# Air compressor water filter



## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

I bought a 4-gal compressor/18 G Brad nailer combo from RONA today. You may question my choice but at $130 I did not think I could go wrong.

In addition to nailing brads I intend to use the compressor for painting and blowing stuff off surfaces.

For the former two choices dry air is recommended and I, therefore, need an air filter. This is where I am coming un-stuck: There is a bewildering array of air-filters on the market, starting at $5 and going as far as $220.

No amount of searching provides guidance as what filter one should get. I can only infer that as Canadian Tire carry only two, one for $27 and one for $40, the odds are that one of them will do the job.

The manual states that the filter should be connected between the hose and the tool but I just cannot see it as practical. Is there a compelling reason not to connect the filter between the compressor outlet and the hose?


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## Al Robins (Jul 13, 2009)

Crquack.....what you are saying is probably ok....some of the experts may take a different view, but, regardless of what compressor and what you paid for it...remember to take the bung out of the barrel every so often. in your climate I'd say twice a year!....you'd be surprised how much water builds up over time........Regards.....AL


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

The 26 dollar one from CT will work fine if you are using 1/4" fittings. The advantage to connecting it at the outlet from the compressor is that no moisture will get into the air line. If you connect it at the tool, then disconnect the tool you will have moisture in the airline to get into the next tool if it doesn't have a dryer affixed. It's more critical when using the compressor for spray painting, but by connecting one at the compressor outlet and then to your hose all your air tools will be protected from moisture. And yes it is important to bleed the water from the tank. I drain mine weekly and if I am using it a lot, like for painting, I may drain it a couple of times during usage.
They also have some cheaper ones at Princess Auto. They use the replacable desiccant dryer fillers.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

OK. From your reply I surmise that you *do* use your compressor for painting in that configuration, i.e. filter between the compressor and the line, with no ill effects.

Form theoretical consideration I was concerned that you *do* get water in the line if you have the filter before it: The water vapour in the compressed air will condense out with the pressure drop and air expansion in the hose. The filter will only pick up water in the liquid state, not in the vapour state.

However, theory is one thing and practice is another as your experience would indicate. I guess I shall blow it and see...


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

I have done it with the filter at the spray gun. It added more bulk to the gun and was in the way most of the time. Connecting it at the tank outlet was more convenient as well. So far I haven't had any issues with water in the paint.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Crquack.

Your theoretical concern is very real, at least under certain conditions.... I've experienced in using both my old (1hp C-H) and new (5hp Ingersoll-Rand) compressor. If you run the compressor long enough for the compressor, tank and air inside to heat up, you will get moisture carry-over. 

For the IR I've installed both particulate and coalescing filters inline. After using my 6" pneumatic ROS (50 ft hose) for a 30 minute continuous test I removed the sander and atttached a blow-gun and got a very misty spray. I've been told that's why when you look at pictures in articles on designing air systems they have filters at the end of the line; to permit the air to cool. I've attached some of my reading material on the topic.

My son and I are working on an aftercooler... <g>

This may not be a viable solution for you and you may not need it if you don't run your compressor long enough for the tank to heat up. In other words, YMMV..


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Thanks.

I am hoping that the best defense against spurious water will be the relatively low frequency and duration of usage 

I have had others tell me about the aftercoolers, some quite elaborate.

I just bought this in-line filter from KMS Tools:

Bynford 1/4" In-Line Filter [BYN-MAF] - $7.95 : KMS Tools

It is convenient to attach to the spray gun but comes with absolutely no information: Max pressure? Disposable or not (I think not, it has a tiny drain)?

Iwata do something similar for their airbrushes at 5-times the price.

We shall see how it goes...


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Crquack...

Heat is the enemy here... A box fan blowing over your compressor head and tank will really help cool things.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

To summarize what everyone else has said, there are three components between the compressor and your tool:

1. an air filter. 
2. an air dryer
3. an air lubricator.

There are two air filters, one on the air intake side of the compressor and another on the line to your tool. The one on the line to your tool is sometimes one in the same as an air dryer, but not always.

There are two types of air dryer, one type is a little bottle filled with silica gel and another type uses the centrifugal force to spin the water out of the air stream. I prefer the latter. This is the second in the line from your compressor. There will be a little knob on the bottom of the vial, that is to empty the water out of the dryer.

