Any small shops use a refrigerated air dryer?

[John McClanahan]

Anyone with a small shop / garage shop use a refrigerated air dryer with their air compressor? If so, what size is the dryer and when do you use it?

I have a small air dryer thats been sitting in my garage for years. It runs, but I don't know the capacity, or how it would even be rated. I'm on a cleaning spree and if I don't find a use for it soon, its gone.

John

[Matt Meiser]

Not here. I find a reasonably well planned piping system, filters at the drops, and in the case of my plasma cutter, a really good filter, do the job. However, the humidity here is nothing like Missouri's.

[Charles Lent]

I have an Atlas-Copco refrigerated air dryer that I pulled from a combination compressor/dryer unit in a commercial print shop last Summer. The compressor was DOA but the dryer still works fine and it was headed for the scrap yard when I saved it (a FREE dryer). It is supposed to handle 20 cfm. I've installed it next to my compressor for use when sand blasting or painting, but I haven't needed to do either since I put it there. I have an 80 gal 5 hp 18 cfm compressor and don't need to run the dryer for general low volume shop air use. The normal low volume requirements of my shop and my shop piping pretty much keeps the air dry enough for general use. It's the high volume use that made me want one, as the air in the tank warms up from heavy use it holds more moisture which doesn't get a chance to condense out, causing it to get into the lines where it then cools and condenses, causing problems at the point of use.

Sorry, but I'll have to tell you how good my dryer works after my next big sand blasting or painting project. I haven't used it yet, except to see if it was getting cold and the air was passing through it OK.

You shouldn't get rid of it if you will ever do any sand blasting or painting. It will justify it's own existence the first time you need it.

Charley