From: none@none.com99   
      
   On 7/7/2025 3:35 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:   
   > Yesterday I was using an air drill on the work bench on my CNC machine   
   > room.  I stage blanks on that bench and do some minor secondary work   
   > there.  Mostly de-burring the backside of thru holes.  I keep an air   
   > drill with a ball valve for speed control at that bench with a counter   
   > sink tool for deburring and adding a slight chamfer to the back side of   
   > holes.   
   >   
   > When I picked up the drill it sounded funny and didn't run right.  I   
   > turned up the air flow and water came out of the vents.   
   >   
   > OH SHIT!   
   >   
   > I bled the valve on the wall manifold where the drill was connected and   
   > water came out.  Not a lot, but not a little.  Then I walked up stream   
   > to the next down drop, that feeds a machine, and quite a bit more came   
   > out of that one.  The FRL was also bubbling out the top of the oiler.   
   > There was also a fair amount of water in the separator.  Fortunately I   
   > have not used that machine in over a week (maybe two), so its not likely   
   > any water got into the air cylinder on it that activates the tool   
   > release.  It was the only on machine separator that had water in it, but   
   > almost every air manifold on every down pipe drained water when I opened   
   > the ball valve I installed on every one of them.   
   >   
   > I think I was right on the edge of catastrophe.   
   >   
   > When I checked the compressor and dryer there was a bit of water in the   
   > air tank.  It might have been more than normal, but not much.  The   
   > separator upstream of my air dryer had some water, but again it seemed   
   > like a normal amount or only a little more at most.  I drain both of   
   > those every day I am in the shop.  Sometimes twice.   
   >   
   > Then I checked the manual drain on the air dryer, and it also seemed   
   > about normal or just a little wetter than normal.  Finally I checked the   
   > safety check separator.  The one directly down stream of the air dryer.   
   > It was WET.  By that point I wasn't surprised, but it confirmed the air   
   > dryer either wasn't working or wasn't keeping up.  Usually if I am   
   > running every machine, and doing some manual air usage I'll get some   
   > water past the air dryer on a humid day, but humidity was only 15%   
   > yesterday according to online weather sources.  I wasn't running a lot   
   > of machines or using a lot of secondary air.  It felt hot outside at   
   > 110F, but not that humid sweltering hot when the humidity climbs.   
   >   
   > I'd already shut everything down, and was just testing off tank   
   > pressure.  My air dryer is an older style Harbor Freight unit, and its   
   > good for maybe 20-25 CFM at 100 PSI.  I've been running it over   
   > pressure, and if I use an air blast on one of the machines it will get   
   > overwhelmed pretty quickly.  All of my redundant separators and dryers   
   > along with a 7 vertical up to feed are usually enough to protect my   
   > machines.  Yesterday is the first time I ever had any water in a   
   > separator on a machine.  Fortunately just the first one on the line it   
   > looks like.   
   >   
   > Of course I drained all the drop tube drains, and disconnected that one   
   > machine from the air system.  If I have to use that machine I can use a   
   > wrench, but I'd rather not.   
   >   
   > Now I was confident as longs the compressor on the dryer isn't burned   
   > out I can repair the dryer.  I might be able to repair it even if it is,   
   > although its not as serviceable as something like a split system.  I   
   > also have a spare, brand new, still in the box air dryer on the shelf.   
   > Never opened.  In fact many years ago when I bought it from a closeout   
   > company there was a mix up and they wound up sending my four of them.  I   
   > offered to let them pay freight to return, and they offered me a huge   
   > discount on the extra units to just keep them.  I sold off two, and kept   
   > one as a spare.   
   >   
   > I was steeling myself to swapping them out, but instead I walked in the   
   > office, sat down at my desk, found a unit capable of drying 75CFM and   
   > handles much higher pressure, and ordered it.   
   >   
   > Not wanting to sit idle for several days I considered my options.  I   
   > decided the first thing to do was check out the unit currently   
   > installed.  I pulled the covers with it powered up.  I don't recall   
   > noticing an error light (dumb idiot light only) on the front, and the   
   > rests inside were not tripped.  The fan was running, but the compressor   
   > was not, and it was so hot it was painful to touch.  Then I looked at   
   > the other side and saw the condensing coil was covered in a layer of   
   > lint.  I blew the lint off, hit the fins with some cleaner and   
   > compressed air, and turned the unit on again.  The compressor pump   
   > started up.  I shut it down and called it a night.   
   >   
   >   
   > Now I am about to walk back out there and power up the air dryer again.   
   > If it works I'll run a light load for the next few days until the newer   
   > bigger dryer arrives.  I'm actually ahead of schedule on customer jobs   
   > except for one I need to redesign so I might take a few days off rather   
   > than swap in the spare if it doesn't work.  I picked up a new Insta360   
   > X5 sport/action camera, so I might go out and shoot some fishing video   
   > to promote some of my mold designs.   
   >   
   > Oh, yeah.  I also ordered a brand new FRL from McMaster for that one   
   > with water in it that was leaking out the top of the oiler.  I could   
   > probably fix it, but I probably won't.  It was a cheap FRL anyway.  I'll   
   > probably just save the filter regulator, and toss the lubricator.   
   >   
   > Be back in a minute.......   
   >   
   > Okay, all I think I feel putting my hand on the compressor in the dryer   
   > is heat building up, and the vibration from the fan.  I seem to recall I   
   > could feel the pump a little more aggressively doing its thing than   
   > that.  I also didn't feel any temperature differential in the   
   > refrigerant lines.  Depending on the refrigerant (modern ones like 410   
   > or its replacement) you may not get the super hot  and super cold like   
   > you did on the older stuff, but its still easy to tell by feel.   I   
   > think I have a compressor burnout.  I learned to service refrigeration   
   > when I was just barely a teen, so I am sure I could source a compressor   
   > and repair it, but I don't think its worth it.  Probably save the fan   
   > motor and cap and take the rest to recycler.  (Legal disposal of   
   > refrigerant is a pain).   
   >   
   > I left it running while I came into to type up that last paragraph.  One   
   > last check (yes the air compressor is on and the shut off valve is open)   
   > now that its been powered up for a few moments to see if its working and...   
   >   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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