The air lubricator provides lubricating oil in the air to air powered tools and is a real pain. There are no instructions anywhere including how to adjust the [email protected]#$%^&*()(_+{}|"?>< thing. There are two screws in the top and a little glass bubble. The big screw opens a hole that lets you fill the oil reservoir. Pay particular attention to the max level mark. Don't fill past this mark. It gets really messy fast. Replace the screw. Now put your oiler in line and put a push button nozzle on the end. Charge your line and let some air flow through the nozzle. Watch the little glass bubble on the oiler. You'll notice oil starting to drip inside the bubble. This drip is what you need to adjust to keep your tools adequately oiled. You adjust it by turning the other screw. 1/4 turn is too much but a full turn may not be enough. When you figure this one out, let me know.

#1 and #2 are necessary for painting, drying and blowing out cleaned parts etc. or you just want relatively clean air.

#3 is necessary if you're doing any sort of heavy work with nailers or air powered tools i.e. drills, wrenches, sanders etc. It is a pain to stop and relubricate every time to add nails etc.

All of these are available at Princess Auto. Talk to their "pneumatics specialist." For some reason regulators and air filters come threaded for 1/2" (OD) connectors but the oilers come threaded for 5/8 or 3/4. You'll have to create a "chain" of adapters and fittings. Keep your hose connections to 1/4" ID (1/4" NPT) and make everything else fit that standard. You'll be fine with that.

Two more things, I empty the moisture out of my tanks at the end of every day and I change the oil in my pumps frequently. I don't know about your compressor but my big one has a fan on it and my little one doesn't run more than 15 minutes before I start changing over to the big one. The little one (a Makita MAC) is for convenience and the big one (Mastercraft Maximum 20 gal belt drive) is for project work (framing, roofing, cleaning brick and blocks) Both have filter, dryer and oiler capability. I have one block that I switch between the two of them as I need it.

Hope this helps.


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## jetpilot (Jul 7, 2010)

crquack: Hi.

I believe that you got some good info from the above posts. I can't add any more to them as far as use. If possible for you, you could look at Harbor Freight's air tool section, for a good selection of air filters, water sep, and small regs, fittings, etc. I've bought alot of alll, prices are reasonable, especialy when they may be on sale. I've noticed that HF has cut back on the 50% off salesl, in this econm it should be more


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

Hi crquack,

Got your PM but the forum wouldn't let me reply.

I asked an expert in Air Tools about the Bynford filter; unfortunately, we don't have any specs on it - it's one of those house brand kinda things that we get without documentation.

If you're looking for a decent 1/4" filter I'd probably look toward a Norgren (kmstools.com/norgren-1-4-moisture-trap-filter-6987); but from the posts above it looks like those guys are getting you good info about how to protect your air tools.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Thank you.

Ah, the joys of shopping at KMS...

I suppose I'd better not use it with the brad nailer just in case it blows up in my face. When I bought it I made it clear that it was for a spray gun (which I bought at the same time).
The bloody thing is leaking. A little, but leaking nevertheless.

What do I get for $40 with the Norgren filter that I won't get for for $26 in Canadian Tire or Home Depot?


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Crquack:



crquack said:


> The bloody thing is leaking. A little, but leaking nevertheless.


A friend of mine is the tools department manager at a large CTC in Quebec City. When I bought my compressor he warned me that handling of compressors through shipping, transport and warehousing gets them bumped around a lot. They're too big to be stacked on a skid and too small for a dedicated skid. That means that connections on the compressors may need to be tightened slightly or re-taped. 

Dedicated compressor vendors do a quick QA check and tighten these things up routinely before the customer gets them. Box vendors like CTC don't have the time nor the expertise to do the job. Besides you don't want a high school kid with no experience or training playing around with the release valve on your compressor.

The result: you pay a premium for someone to do a thorough QA checklist or you do it yourself. That's the trade off. Me, I prefer to do it myself. I get to know my equipment that way. So, I demand the absolute best price including 10% off that "deep discount" price "because I'm a nice guy." 

However, I also do my homework and compare price/quality before I plunk down my hard-earned bucks.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

I was not talking about my compressor. Oddly enough although it came from RONA it is actually fine. I was talking about the filter.

I bought another compressor about two years ago - different make, different vendor. It leaked in no less than three places and did so quite enthusiastically. Some of those places could not be corrected however hard I tried so the thing went back.

I would still be blowing chips off with pressure cans if it was not for a strange desire to spray paint, the fact that the price of the kit was hard to beat and that I have wanted a 23G nailer for a long time but did not have enough work for it to justify getting a compressor just for that.

Of course this kit came with 18G brad nailer so I still have to buy the 23G nailer...


