The importance of dry air..

[Steve]

My PowerPlasma 50 has been one heck of a machine. Nice cuts and very reliable until I started cutting on very humid days. I also am planning on getting a CNC machine so I need dry air.

My air compressor was a Craftsman 33 gallon oilless. It was loud as all get out and drove me crazy. But it did give me enough air to run my PowerPlasma 50. Every time I used it the air compressor would kick on and it was so loud it woke the dead and made anyone alive jump. So I replaced the oilless pump head/motor with an old 3 hp Dayton 220 volt motor and for the pump, an Eaton V-twin belt drive oil bath pump. The 33 gallon tank was perfect and allows me to roll it around and not have miles of hose. Really quiet and NOW I have a real air compressor.

The problem started when I was plasma cutting on humid days. I do run a filter but the moisture was still a problem as I was not getting very good life out of my consumables. I did some research and found that water in the air is a real problem for plasma cutters. The dryer the air the better and dry air is needed for long consumables life and for smoother cuts.

So I did some more research and found that there are many ways to get water out of your air. I wanted to do something that required not a lot of money and not a lot of maintenance.

When you compress air, it heats up and that heat allows the air to hold more water. Compressing humid air concentrates the water in the air and then it condenses on the cool inside walls of the air tank. Sort of like taking a hot shower and the mirror in your bathroom gets all steamy. When the air in the tank is consumed, the cool dry air picks up the moisture in the tank and when run through your air tool or hoses, it then re-condenses. So you get water in your tools, water in your paint gun and water in your plasma cutter which is not good for consumables life and for smooth nice cuts.

So dry air is needed. Again, the dryer the better. I did some more research and found an idea that I wanted to try. Its a device you can build called a Franzinator. It is named after a guy who has been tinkering around with the idea for over twenty some years. What it is is a 2 inch x 36 inch pipe with end caps and an inlet, an outlet and a drain. On the 1/2 inch inlet in the center, a 90 degree fitting is welded inside to aim the air towards the bottom of the Franzinator. What it does is cool the air and removes most of the moisture before it gets to your tank. There is a lot of chat on the internet about the Franzinator and how it works so if you want to learn more, Google Franzinator.

Does it work? OOOOH YEAH! My cuts with the PowerPlasma 50 are now much smoother and I have seen an increase in the lifespan of my consumables. I still run a filter before my air line and have noticed a huge decrease in the amount of water/oil that the filter gets and almost no water in the main tank. Almost none. The drain on the Franzinator sees a lot of water coming out of it and I cannot be more happy. I get cool dry air that requires almost no maintenance and no purchasing of expensive filters. This may even help the tank on your compressor last longer as there is very little water inside the tank to cause rust which is the number one cause of tank failure.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get rid of that pesky moisture that a compressor produces in the air, this project can save your consumables and make for smoother cuts. All for under a hundred bucks.

[ShaneJackson]

I don't know whether to thank you or not as now I have another project to build. I guess I am off to Google Franzinator

Any link to the plans you followed?

[ShaneJackson]

Any link to the plans you followed?

After reading up on it, I am going to pretend I didn't ask that....LOL

[Steve]

After reading up on it, I am going to pretend I didn't ask that....LOL

I know you did not ask but since you did not, here it is anyways.

There is sort of plans in the discussions. Some drawings and lots of comments. Seems everyone who has built one is happy with the results. Very easy to build. Got most of the parts from Home Depot. Don't use the thinner walled copper tubing for the air lines as the stuff that Home Depot sells is not thick enough. I had to go to a hardware store for the thicker tubing. The copper tubing is the most expensive part.

