Water in the airline

[reno]

I'm a bit confused by this so I hope someone can help shed some light...

I've recently added a retractable hose reel to my compressor since doing so I'm now having problems with water getting through the air line, into the tool and being blown out the exhaust.

I'm using a filter/regulator which is feeding the hose reel and the output from the regulator is free from moisure so I'm assuming that the problem comes from the new reel.

Is this a problem that anyone else has experienced?

Is it likely to be due to the hose reel being new and will pass after a little while?

Sorry for the long and rambling post!

Cheers reno

 

[shenion]

Try adding a second filter/water trap after the regulator. Most combo filter/reg units have the filter/trap before the regulator where it is not very effective. Water will condense after the pressure drop of the regulator.

 

[rtbcomp]

As Shenion says. The moisture is in the air and it condenses out in the longer airline. It may be advantageous to put the second filter at the end of the hose nearest to where you are working.

 

[Charles Norman Daynes]

Have same problem with auto line bought recently from ALDI, also the rubber is quite soft and balloons up when gun trigger closed giving a high pressure squirt next time trigger is pulled, have reverted to shorter old airline for spraying . only using auto line for air tools and tyres. If longer line is needed for spraying then you should pipe it in proper conduit to near where it is needed and put regulator at end of conduit.

 

[eil]

When I bought the same airline from aldi water literary ran out of the connection where you attach the flexible to your workshop airline, and I mean straight from the box before I even attached it!!.

 

[gavuk]

The hose may have been hyd testesd,and not completley emptied,do you ever drop the water out of the compressor receiver?....rolled long hoses can still be a problem ,water seperators are only so good,in industry they use dryers as well,,,,,,,

 

[shenion]

You need to think of the air system like a bottle of soda except in reverse. Instead of air dissolved in liquid, you have a liquid dissolved in air.

Think what happens when you open the top of the carbonated bottle. It fizzes, the gas (CO2) un-dissolves as it does not have the pressure to keep it in suspension.

An air system is similar. As the air leaves the tank, it moves through several drops in pressure, the regulator, the lines and at the tool. It is also very hot coming out of the compressor. As it cools it can no longer hold as much water suspended. Long hoses introduce greater cooling and reduction in pressure, increasing the chance for the water to condense.

You also have a bit of a refrigeration system. Compress air and it gets hot and releases heat. Run it through a drop in pressure and it cools and absorbs heat, so the lines/reg will get cooler than it was originally and condense.

There are things you can do:

1. Add cooling at the pump. Higher-end compressors have a long copper line from the compressor to the tank with fins on it to lower the temp. On mine, I plan on getting about 8' of copper pipe and coil it in front of the fan so it cools the air.

2. If possible, use two ports on the tank, one to fill, one to draw from. I have seen some cheap ones that just use one port for everything. Works fine when the compressor is off. When the compressor turns on while using it, the air will bypass the tank preventing it from cooling in the tank.

3. Put reg/filter away from tank. Use copper pipe from compressor to regulator and trap, larger is better as it will have more time to cool.

4. Use multiple water traps. These work by swirling the air to create a small drop in pressure for an short period. The regulator/filter units are a compromise. You need a filter before the regulator to prevent crap from jamming in the seals of the reg valve. However, you want a water trap after the regulator to catch the water after the pressure drop. Ideally you would want one before and after the reg.

5. Use desiccant traps. These work best but need to be replaced often. I plan on getting one next time I do some painting and put it on the end of the line to the gun.

6. Get an industrial drying system. They cool/condense the air. Work well but probably cost much more than any DIY user would have to spend.

7. Get a bigger compressor. If the compressor is running all the time, you will be using the hot air and it will condense in the lines. A larger compressor will run less giving the tank a longer time to cool the air.

I used to have a 3.5HP compressor with a reg/filter on the tank. Using my die grinder, water would pour out the tool. I upgraded to a 5HP and it was noticeably better.

