Media blasting at home - need help

[Chuck S.]

Re: Media blasting at home - need help

Chuck,
You know a lot more about condensation than I will ever know, but I built my system from following the Tip catalog diagram flowing toward the end use outlets and am pretty happy with the low level of moisture in my Tip blast cabinet and tool outlets in the main shop. The first run of pipe (six feet) slopes back toward the tank but the rest (fifty feet)is slopped with the flow.
No more than my Quincy runs compared to my old singe stage screaming high rpm Craftsman, I am surprised how much condensation exits the automatic tank drain. My air tools used to drip water when ever I used them and blasting clogs were the norm. With this system I'm a happy camper.
Pete

That first six feet is where the majority of condensation by header cooling is happening in my opinion.

The only consideration is if the system is working for you. I just have a problem intentionally draining water toward my air stations. My thinking was if the condensate IS blown uphill against the slope, then c'est la vie...I'm no worse off than if I had deliberately sloped the piping toward the end of header in the first place.

Automatic tank drains are a great invention for many reasons. If you are not conscientious about draining your tank after every use, you risk shortened compressor life and worse due to tank corrosion. I've toyed with retrofitting an auto tank drain to my compressor, but haven't done it yet.