Home Built Air Dryer - Works like a charm

I threw this together this week and it actually works great.

My compressor is housed in my shed, then the air lines runs partially underground and partially through the crawlspace of the house about 80 feet into the garage. Recently I moved my welding stuff and blast cabinet out to the shed.

I have always had a problem with water in my air due to the line running through the ground and cool crawlspace before it gets to the garage where I do most of the work. Last weekend I sanded on the '82 project for about six hours and drained one and a half 2 liter bottles from the trap in the garage and had water slinging all over me all day. I decided it was time to do something about it. I looked at the $369 dryer from HF and figured it might work, but thought I would invest about $80 in trying something I saw online. It works awesome.. sanded eight hours straight yesterday and not a drop of water.

Here we go. My shed has roof vents to let out heat.


I scored an aluminum oil cooler from eBay (brand new but someone cut two of the brackets off, so got it for under $40)


I mounted the oil cooler up below the roof vent, made a shroud from cardboard so that it drew air only from outside, then used a blower from an old inflatable Santa Clause that had a hole in it.


So I plumbed a line using copper tubing from the pump on the compressor to the oil cooler (tried poly here and it couldn't take the heat.. looked like holding a lighter under a soda straw and blowing a bubble).. then poly out of the oil cooler to the moisture trap (3/4" pipe) and out of the trap back to the tank on the compressor.


The trap after the cooler catches almost 100% of the moisture before it ever makes it to the tank.. I am way impressed with how well this is working.

I admire your inginuity. Good show.

For every problem there is a solution and you found a creative and inexpensive way around the problem. :idea::thumbs:

That cooler is a Mocal unit, I hope you have better luck with it than i have had with them. They are expensive but I blew 2 brand new ones. I like the way you set this up. I'm probably going to get a refrigerator type water extractor.

I have a 150 CFM Zeks 120 volt drier that needs a compressor and fan, If anyone wants it come to CT and pick it up. I just bought a new one for $3600 for the shop instead of fixing this.

:beer: Good example of the kind of creativity that BUILT this country....

not to get all political or shit....


:beer::beer: