Air Compressor Filters and Dryers
Air drawn into the air pumps of compressors is never pure. Coming from the atmosphere, it necessarily contains water vapor, dust, and other minute particles invisible to the naked eye.
These inevitably end up in your pneumatic tools. Initially, you will not notice any effect on them. However, sooner or later, after the dust and water vapor that by then has condensed to water is accumulated, the tools’ performance is decreased. Although it may not be visible to you, the wear and tear of the mechanisms inside the tools is accelerated, thus resulting to a premature breakdown.
Water accumulates in the compressor’s air tank because water vapor in the stored air is cooled. This water, along with the dust floating in the compressed air, are drawn into the pneumatic tool every time it is activated. This is why it is necessary to drain the air tank after a day’s use. With a built-in valve at the bottom of the tank, this should not be a difficult task.
The presence of dust and water is especially unacceptable in applications requiring clean air such as in medical or dental procedures, manufacture of drugs, preparation and packaging of food, and similar conditions.
In order to help minimize the inflow of dust and condensed water into the pneumatic tools, filters and dryers are usually installed. Some air compressor models have built-in filters, while others do not. These usually have measurements of 5-microns which are big enough for air to freely flow yet also small enough to trap dust and even water. At this size, the filters can also screen out odors.
For even cleaner air, additional filters can be installed immediately before the air-power tools or equipment. To remove water vapor completely, a refrigerated air dryer can be installed downstream of the compressor. This quickly cools down the air coming from the compressor thus condensing water vapor into liquid which it automatically ejects through a drain valve. The remaining air is totally dried and thus will not adversely affect your pneumatic tools, and will instead maintain clean air conditions.