So how will you know that your CO2 is dry?

-AC_Hacker

Well, it's in a liquid state right now. I can tell by shaking the tanks.. :o

No way to tell if it's clean or not. The Paintball shop stuff might be loaded with oil..


I was thinking of making a filter or maybe buying an air filter.?.

Perhaps the kind they use on shop air compressors.
Arrow Pneumatic ARR3121 ARR3121 PneuMasterAir 2-Quart Air Desiccant Dryer

What do you think? An air filter work?

Here's one from HomeDepot.
Desiccant Dryer - PA208503AV at The Home Depot

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...e74bb6_300.jpg

As long as the exit line at the other end (submerged in water), is open,
then CO2 PSI shouldn't be a problem. (it can get up to 900 psi otherwise).

This looks good too..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
It's the type used on heat pumps. (Bi-directional).

If the tank is rightside up...Should be vapor right ?..Upside down for liquid ?..Just a thought !

I run my co2 or nitrogen or argon, whichever I'm using as a purge gas through a refrigerant dryer between the regulator and the pipe being brazed. I have a valve on the work side of the filter to close the hose off when not in use. Periodically I stick the dryer in a vacuum bell jar and dry it out. Been doing this since the 70s without a problem.

mike

The second one, or something similar should do it. The HVAC world has much higher standards when it comes to "dry" than paint ball.

-AC

I learned about that a few years ago. I never knew that some CO2 tanks had
siphon tubes in them.

So, when I turned this old CO2 upside-down, I couldn't get anything but gas..
Took a while to figure out.. :o

http://users.rcn.com/rlt59/qb/cufill.jpg


Shown right-side up.. :)
http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/images/Bulk-Tank-web.jpg

In 1963 (when I was 17), I worked in a fire dept shop, refilling CO2 tanks.
No one ever told me about the tube. We only had one tank explode,
and I was too dazed afterwards to be peeking inside the split tank.. :o

~~~
The new guy I was training didn't listen to me (or read the check-list),
when I told him to "Unlock the scale arm".
I turned on the big supply tank and the pump. I couldn't understand why the
scale arm wasn't moving.
When I put my hand on the tank and it was still showing under-weight,
I knew what happened and shut everything off.

Just as I started thinking about the wisdom of using two burst discs in the
compressor head, (they kept popping with only one installed),
the tank split open and since it was about 97degs in the shop,
the liquid CO2 expanded rapidly like an explosion of pressure.
It blew the outside door off and most of the windows went into the street.
Scared a few people in the fire station too.. :eek:

Guess I was backwards..Good to remember lol..Thanx !

Thanks, it's good to hear from yet another CO2 user.
I'm looking at a bi-directional filter dryer on Ebay.

EMERSON BI-DIRECTIONAL HEAT PUMP FILTER DRIER BFK-053S - eBay (item 230504732351 end time Jun-23-11 07:55:12 PDT)

And I'm wondering if this is the style/type dryer you're using?

Also, how do these things work? What's inside them?

Thanks,
Rich

If the air compressor filter/dryer unit would work well enough,
to keep out the bad stuff you don't want in your spray paint gun etc,
it would be nice to own one. After using it for CO2, I could
install it on my air compressor's output side.
I don't like extra stuff in my 100 psi air, when I'm trying to clean something.

I have a short hose on an old 3000 psi scuba tank that I can use for some
really clean dry air.. (meant for breathing).

I'm thinking about the POE lube. I think the system need to be flushed out with some kind of cleaner.

HVAC/R How to Maximize Supermarket Compressor Life

"The saturation point (free water exists) with POE lubricants is around 1,500 ppm. POE left exposed to the atmosphere will reach saturation in a matter of hours, depending on the ambient vapor pressure. Careless handling of POE for only a brief period of time during or prior to installation can result in moisture being charged into the refrigeration system.
Poor service practices such as failure to evacuate after opening the system will yield the same result. At 100 ppm or greater (according to a major compressor manufacturer) the lubricant reverses its composition because of the water absorption, reverting to the organic acid and alcohol base.

Needless to say, acid in a refrigeration system is not desirable. "


Since the system has a little pinhole in it, it's pretty much a basket case by now.

The filter dryer I use is very similar to the one you're looking at. The ones I've cut open usually have a screens and either desiccant or zeolites for the drying material. You can dry them out with heat or vacuum. Vacuum is easier than baking them in the oven. The ones I use have the quarter inch flare fitting so I can use the myriad of AC service hoses I've collected up.

mike