The one thing that needs to be done is weld a 90 degree elbow inside the 2 inch pipe. Don't tig it as tig is too clean a process. Either MIG, stick or gas weld it in place as those processes can handle the impuries of the pipe and elbow fitting. Remember, this Frazinator is a pressure vessel. The welds need to be good and strong. The air will be bled off when the compressor stops so it is only when the pump is on will pressure be present. Weld the fitting with a nipple in it to protect the threads of the elbow and then remove the nipple. Be careful if you use galvanized pipe as it gives off toxic gas when heated. I will include a drawing of how the thing is built along with a parts list.
I cannot tell anyone the lengths needed for the

Parts:
One 36 inch length of 2 inch schedule 40 pipe with both ends threaded.
Two 2 inch to 1.5 inch reducer couplings
Two 1.5 male to 1 inch female reducer couplings
Two 1 inch male to .5 inch female reducer couplings
One 90 degree brass compression fitting 1/2 inch male to 3/8 male ( size dependent on the plumbing of your compressor) as that is what fed my compressor. You want to try to keep it at 3/8 inch as forcing air through a smaller opening has a cooling effect on the air.
My original compressor pump had a 3/8 inch line feeding the tank from the pump. My new pump has a half inch feed. It is best to feed the Franzinator with a half inch line. To feed the tank from the Franzinator a 3/8 inch line is best.
One half inch male/male compression fitting
One Half inch commercial grade ball valve female threaded both ends
Two half inch x 1.5 inch nipples
One bag of 3/8 inch compression rings
One bag of 3/8 inch compression nuts
Two 1/2 inch compression rings and nuts

How to build it:
First, take the 36 inch x 2 inch pipe and you will need to drill a hole with a 1.25 inch hole saw at the 19 inch point. The longer end will be the top of the Franzinator. Insert the 90 degree 1/2 inch elbow with one end facing down to the shorter end of the pipe. This is important to point the one end of the elbow down to the shorter end of the two inch pipe. Either MIG, stick or gas weld the elbow in place while having a short nipple in the elbow to protect the threads from splatter and damage. Remember, this is going to be a pressure vessel so make sure your welds are good and strong. I used magnets to hold the elbow in place to tack welded it. Removed the magnets and then I finished up the weld. Tig welding will not be a good choice to weld this. Again, either iron or galvanized pipe has lots of impurities and makes tigging a rough road to hoe.

Now it is time to add the various reducer couplings from largest to smallest. See previous post photos. Use pipe thread tape as pipe putty will be exposed to water and will degrade. Use pipe tape ONLY or it will leak!

The 90 degree 3/8 inch compression fitting is next at the top and then at the bottom ( the shorter end where the elbow was welded) install one 1.5 inch nipple with the commercial grade ball valve and then another length of 1.5 inch half inch nipple for the drain.

Plumbing will be different from compressor to compressor. Mounting can be done on the wall or on the compressor depending on your circumstances. Lengths of tubing will be dependent on the position of the Franzinator.

Don't try to improve upon it by making it bigger as bigger is not always better according to Franz. Follow what the design states and it will work. For larger compressors, you may need to have two in series to get the air dry.

Pardon my crude drawing but here is what the dimensions are and how to put it together.

Some folks build one without welding using a T coupling in the middle. I hear it does not work as well as the elbow as the air is not forced downwards.

[Steve]

Now I do have to say that this does not remove 100% of the moisture from the air. Having this contraption before your tank will get rid of a whole heck of a lot of water. You will need a good filter (either a desiccant or other) to get rid of all the water. This Franzinator will make your filters last a whole lot longer as it stops MOST of the water and oil. It will make life easier for the final filter and make them cost effective.

[GWD]

Another option using the same principle is to use a second, old compressor tank in place of the 2" pipe. I've gone through so many compressors that it is stupid so have spare tanks available. The larger tank does require more room. (Edit: another advantage is that all of the needed fittings are already there on the tank.)

One of those automatic drain valves is also a plus if you can stand it going off every 45 minutes and causing you to jump out of your skin. After a couple of years I'm finally getting used to it. But my wife still shrieks if she is in the shop when it drains. She is sure the end has come.

