Recommend a good air dryer?

[SnowDrifter]

I have a kobalt 30gal 155psi compressor. Already put a filter/ water separator on it. Does a good job of getting the bulk of the water out of the lines, but there's still a bit of moisture coming through my tools

Can anyone recommend a good one for home use? 3/8 npt. The ones I've seen are either in the $200+ range or rebadges harbor freight. Ideally, something where I can bake/re use the desiccant. It's not worth me having to keep a pile of silica beads laying around

I'm open to alternatives too. Just not the refrigerated ones. More than I want to fuss with

$100 loose budget for this

 

[NHGUY]

WIX makes one that hangs on the wall with a spin on filter element.

 

[Trav]

Is this a portable? Do you loosed the drain before using it to remove any water then close it? No need to drain the unit down completely that just make for a hot tank and can worsen the problem.

Where do you want to locate this filter? It should be a distance from the compressor and higher.

 

[dave123]

Need to get air cold first can not take water out of hot air

 

[ironman_gq]

There is one made by motorguard (M60 model) that is widely used for air filtering and moisture separation for plasma cutters. To make your water separators as effective as possible they need to be mounted as far from the compressor as possible so the air has time to cool down, I try to install them as close to the point of use as I can.

 

[another Todd]

You already have a water separator, refrigerated is your next step.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Ehh sounds like more fuss than it's worth. Thanks all!

 

[CDX825]

Look for a used refrigerated air drier. I picked one up for less than $200 at a local industrial surplus place.

All you have to do is hook up your air lines and plug it in. No filters to change, no desiccant to fuss with either. Just dry air.

If your using your compressor often its best way to go.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: SnowDrifter
Ehh sounds like more fuss than it's worth. Thanks all!


No not at all. If you use your air tools mostly in one place then its easy and not really expensive. If you want to do a little painting with a touch up gun its almost mandatory.

This is how you do this cheap. Get this unit or even the one from HF will do the job and is better than what you have now.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/DEV-HAR-602_2.html?gclid=CKHDzP3fiMECFeJF7AodKFYAUA#.VCqIZ6237k4

Mount it one the wall about 2 ft higher than the compressor.
Connect the compressor to it with about a 10ft hose (the longer the better).
Connect your air hose for the tools into the unit.

Mount it after the separator you already have. After using the compressor do not drain the tank, just shut it off.
The next day when its cooled off crack the drain for a few seconds to let the water out than close it. This will prevent a hot tank from the compressor running a long time to fill the tank making a lot of heated air.

Edit: The one the other poster about, the motorguard, is also pretty good little unit for cheap.