Introduction: Air Compressor Dryer

By
About: Just a lover of wood.

I am a woodworker with a Husky 20 gal air compressor in my garage shop; I believe it produces more water than air sometimes. I drain my air tank before and after each use using a Husky Extended Tank Drain Valve Assembly (Store SKU #1000053233) into a plastic pan with a sponge and still after about 2 hours of use and I would get about a gallon of water.

So what is a woodworker to do? Well, a good woodworker scours the web, YouTube and blogs and I did not see anything that worked with the right price range for me. So, since air is considered a fluid in engineering terms, I decided to build one and this is how I did it.

Step 1: Material List

Material list:

  • 10‘of 250 psi, ½” id clear reinforced hose $2.00 per ft.
  • *2 Culligan HF-360A Whole House Sediment Filter Clear Housing $36.99 each
  • *2 Culligan UB-1 Mounting Bracket with Screws $4.08 each
  • 11 heavy duty 1” hose clamps (I already had these)
  • 7 Nylon Male ¾” X ½” male barb (Menards)
  • 1 ½” Nylon T male barb (Menards)
  • 4 Pipe holders (I already had these)
  • 1 White Spin Water Filter (I already had one)
  • 2 Compressor Hose Females (I already had these)
  • 1 jar of Vaseline and Q-tips (I already had these)
  • 1 small ½” OSB Board (I already had these)
  • *1 Oatey 31402D Pink TFE Tape, 1/2-Inch x 260-Inch $5.79
  • *1 Gallon Blue Silica Gel Replacement Desiccant Beads by AES Industries. $29.95
  • Harbor Freight 3/8 In. Oil Fog Lubricator $10.99 (Do not buy it, mine blew at 90 psi)
  • Large Bolt Cutters
  • Assorted Wood Screws

* Amazon

Step 2: To Start

  • I placed all of the parts in order on the OSB board to check sizing, depth from the water filters etc. Depending on the size of the air compressor and your humidity levels, you may only need 1 Culligan filter.
  • I cut the plastic tubing with a large bolt cutter.
  • Put Vaseline on the barbs with hose clamps to make the hose slide easier and the pink TFE tape on the threads.

Step 3: Assembly

I tightened, pushed and screwed everything in place. The filter hangers need to be on the filter when applying the side barbs. Use the hanger screws for something else; the screw heads are too big for the drop key holes. (Tip: make sure the hanger is up at the side barbs. The hanger can slip down and the clear canister WILL NOT SEAT RIGHT!!! (Experience).

Screw it to the board and check for leaks.

Step 4: ​Additional Information

The Culligan HF-360A Whole House Sediment Filter Clear Housing does have an on/off valve on the top of each canister. It comes with a filter already in the clear canister, I taped off the upper end with painter tape, used a funnel to pour the beads around the filter, then put the canister back on the filter head and tighten with the included canister wrench. The beads will turn a pink color when the beads are saturated. Pour the pink beads on a cookie sheet and insert into an oven at very low heat until the beads become blue again. So air comes from my air compressor into filter #1 down through the filter, through the blue desiccant beads and up to the other side and repeat the process again in filter #2. The air then goes to White Spin Water Filter to catch any desiccant bead particles from going down the line. The air then goes to a T. One side goes to an oil fogger for air tools and the other side to paint guns or general air stuff. My cost was about $137.88 for this project.

So, I have been testing my air compressor dryer for the last 3 months, using the compressor about 4-5 times a week and it works like a CHAMP!!!!! I am extremely happy with it.

Build a Tool Contest 2017

Participated in the
Build a Tool Contest 2017