I later upgraded to a 60-gallon tank (from blown compressor.) I moved the compressor/tank outside my garage. I have 20' of 1/2 copper pipe running to the inside. This tee's off in several ports. One has a reg/filter/trap/oiler for use at the bench. Another goes to the plasma (has its own reg/filter/trap). A third goes through a 25' hose to a regulator and then a water trap. That is connected to a 25' reel.

I use it a lot and I am amazed after months of use, there is a few teaspoons of water in the traps. I need to drain the tank, it will have several pints. I have had no water issues when painting or using tools.

The second trap after the 25' line does catch some water. On the 3.5hp and small tank it caught a lot more.

Funny, the water trap came with my compressor bought used. It was completely full of water. It is a black metal can with a tap on the bottom. Guess the guy did not know what it was and never emptied it.

 

[reno]

Guys, thanks a lot for taking the time to reply!

As a number of you have guessed it is indeed an Aldi special along with the compressor and some of the tools.

We had wondered whether the problem was due to there being moisture already in the line prior to us fitting it. The strange thing was it didn't do it straight away it just suddenly sprayed me with oily water which I wasn't expecting... then it continued to blow oily water out all the time I used a tool.

I'll have another look tonight and see if it is still doing it.

Cheers and thanks again reno

 

[malcolm]

Water is a pain. I've gone to great efforts to remove it from my own air supply. Might be some tips there.

Water will tend to be trapped at the low points, so your coily aldi hose will take a bit of time and then be full of the stuff. I'd extend it fully on a downhill slope and blow it out.

I'd disagree with a water trap after the hose. Makes it a pain to plug anything else in to the supply. Some more work before the hose would be a better idea, and definitely filter water out after the regulator.

 

[reno]

I had read through the tutorial prior to getting the filter regulator and took some time to decide where I wanted to fit the filter to minimise any problems with water.

In the end I made a small bracket up and mounted the regulator about a metre above the compressor and clipped the input hose vertically up the wall so that I could easily manually drain the hose out at the end of the day. We then fitted the hose reel about another metre or so above the regulator I thought I was on the right track!

In time I will probably look to replace the flexi hose that feeds the filter with some pipe work complete with a release valve. I don't think there will be much point in me plumbing air lines all around the garage as its not that big and often enough I'll be working on the car outside the garage where theres more room.

In the short term though I will be trying to 'dry' out the hose in the way Malcolm has suggested.

Thanks again guys!

 

[rtbcomp]

.......
I'd disagree with a water trap after the hose. Makes it a pain to plug anything else in to the supply. Some more work before the hose would be a better idea, and definitely filter water out after the regulator.

Can be awkward and you may even have to make some sort of stand.

Looking at your air system you've effectivley done this anyway by putting the reg/filter at the end of you copper piping, thus keeping hose length to a minimum.

 

[Chipper]

Small tanks mean more moisture - I have a tiny comp and it's much wetter than my big fella. Small tank, comp runs more, air beaten about/heated more, more water to drop out. On my 150 litre one the air is dry at the tool end - although I have mini water traps at the paint gun end, they never see any water hardly, it's all caught by the filter/reg.

 

[Eric-ludick]

The hose may have been hyd testesd,and not completley emptied,do you ever drop the water out of the compressor receiver?....rolled long hoses can still be a problem ,water seperators are only so good,in industry they use dryers as well,,,,,,,

even if you not using a dryer having a cyclonic seperator will elminate 67% of the water if you put it in before the Coalescer filters. it is advisable to have a cyclonice seperator then a 0.1micron and then a 0.01 mircon in place. make sure you blow the nozzle just to clear out any water built up over night due to change in dewpoint. if you really looking for the professional way of going. save up and get a Desiccant dryer which allows a dewpoint of -40 degrees celcius to be achieved. they are pricey and used mostly by spray painting companies. but like i said this is only the professional way of going. again i stress use a cyclonic seperator (water trap) and if you can add a electronic drain such as a tech22 on to it. they are not expensive and your final product will look 10x better.