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Air Compressor Setup

2K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  Kartracer55 
#1 ·
Please review my purchase plan.

Desired usage: Lots of plasma, and some bead/sand blasting of axles and small parts.

Ingersoll Rand 7 1/2 HP 2475N7.5 Air Compressor
7.5hp / 80 gallon / 24 cfm @ 175psi:
Price: $1,895.00

UDR 40 Ultra Air Hi Temp Refrigerated Air Dryer
UDR 40 10 to 15 HP 23"x18"x18.5" 3/4" Inlet and Outlet 95 lbs 250 PSI Max High Temperature dryers are far superior to common refrigerated dryers. They use an aftercooler and autodraining prefilter which makes them work much much better. If you want the water out use only High Temp Dryers. All copper constructed tube in tube heat exchanger Top quality refrigeration components (Made in the USA) Electronic automatic condensation drain with test button Coalescing oil removing filter Ambient air filter 110-1-60 3 prong plug R134a refrigerant with no CFCs Refrigerant analyzer gauge 1 year warranty on unit 5 year warranty on heat exchanger
Price: $1,695.00

What do you think of the compressor and cooler selections?
I know the cooler could be downgraded to a UDR30 for $100 less but we plan to keep our current compressor which is only ~3hp and feed the air through as well and figured for $100 more why not get ALL dry air.

I haven't used Ultra Air so what's peoples opinions on this product? I heard good things about it thus the choice so far.
 
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#2 ·
Compressor sounds awesome. How much better do the reefer dryers work than the simpler canister filter water separator/ inline oiler setups that you can get from rand for ~ 160$? Conversely, does one of the (relatively) cheap filter units keep air output dry enough to sandblast effectively without sticky sand? That's what I was thinking of getting with a smaller 5hp 18@90 IR home unit...
 
#3 ·
greasysmitty said:
Compressor sounds awesome. How much better do the reefer dryers work than the simpler canister filter water separator/ inline oiler setups that you can get from rand for ~ 160$? Conversely, does one of the (relatively) cheap filter units keep air output dry enough to sandblast effectively without sticky sand? That's what I was thinking of getting with a smaller 5hp 18@90 IR home unit...
The water/oil seperators don't take out enough to use for plasma I`m not sure about sand blating.

We discussed coolers before here:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347747

The LARGE MOTORGUARD SteveH posted with a water/oil seperator is a great combo because you can replace the insides for very cheap.

For the $ http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/productdetail.jsp?xi=xi&ItemId=1611628528&ccitem=
is a good unit still and is "refillable".

My small desiccant is used up within a day I think my current compressor is running VERY HOT and a lot of moisture is being made in the air/lines.

I figure if i`m going to get a new bling compressor I might as well get a nice dryer since we`ll be doing a lot of plasma work and mild sand blasting in the future.

I really wanted to get the 10hp 35cfm unit but no 3phase power at my house heh.

BTW: You can get a smaller refrig. cooler for that compressor you mentioned for ~$1,000 (Yes I know $$ and almost as much as the compressor itself).

-Todd
 
#5 ·
Todd,

Don't overlook the EATON compressors & dryers. Dryer (5-7.5hp ) for $575 link

Worst thing I hated with my sand blast cabinet was clogged up media due to moisture. Dryer would be :smokin:

Tom :usa:
 
#7 · (Edited)
Ahhh hahhhh! Kartracer, I asked this question yesterday, but haven't heard anything... ie, are IR's decent or not compared to eaton. Obviously their top end stuff is awesome (I worked on a couple 5 stage HPAC's of theirs back on an old ship of mine), but I didn't get so hot of a feeling from their consumer website, mainly because they didn't list much in the way of specs. I get a strange suspicion of Chi-comminess when the details are not all laid out on the table. How do the low end IR's compare to Eaton??? I don't get the warm and fuzzy from Eaton's rambling descriptions either ... Anybody have good info on how reliable either one of these manufacturer's units are? IR's are tempting because Northern ships them for free. Not to hijack the thread here... but Todd, sounds like you might be considering other makes as well...
 
#8 ·
Well greasy, your wrong about the chi-coms... HINDUS!!! They are made in India. The low end IR units are really really loud, and the 5hp units dont have magnetic starters or low RPM motors, both of which you want.

I have an eaton, Ive had it for about 6 months now, no real problems so far. The only complaint I had was that the wire cover had a slight rattle to it... nothing bad, but it was easily fixed. The shipping guys did scuff up the paint, so i called Eaton and in 3 days I had touch up paint. As for quality, Is it a high end Champion or a Quincy? Nope, but its also 1/2 the price. I paid 1200 for mine delivered, where as the equivalent Champion would have been like 2200+shipping. I know a guy who runs a sweeping/striping buisness and its an eaton compressor that supplies his repair shop for the 13+ trucks with air.

Its not the BEST compressor out there, but its much better than husky, sears, Campbell Huasfeld, or the Low end IR units.

The pump is a Saylor Beal Knockoff... Most of them are. The pump is actually from china:( but it has a better warantee than the IR, which is made in India. The tank on the eaton is ASME and made in the USA, which I feel a bit safer with than one made in india, and they use name brand stuff... the motor and magnet starter are Square D as well as the pressure switch. Its a great High end home owner/semi-pro compressor. If I were to hae 2x as much to spend and was going to run a buisness, id probably wind up with a better compressor, but this thing is built pretty well, and is more than I need.

Jim
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the info Jim.

I forgot to mention this will be used for weekly sandblasting as well as CNC plasma cutter so I think I want a pretty stout unit. Like I said I was looking at a 35cfm unit but don't have access to 3phase power... so what do you suggest in the 7.5hp range??

-Todd
 
#18 ·
Keep in mind the eaton dryer isnt made in USA, or at least I dont think it is, like the one you are looking at. Also, When you call them, just go along with the sales pitch Matt(owner, most likely to be the one you talk to) will try and give. I have yet t encounter a dissatisfied EATON owner. Also, Its kinda cool that you can tlak to the guy who runs the company. They def. stnad by thier product.

Jim
 
#19 ·
Todd, I've been using the 7.5 IR for about a year now, mostly sandblasting. I use 2 big rig air tanks to knock out the water. Turn them up on end, go in the side and out the top. The air expands and cools, drops out the moisture. Don't know how it would do on the plasma but the blaster is always dry.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I was thinking too... you may want to talk to The guys at eaton about 2 5hp units instead of one large unit. I met a guy who did industrial iinstallations when I was looking fo how to set up my shop for air, and he said for most service garages and places like that, the biggest compressor he will install is a 7.5... If they need more air he goes to 2 5hp units. He says he sets up the pressure switch so one kicks on at, say, 100psi, and the other at 90. This means you save ALOT on your energy bill because there are times when you wont be using the 7.5 or 10hp to its full capacity, but your electric meter is spinning like you are, so if your doing something and just one of the compressors can handle the job, the other wont kick on. Its also nice because when you set them up to kick on at different times, your not creating as large of an initial power draw as you are with one bigger unit.

This is just what Ive heard, so take it for what its worth.

Jim
 
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