Replies

1. 
   rslatm | Nov 06, 2002 04:33pm | #1

   Not uncommon to put both in the same room. I'd suggest piping the inlet of the compressor to outside though. Plus you will need a vent for the dust collector.

   Rick

1. 
   riverr1 | Nov 06, 2002 04:40pm | #2

   Rick,

   Thanks for the response. Do you know what effect the 4 seasons have on venting the air compressor to the outside? Should the inlet run through a heated space before entering the compressor? It's a big IR with a manual that covers just about everything except this. Maybe it's nots necessary and that's why, but it also seems like this would produce beau coup condensation in the tank.

   Don

1. 
   rslatm | Nov 06, 2002 06:33pm | #5

   Don...It would be more a factor of where you live but I realy was thinking more of outside the room where it would be less dusty than in the seperate room.  I'd also recommend getting an auto drain valve for the compressor.

   http://www.tptools.com/statictext/tech_notes.asp?mscssid=S0JRFM6JF4UP8P1L2ENAG27KK89PBTC1

   For a good primer on air plumbing go to the above site. In thirty years I have rarely seen anyone do it right which is the main source of moisture in the lines. Click on metal piping digram. Folks tend to plumb it like water plumbing which is totally the wrong approach.  I've got to redo our whole shop soon! Hope this is useful! Regards

   Rick

1. 
   riverr1 | Nov 06, 2002 06:38pm | #6

   Rick,

   Thanks again. I'd be guilty of the plumbing plumbing also. You go with what you know and habit.

   Don

2. 
   jeffn7 | Nov 06, 2002 06:16pm | #3

   I did this, works great.

   One thing I would suggest is that you build a partition with a furnace filter (or something finer) in it to separate the compressor from the DC. The reason I suggest this is that the space in your 'closet' will be significantly smaller in volume than the shop, and the fine dust released by the DC will load up the filter on the compressor at a faster rate. Using a filter to pre-filter the air that the compressor uses just saves you the hassle of cleaning the compressor filter more often than you would like.

   I have a 1 micron top bag on my DC, and a small amount of micro dust still settles in the shed, presumably from leaks in other parts of the system.

1. 
   riverr1 | Nov 06, 2002 06:27pm | #4

   Thanks Jeff. It's the loose dust that has me wondering about putting them together.

   Don

3. 
   HowardAcheson | Nov 06, 2002 07:00pm | #7

   You need to have some way of returning air to the shop if you have your DC in another room. Bringing in outside make up air is one way but you lose air conditioning and/or heat. Another is to build a return air port between the DC room and the shop.

1. 
   riverr1 | Nov 06, 2002 08:14pm | #8

   Thanks Howie, something else I hadn't considered.

   Don

1. 
   UncleDunc | Nov 06, 2002 09:57pm | #9

   You can get an air-to-air heat exchanger, which I've also seen referred to as a heat recovery ventilator, that will allow you to exhaust the dusty air outside but recover a signficant fraction of the money you've paid to heat it. I've always seen these in the context of cold climates, but there may be installations that also work in an air conditioning environment.

4. 
   fredsmart48 | Nov 07, 2002 06:04pm | #10

   I would be concerned with having any thing in that room that could cause a spark. The motor on the air compressor should be rated explosion proof lights should be explosion proof like in the finishing room.

   I would make sure I had the air compressor up high enough so I could get a pan under it to drain the water into. Next I would use a flexible hose to connect the compressor to the pipes that you put on the wall it get ride of vibration from the compressor.

   Oh by the way I would not want either of dust collators or the air compressor in a sound proof room. A room that deaden the noise ok. I want to hear them running or if they are not. I also want it very easy to shut off the power to the air compressor when I leave at night. I don’t want to come back to a compressor that the relay is stuck on and the belts are burning because the compressor can’t compress the air any more.

1. 
   jeffn7 | Nov 07, 2002 06:50pm | #11

   there just isn't that much dust floating around in my shed to ever cause a fire hazard, but it may be because my DC has 1 micron bags.

   as for compressor positioning, you are spot on there... having easy access to drain the tanks is key, as is the flex line. Routing the fixed piping to maximize collection of water is also something to think about.

   On noise, I used 1/2" soundboard that I picked up at HD to quiet down my utility shed, it works great. I can hear the DC kicks on by the sound of airflow through the ducting. As for the compressor, well that thing is so loud that I could hear it across town! Seriously, I actually isolated it in another sound deadened enclosure. Any problems and the breaker would likely kick first (it's on a dedicated circuit).