inline desiccant packs

[Guest]

Does anyone use the small inline desiccant packs on their air lines before their powder coating equipment? I currently use a pressure regulator and a moisture trap (p-trap), but have noticed some moisture when spraying at a clean napkin. My dad is a painter and recommended that I try one on the inlet of my gun, he uses them at point of entry on his spray equipment and says it works great for that.

Was just wondering if anyone here has tried them and how if in any way they effect powder coating.

I live in Florida, so the humidity is very high, specially right now that Tropical Storm Fay is hovering over us and dumping between 10" @ 15" of rain.

[Desert PC]

Re: inline desiccant packs

GongChuan,
I previously used a basic water trap but still suspected moisture in my air supply. I live in the AZ desert and you would assume low humidity, but add our rainly season and 'swamp' coolers and we can have significant problems. I recently purchased a desiccant snake and indicator and it works great! This is a throwaway versison of the higher priced desi dryers, perfect for low CFM users. Here's a link-- they are available from several retailers online: http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/dev130502.html

Desert PC

[Guest]

Re: inline desiccant packs

I was wondering about those whips, they dont work the same way as a canister type pack, but I was wondering how they did work. Thanks for the reply, I think I will put one of those on my list of must haves.

Anyone else have any goods or bads about desiccant packs, or whips, or whatever else your using out there that seems to work well?

[wiseguyz]

Re: inline desiccant packs

Anything to trap moisture before it gets to your gun is a good thing. The best way is to plumb your airlines as long a distance as you can from the compressor (some guys even go around their shop twice to add distance) and mount the filter/seperator as far from the compressor as possible. This allows the air to cool enough for the moisture to condense and be trapped by the filter. Additionally, a final coalescing filter and/or a dessicant filter/dryer right at the booth gives maximum protection. Anything is better than nothing.

Best of luck.

[Guest]

Re: inline desiccant packs

Yep, just went through some moister problems. I already had the big round filter on the end of the gun along with the desiccant cartridge, but replaced all with new ones. Problem solved.

If you decide to go with the cartridge type, Harbor Freight has them and they can be taken apart and you can replace the desiccant pellets with new ones. I keep all the old ones and when I get a bunch, I run them in the oven to dry them and reuse in the future.

[rbroker]

Re: inline desiccant packs

I recharged my dessicant from my Sharpe dryer. It had a lot of pellets maybe 5 lbs? I read somewhere that you can thrown them on a pan and bake at 350 until they are deep blue again. Worked like a charm...I did it in two batches, and in total took like 2 hours.

Saves me 50$ on dessicant refills.

[Guest]

Re: inline desiccant packs

Hey, thanks alot for all the info. I think I am going to start with the packs and see where that takes me. I do have a secret weapon though. I work at a water treatment facility, and we use a large desiccant dryer for some of our samples, I think I am going to buy 2 or 3 packs and keep rotating them in the dryer at work to keep them in tip top shape. I wish I had the room to run a long run of pipe from the compressor as suggested, but my shed/ not shop/ is not near big enough for that, so I hope the desiccant works.

Thanks again