Dry compressed air

The quick and easy way is to use a moisture filter as far downstream as you can get it. Hook your tool's whip hose into the trap. That will give the air a chance to cool and water to condense.

See Graingers:

Thanks. I have an in-line filter that looks just like the Grainger products. Their web site does not list the filter capabilities. Mine is 7 micron and clearly does not remove water vapour.

Dick

Try a "ball" or dessicant filter at the gun. One source is . You can find them at Sears as well.

find

Dick, if the moisture separators aren't working for you, then do as John says, install a dessicator. Some are rechargeable and some are replaceable.

Also, add a drip leg with valve at your current filter/separator if you don't have one now.

Also, there are mist filters. You'd have to check on their micron size as well.

more details of your setup = copmpressor size, type (brand?), does it have an intercooler, tank size, pipe diameter and length, etc - I think you are not getting the air cool enough to have the moisture condense in the tank or in the pipe, hence it condenses in the hose - the right fix is to get the air cooler - add a radiator (the oil cooler from an old automatic trans is often a good choice if you have a smaller compressor) or snake about 30 feet of copper tubing (1/2 inch) along the wall or in a pond or something - you need to get the heat out of the compressed air so the moisture can condense.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. All were helpful and continue to be worked on.

Installing a dessicator is probably the ultimate but the cost puts it out of my reach.

I already had plenty of slope and drip legs in the line - but these can be improved.

Losing the heat from the line is dead right. My fish pond is too far from the shed. I need to investigate further the efficiency of a radiator as it may need a fan to pass air over it.

It turns out that the filters previously supplied by the compressed air people to remove water were never designed for that purpose, but they do remove some water. I now have a filter that is designed specifically to remove water and boasts a 95% removal rate.

I turn on.

Keep as much moisture out of the air on both the inward and the output side of the compressor. After experimenting with many ideas, one of the best turned out to be easy and cheap.

The commercial divers I worked with use a 4 to 6 inch diameter pipe that is 6 to 9 inch long threaded on both ends. a Pipe cap is screwed onto each end and the desired air fittings are drilled and tapped into each pipe cap.

The inside is loosely filled with Kotex...! Each Kotex is already wrapped with fine porous material but it is advisable to put wire support screen inside of each end cap to keep the outlet free...

It works...! and the cap can be easily unscrewed to replace the Kotex with new ...

Its best to dry the air as far up stream as possible. That way most of your system is dealing with dry air and not just the last leg. You can get water separators that attach to the hose outlet but I personally think getting it dry as near to the compressor outlet as possible is "best".

Put the cooler as close to the compressor outlet as possible followed by the water separators. Drain frequently. If you are inside and can run a dehumidifier that can also make a big difference if your conditions are within the specs for the de-humidifier.

Defense in depth is the safest bet. Dry it near the compressor, dry it some more downstream, and dry it again at the gun.