[Steve]

Another option using the same principle is to use a second, old compressor tank in place of the 2" pipe. I've gone through so many compressors that it is stupid so have spare tanks available. The larger tank does require more room.

One of those automatic drain valves is also a plus if you can stand it going off every 45 minutes and causing you to jump out of your skin. After a couple of years I'm finally getting used to it. But my wife still shrieks if she is in the shop when it drains. She is sure the end has come.

That idea was expressed to Franz, the designer of this thing and he states that while a second tank is sort of a Franzinator, it does not accomplish the same objective. The design is made to cool the air by forcing the air downward inside the 2 inch pipe and causing the air to stop for a short moment and that stop causes the moisture to drop out of the air. As the air rises in the pipe, it then cools and cools more as it goes into the 3/8 inch tubing. You will notice quite a difference in temperature between the lower part of the Franzinator and the top part. The tubing to the tank and the tank itself is way cooler than before.

There has been huge heated discussions about this device on the internet and for the most part, any attempt to change the design has been a failure. There is also a plan for an air polisher which gets rid of the rest of the moisture. It is a second smaller tank with tubing inserted and a drain. I'm debating weather to add that as my air dryer/filter is now lasting a lot longer than it ever did.

All I know is that this device works. I followed Franz's design to a T and it does do what he says it does. I hear the gas companies use a device similar to this to remove moisture from their gas lines.

[everlastsupport]

More info here on the forum as well.

http://www.everlastgenerators.com/fo...earchid=330728

[geezer]

In theory the franzinator could be made more efficient if one were to load the lower half with metal strips, giving more surface area for the moisture to condense on, at least that is my take on it.

[Shield Arc]

I had a HVAC engineer friend of mine walk me through the build. John, (Franz) added his 2-cents also.

[cbmkr]

The biggest problem is the compressor heats the air and it cools in the tank and condensates , if you are moving a lot of air constantly the heated air will exit the compressor into the lines .I have a 25' loop built on the wall with a drain tap to let the air coming out of the compressor cool and condensate so it can be drained also.I use the Ingersol automatic drain on the bottom of the compressor it does a good and you get used to it going off after a while. I also use a very good filter after the tank and loop before the air goes to the lines in the shop. I have also used an A coil from an AC unit with a filter as a drier at a dedicated spot before a machine hookup it actually does a good job cooling the air and pulling the moisture out. It has worked great for years with no moisture problems at all.

[Steve]

The biggest problem is the compressor heats the air and it cools in the tank and condensates , if you are moving a lot of air constantly the heated air will exit the compressor into the lines .I have a 25' loop built on the wall with a drain tap to let the air coming out of the compressor cool and condensate so it can be drained also.I use the Ingersol automatic drain on the bottom of the compressor it does a good and you get used to it going off after a while. I also use a very good filter after the tank and loop before the air goes to the lines in the shop. I have also used an A coil from an AC unit with a filter as a drier at a dedicated spot before a machine hookup it actually does a good job cooling the air and pulling the moisture out. It has worked great for years with no moisture problems at all.

Yep. I've seen that done on many compressors using an automotive A/C condenser to cool down the air and squeeze the moisture out of it. Sort of like an intercooler for a turbo to get more air squeezed into the cylinders. I was thinking of doing something like that but decided that being able to move it around easily and being simple as it is, the Franzinator costs less to make and it really does work well.

I was refinishing a door today and was doing some spray painting. It was humid with temps in the mid 70's. The Franzinator did a great job of keeping the air dry as my line filter was totally dry and the painting went great without any moisture and oil problems like fisheyes. I then had to cut some 5/16 plate and the Powerplasma 50 cut it so nice and easy. way better than before without the Franzinator.

I have to thank Franz© for the information and ideas on how to build this contraption that really works.

[Shield Arc]

The system has 6 drains.

[Steve]

The system has 6 drains.

I think 6 drains will work just fine! That is quite a set up there. Very nice.

