What do the KC Chiefs and Air Compressors have in common? Nothing!

[Trivers]

But I'm stuck with the responsibility of adding an air compressor to our factory.

So I'm reaching out to the collective mechanical wisdom of CP.

Our first packaging machine is on the way. Its CFM requirements are minimum.

It has to be quiet. Reading that some units are 70db. Is that average?

How do you filter the water out? Water filter. Some units state they have built-in filters...are they to be trusted?

We are running 30 yards of hose. 1/4 or 3/8 inch hose?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Don't have any advice to give but +1 on the thread title.

[Bowser]

Too bad Kloster doesn't post here any longer, this is right in his wheelhouse.

Speaking of, this place has gone to hell since Phobia left.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Trivers

But I'm stuck with the responsibility of adding an air compressor to our factory.

So I'm reaching out to the collective mechanical wisdom of CP.

Our first packaging machine is on the way. Its CFM requirements are minimum.

It has to be quiet. Reading that some units are 70db. Is that average?

How do you filter the water out? Water filter. Some units state they have built-in filters...are they to be trusted?

We are running 30 yards of hose. 1/4 or 3/8 inch hose?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

Call these folks: https://glair.com/ (they deal in air dryers and separators primarily but can give you system advice. Not sure how needy your packaging machine is overall and what your future needs will be either).

I used them when I ran a millwork shop. Great people. They'll give you sound advice for your needs.

As a note, when in need of something small, I did like the Sullivan-Palatek we had. Was like these:

https://www.sullivan-palatek.com/pro...s-5-7-5-10-hp/

Edit: From my experience, yes, 70-80 db would be quite normal.

[Baby Lee]

Are you running hose everywhere, or have you considered brass pipe with distributed fittings where needed?

Is the compressor itself a vertical config or horizontal? Consider a 'closet' for noise abatement?

If you're truly a newbie to the whole thing, consider taking a gander at a Car-X or some other corporate, well-equipped vehicle repair shop. They usually put the compressor in a closet and run brass [same as you use for home water lines] in the rafters [some of the newer tech might have migrated to PEX or similar], with hoses on retractable reels dropdown from a joist.

My dad has had an 80 gallon for decades, with the distro [normal 2-car garage, with outlets front, center, back of each bay] installed since the mid-80s. But wrt condensation, he was just conscientious and did it manually on the unit after each session.

[Scooter LaCanforno]

Originally Posted by Trivers

But I'm stuck with the responsibility of adding an air compressor to our factory.

So I'm reaching out to the collective mechanical wisdom of CP.

Our first packaging machine is on the way. Its CFM requirements are minimum.

It has to be quiet. Reading that some units are 70db. Is that average?

How do you filter the water out? Water filter. Some units state they have built-in filters...are they to be trusted?

We are running 30 yards of hose. 1/4 or 3/8 inch hose?

Any other advice?

Thanks!

You should probably contact a technical rep from Quincy Air Compressors.

[Chief Roundup]

There are a lot of different companies that have good products. Surely the company that you work for has good outside vendors. You would most likely want to stay with a company that your company already has contracts and knowledge of the quality of work and products.
They will all have good air compressors and air dryer systems for those air compressors.
Doing industrial mechanical work for a college and a hospital has taught me that there should be some specs that you can relay on to a vendor and get the proper sizing and noise levels and dryness to allow you the purity of the air quality desired for the equipment.

[Bugeater]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Are you running hose everywhere, or have you considered brass pipe with distributed fittings where needed?

Is the compressor itself a vertical config or horizontal? Consider a 'closet' for noise abatement?

If you're truly a newbie to the whole thing, consider taking a gander at a Car-X or some other corporate, well-equipped vehicle repair shop. They usually put the compressor in a closet and run brass [same as you use for home water lines] in the rafters [some of the newer tech might have migrated to PEX or similar], with hoses on retractable reels dropdown from a joist.

I worked for an automotive dealer group for a while last year and all of their compressors were in sheds outside of the shops and fully plumbed as you described.

[oldman]

Air compressors are loud, no way around it. I'd echo some of the advice given here about contacting a company with a history for their expertise. They can answer the questions about 1/4" or 3/8", etc. I can tell you you want to keep hoses to a minimum and go with brass. The last thing you want to happen is a break in the supply line due to age, a hungry rodent, or just plain carelessness. That could shut down your operation for days. Spend the money now.

[jrowe]

Go to garagejournal.com They’ll have all the advice you need there. You can get quiet compressors if you get a scroll type compressor. Many have filters as they are the type used in dental Offices.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by jrowe

Go to garagejournal.com They’ll have all the advice you need there. You can get quiet compressors if you get a scroll type compressor. Many have filters as they are the type used in dental Offices.

Depends on volume needs but most manufacturing systems run screw compressors. They can deal with much larger volumes of air than scroll can.

Right now, he could probably get away with a scroll because his demand will be pretty low, but he's going to likely pay a lot more for it.

One great thing about scroll is no oil but I'm not sure he needs to step in that realm. He'd have to check prices.

[Rasputin]

Patrick Mahomes II balls are fully air compressed the way they should be unlike Tom Bradys balls that are deflated.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by Trivers

How do you filter the water out? Water filter. Some units state they have built-in filters...are they to be trusted?

Built-in filtration and cooling on good units are well done. Can't speak of the cheap stuff.

Most of the time a commercial system will be like this:

Compressor > Aftercooler (see @ Air Dryer) > Wet Tank > Prefilter > Air Dryer (often together with Aftercooler here as Refrigerator Dryer) > Afterfilter > Dry Tank > Inline Filter/Regulator/Oiler > Tools

Every piece from Compressor through Dry Tank feeds to a Separator.

By getting a "built-in" you're not really changing anything other than that they come as a package on the same platform. It really depends on the costs of the built-ins vs separate components for you.

You should be able to get a refrigerated dryer for around $1k or less that's rated around 20 CFM and for up to a 5-HP compressor. You could get by cheaper for something rated less.

Now, you can get a solid unit together, 5-hp compressor and refrig dryer from a place like Sullair or Chicago Pneumatic for around 8k.

Honestly, wouldn't hurt to look used for yourself, especially for some components like tanks and whatnot. Might even get a nice compressor, just be wary of the hours. You start getting to that 15-20k range, I'd be out.

Here's a site I used to keep an eye on:

https://www.exfactory.com/Browse/key...R%20COMPRESSOR

but I didn't see much in my search that would be a great deal for you.

Like I said, make some phone calls. I think there is a place in Waupaca that does this stuff as well.

[dlphg9]

Waiting for Googler Barrett to chime in with his never ending knowledge.