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## fibertech (May 7, 2005)

Hi, Check out Grizzly in Bellingham. They are 20 minutes from Customs and have as much as anybody around. -Derek


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

Hi crquack; I've got your question out to Air Tools - PM me if you don't hear back from them.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Thanks. What time frame?


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

Hi crquack,

I talked to Mike in Air Tools this morning about the filter. I checked homedepot.ca and canadiantire.ca for their brand of filter, but all that popped up was coffee filters and humidifier filters... etc. Anyway, he popped the Norgren out of the box and showed me the difference between that and a common competitor - the big difference is that the Norgren is made in North America with a solid metal body, and comes with better seals that don't blow up or leak.


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## pansy22 (Aug 25, 2010)

i read all the posts about Air compressor water filter....these are interesting....


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi NathanT and Pansy:



nathant said:


> Hi crquack,
> 
> I talked to Mike in Air Tools this morning about the filter. I checked homedepot.ca and canadiantire.ca for their brand of filter, but all that popped up was coffee filters and humidifier filters... etc. Anyway, he popped the Norgren out of the box and showed me the difference between that and a common competitor - the big difference is that the Norgren is made in North America with a solid metal body, and comes with better seals that don't blow up or leak.


Every community has a local or regional specialist in air. Sometimes they're your best source of information and parts. Just ask your auto mechanic where he gets his parts and repairs done.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

I just got back from Vancouver. I drove out to visit the Holy Shrine itself 

I spoke to the guys in the air tool department who were very helpful. Some additional info came to light:

1) The filter that I referred to earlier is OK to 125 psi according to them. However, it is *not* recommended for use with spray gun - pores are too big. It should, however, be OK with a nailer.

2) For occasional use they recommended one of their disposable filters. They had two makes, one more than twice as expensive than the other. Apparently the only real difference between them is the name...

Oddly enough, there were no other filters on the shelves that day.

It seems that I am sorted. All I need is to adapt the nailer connection (quick change male) to the filter (1/4" NPT female).

I just had a thought: Are these in-line filters reversible? Or is there in- and out- port? Never thought to ask and of course there is nothing on either packet to say one way or other


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

Hey Quack,

I talked to Mike in Air Tools... he informed me that the in-line filters are not reversible and suggested that I take one out of the package and blow on it to check. I politely declined.


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Is that the way to find out?:blink:
It's definitely blow, not suck?:lol:


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Hint... The 5 or 6 I've seen since I've started my AC research all have an arrow engraved or raised on the case to indicate direction of flow, usually as part of the molding process though one was painted on..


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

The disposable filter packet is marked clearly: Input is the male coupling, outlet is the female. No such marking on the filter in question but one has to think that there is a convention which would be consistent from filter to filter.

However, there are caveats about believing what is written on the packet: The disposable filters are marked on the packet as 100 psi max but on the filter itself it states 70 psi max.

BTW I did blow in the filter at both ends - I could feel no difference:jester:


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Hi Quack:



> The disposable filter packet is marked clearly: Input is the male coupling, outlet is the female. No such marking on the filter in question but one has to think that there is a convention which would be consistent from filter to filter.


I didn't know they made disposable filters for use in Compressed Air. More info please. What are you filtering, water, oil, air?

I would think the input and output would be reversed to what you would say. That said, I "inspected" all of my elements are marked (cast into the housing) "in" and "out" or by an arrow. Sometimes a single one sometimes even the arrow is hard to distinguish.



> However, there are caveats about believing what is written on the packet: The disposable filters are marked on the packet as 100 psi max but on the filter itself it states 70 psi max.


The norm :-(

I'll let someone else comment on the blowing. ;-)


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

The main concern is water.

DeVilbiss 2pk Disposable Filters [DV-130095] - $22.95 : KMS Tools

This is the more expensive version. The cheaper one I could not find on their web site.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

Thanks Quack:



crquack said:


> The main concern is water.
> 
> DeVilbiss 2pk Disposable Filters [DV-130095] - $22.95 : KMS Tools
> 
> This is the more expensive version. The cheaper one I could not find on their web site.


I note how little information they give. 

There is a little "round" in-line filter like the one you mention "SKU: 0470012" with 1/4" ports on the Princess Auto site. At $4.99 ea it should be disposable but no mention of that.


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

allthunbs said:


> Thanks Quack:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Gentlemen

The feedback is greatly appreciated about info on the website.

I'm in the process of figuring out what the important specs are for each category. I'm thinking for filters and regulators, people are wanting to know:

- If it's reversible
- How many CFMs flow through it
- PSI / burst pressure
- Filter size in microns if available

Ultimately I'd like to make the category sortable/filterable (lol) by any of those specs. It's a long road but you guys need to know specs before you decide if you're gonna buy anything.