I have three drains as my system is portable. One on the Franzinator, one on the main tank and one on the external filter. I can move the tank to where I need it or if I need to paint and don't want the air compressor in the same room as where the painting is being done. That is what I like about the Franzinator is that it is so simple and not very expensive. My filter life in my Motorguard filter has been extended by quite a bit since installing the Franzinator.

There are quite a few ways of removing water / oil from the air and the Franzinator is probably the simplest answer I've found so far. I like it because it is almost impossible to damage as it is just some pipe and fittings. It takes up a very small area and costs so little. Again, it does not remove all the water but this with a good air filter and it will get almost all of the water out.

[Shield Arc]

Here are some pictures of an air dryer I built years ago.

Well the pictures didn't up load in order!

[redbeard]

Post #10 in this thread http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=1424 has an interesting idea for a simple water cooled dryer. I might just have to try something like that.

[Steve]

How do you drain that? The secret to getting dry air is to keep the moisture that has been removed from the incoming warm air away from the newly dried air. That is the problem I see with the idea of using an air conditioning condenser. The condenser does cool the air but there is no way to drain that moisture out of the air stream quick enough to keep the newly dry air dry. It will pick up the condensation in the condenser and make it wet again.

That is what is nice about the franzinator. It dries the air and keeps the dry air away from the moisture. It also makes the air change direction which also makes the air dryer. Plus it is so simple to make and does not cost much. It is a tried and true idea that seems to work really well. So far I am happy as can be with this simple thing. I'm pulling lots of water out of the air and it is making my plasma cutting much easier. Plus my tools don't have any water coming out of the exhaust ports any more.

On the subject of galvanized metal. Welding it is not a real problem if you use common sense. The guy who died was melting galvanized pipe in a forge and was being exposed to massive amounts of zinc. He did not allow for ventilation or keeping the dust out of his lungs.
As with everything, too much of anything can be harmful.

[Steve]

I also must warn everyone that welding GALVANIZED pipe or anything galvanized can kill you. I gas welded my pipe and did it with the correct ventilation and wore a proper air mask that filters out poisonous gasses and such. I made sure that I did not breath the fumes from the welding of the galvanized pipe. The burning of the zinc on the pipe coating will give off fumes and those fumes have killed people. So if you don't know what you are doing, don't do it!

There are plans on the internet to build the Franzinator without welding. That may be a better way to go as it is far less dangerous if you can only find galvanized pipe. Black pipe is better but rusts.

[GWD]

I also must warn everyone that welding GALVANIZED pipe or anything galvanized can kill you. I gas welded my pipe and did it with the correct ventilation and wore a proper air mask that filters out poisonous gasses and such. I made sure that I did not breath the fumes from the welding of the galvanized pipe. The burning of the zinc on the pipe coating will give off fumes and those fumes have killed people. So if you don't know what you are doing, don't do it!

There are plans on the internet to build the Franzinator without welding. That may be a better way to go as it is far less dangerous if you can only find galvanized pipe. Black pipe is better but rusts.

Post a link to verify this assumption (in red above).

Metal Fume Fever is what it is called. Can't upload a *.PDF file so here it is in text from the American Welding Society.

Metal Fume Fever.txt

[Steve]

Post a link to verify this assumption (in red above).

Metal Fume Fever is what it is called. Can't upload a *.PDF file so here it is in text from the American Welding Society.

Metal Fume Fever.txt

http://z6.invisionfree.com/ToolBoxTa...?showtopic=249 for those who need to know for sure. I never make assumptions. This guy was running a forge and was burning some galvanized pipe. The fumes got into his lungs and eventually killed him. Franz© is the one who reported the death and there is also a web site honoring the gentleman who passed from breathing the fumes off of galvanized pipe and that site is linked in the previous link given. That was back in 2005.

So be careful if you are doing anything with galvanized. Some dangerous stuff to weld or heat if you don't know what you are doing.