Resealable Tubs.

www.ebay.co.uk

you can buy the housings complete with desiccant from several places togther, they may work out a bit cheaper, but wasnt sure about the fittings or the specification of the desiccant.

I need to make a bracket to hold the filter housing and replace the connector between the compressor and the filter/regulator (shown in the left) and make a new one that wasnt drilled though to all connection to the new dryer setup. (show on the right).

and assembled with no modification to the compressor.