Anyway... glad to hear what other specs you guys think are important.

- Nathan @ KMS


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

nathant said:


> The feedback is greatly appreciated about info on the website.


Are you thinking of putting this together into some sort of website?



> I'm in the process of figuring out what the important specs are for each category. I'm thinking for filters and regulators, people are wanting to know:
> 
> - If it's reversible
> - How many CFMs flow through it
> ...


All of the above:

- maximum operating pressure
- type of instrument i.e. there are different types of air dryer -- contrifugal, dessicant etc. (filter -- dust, oil, water etc.)
- inlet and outlet sizes in imperial thread size and/or metric
- where in the chain before or after the compressor is the best place for the instrument. what must be before and after i.e. oiler is always last in line
- manufacturer/vendor sku(s) if possible
- what is the designed function of the instrument and based on what principle
- what are the ancillary benefits/drawbacks
- replaceable filter? every how many hours? 
- parts available? gaskets, O-rings standard or "special?"

Is there such a thing as an hour meter for a compressor?



> Ultimately I'd like to make the category sortable/filterable (lol) by any of those specs. It's a long road but you guys need to know specs before you decide if you're gonna buy anything.


Many times one has to throw the money at the wall and hope it sticks.



> Anyway... glad to hear what other specs you guys think are important.
> 
> - Nathan @ KMS


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

> - If it's reversible
> - How many CFMs flow through it
> - PSI / burst pressure
> - Filter size in microns if available


That would be the bare minimum. Also pressure drop across the device.

If you are going to go through the KMS website and address every item on it in a similar fashion (90% of them need it - badly!) you are a better man than I and I will personally ask the Pope to put you up for sainthood.

Particularly as some of the items do not have essential info even on their packets.

Then there is the veracity of such information as is available (ask me about the Forrester Foredom knock off - fortunately KMS seem to have stopped selling it).

Still, I think it is commendable that you are taking an iterest. I am happy to help in any way I can.


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## allthunbs (Jun 22, 2008)

an addenda to above, 

list what each device is used for. For example an oiler is used with pneumatic hammers and nailers etc. However, sand blasting requires an entirely different setup depending on the media. You may not even be able to use your lubricated hose with the sand blaster.

Can you inflate a tire with a lubricated hose? i notice in some garages, mechanics have to use drops on their impact wrenches because the lines don't carry lubricant.

I have one hose for lubricated and one not lubricated.

What is an "air restrictor valve" for?

Why oil and water separator?

Could things be organized according to CFM? I see lubricator with a flow rating of 142 CFM and a regulator at 100 CFM. Great, my compressor _might_ crank out 7 CFM (only if I'm sitting on it)

I would also like to know how some of these things work. i.e. I have a pneumatic drill I picked up at a garage sale (useful if I could fix it) but I can't even find concept drawings for it. Brand name is long worn off and I bet all it needs is an "O" ring or something like that.

Why does no one offer a vacuum venturi valve? Can't find one anywhere in Canada. (honestly? I haven't looked that hard but when Princess Auto doesn't have it, I figure no one would.)


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## nathant (Jul 26, 2010)

Hey allthunbs,

We are indeed looking at putting this all together on a website. We've recently stepped up to a real e-commerce system with product pages

The next thing I want to do is add specs and make product filterable / sortable by those specs, so you can filter by highest operating pressure - or reversability, etc.

Some of the bigger compressors come with hour meters (I'm no expert, but I have seen em on the big IR rotary screw compressors.) If you're thinking of adding one on, the guy that I'd ask to see if that exists would be Darryl in Air Tools in Coquitlam - 1-800-567-8979.


Nathan @ KMS


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## jeckysmith (May 27, 2011)

I have recently bought air compressor water filter. Water filters remove all the impurities and microorganisms and make water safe for drinking and coo


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## jrmark671 (Dec 16, 2021)

I went through all of the entries on air compressor water filters and found them to be rather fascinating.... Best Faucet Water Filter is what I'm looking for.
This morning, I discussed the filter with Mike at Air Tools. I looked for their brand of filter on homedepot. ca and canadiantire. ca, but all I found were coffee filters and humidifier filters, etc. Anyway, he took the Norgren out of the box and demonstrated the differences between it and a typical competitor: the Norgren is built in North America, has a solid metal body, and comes with superior seals that don't blow up or leak.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Welcome to the forum, J..


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @jrmark671


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