Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

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jousley
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Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by jousley »

Hello All,

As I've been tooling around I've been thinking about some questions related to air, and my planning. quick notes: i'm getting my garage in order to purchase a plasma cnc table, i live in SoCal so temperature is pretty mild, and next step is the air. I just rebuilt a shed which shares a wall with my garage. In the shed I will have my dust collection system and my Air Compressor for the cnc. One side of the shed is my garage wall, the other 2 sides are concrete block wall. Here's my questions:

1) when it rains or is overcast, the block wall absorbs a lot of water. After it rains, the blocks will be wet for days and then dry out. Given that my air compressor is in that shed - will this have any significant impact on the level of moister in my airlines? Enough to do something about it (ie. covering the wall in something or ??). Wondering if this matters and if so what I could do about it.
2) unrelated.. I saw a video where a man described air flow for plasma systems - and said "every 90 degree change in direction reduces the airflow at your plasma by 2-3 psi". So I thought about how folks do lots of 90 degrees changes when trying to cool down the air... so couldn't that impact the air to the plasma by 10 psi or more? is that true?

Thanks for any input.
J
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ben de lappe
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Re: Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by ben de lappe »

Hi J,

With compressed air the concern is over relative humidity in the atmosphere. Compressing air by it's very nature generates moisture. Just my personal opinion but I don't think the damp blocks will make any difference unless you happen to be cutting in a consistently wet environment. Regardless I'd recommend researching what type filtration suits you best and implement it. Your tips and electrodes will last much longer and give better overall results. Here in north Ms. the humidity is so high in the summer I thought of fitting my compressor with a snorkel as well. :HaHa
adbuch
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Re: Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by adbuch »

I agree with Ben on this one. I wouldn't worry about your block wall, it's really more about moisture in the air. Install a good quality refrigerated dryer and that should take care of it. As far as air pressure goes, your best bet would be to install an inline air pressure gauge directly at the air entrance to your plasma cutter. Then set you air pressure so that you are able to maintain a constant pressure with air flowing thru the torch. I have mine set at 100 psi for my Hypertherm Powermax 85 as well as my 45xp. I would defer to your particular plasma cutter owner's manual for the suggested air pressure requirement for your cutter.

David
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tinspark
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Re: Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by tinspark »

Ditto on the gauge directly at the back of the plasma cutter.
My tank outlet pressure (which I now never look at) is about 20 psi higher than the gauge attached to the inlet of my plasma cutter. I cannot even remember the last time that I looked at the tanks factory air discharge pressure gauge. But I regularly watch the inlet gauge at the plasma cutter during cutting, and have my plasma cutter set up where I can see its gauge easily since inlet pressure is so important during a cut. As well as sustained pressure during long cuts.
Also, I added a 1/4” 90 elbow at the bottom of my tanks drain valve with a nipple and small ball valve in place of the hard to get to factory drain valve, and makes my drain valve much more accessible. I drain the water out every time I cut, and crack it several times during days when I am doing a lot of cutting. Along with a Hypertherm oil water separator with a built in water drain just before the air inlet pressure gauge spoken about above..I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get water out since it was so easy to crack a valve. Also, many shops add drip legs with either a manual valve or an auto valve, which is handy too..
I live just north of you in Fresno, so do not have have much humidity here either, and have not found a need for a mechanical air dehumidifier in my home shop nor have seen them in the many shops that i have worked for in my area
Doug,
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jousley
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Re: Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by jousley »

Thank you all for your insight. I was overthinking it, and learned a lot. Much Appreciated

J
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Re: Some Questions about Air.. i've been wondering..

Post by adbuch »

jousley wrote: Sat Jun 17, 2023 7:03 pm Thank you all for your insight. I was overthinking it, and learned a lot. Much Appreciated

J
Happy to hear you have received some useful information on your topic from this discussion. Let us know if you need further assistance.
David
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