This is the best one I've seen yet.

Certainly, this is a beautifully compact design with most of the features of the cooling lines of a professional paint shop and works perfectly for a one-man shop. 2 small additions I would recommend are to add three vértice water traps along its length and to run the air downhill. In the uphill case, especially without multiple traps, the air is constantly flowing over a stream of water trying to come down, which interferes with its desire to drop to water it’s holding.

Fantastic video! I have watched a dozen videos and none are as good as this! Thank you for taking the time to share.

This is the best idea for a DIY after cooler that I've seen and I've looked at a LOT of them.. I will be building my own soon... Thanks for sharing and great idea/execution!

Wow that’s. Good idea I was about to build mine going up down, up down, but this seems a lot more simpler and most likely will go with this one

I just finished building one like your design, thanks for sharing it with us.

Thank you this makes a ton of sense building this weekend!!!

Very simple and effective, I'm drawing one up to build as I'm having trouble with water as temps drop here in the fall in MN. I considered using 1/2" for cost but 3/4" will have 50% more surface area to reject heat so for anyone thinking of building one don't cheap out... :) One small modification, I'm going to turn that lower drain valve downward to drain into a container easier without kicking the fluid out sideways. Thanks for the video.

Dude this is the first person to actually explain how it works, i got it before but now makes real sense. My problem is i don't have space to do this in that scale and there must be more efficient means that don't involve static devices

Simple to the point good job, thanks for posting.

Old bull /young bull......l have just spent about 2 hours looking at ideas for this concept but in the back of my mind basic physics kept saying to me there was a more effecient way, l saw all the versions you stated........low and behold while lm checking out CNC machines your vid pops up and confirms exactly what was on my mind except l hadnt taken the leap for that design. Thanks mate....bloody great!!! Im yr vintage and l very clearly see the logic of its simplicity!!!

Good practical advice in both the video and comments. Lots of knowledge to be gained by going through them all...

I have a Saylor Beall that has a built in aftercooler that Saylor built into the compressor because its a real air compressor built by the good ole USA. I like your setup good job

Made one according to your design, thanx for the advice! I cleaned the pipes vigorously with sanding paper and ethanol before fluxing and soldering. Zero leaks on the solder joints! Also I use the flex piping for an additional pressure tank of an old compressor and the return from the cooler. I installed it from the motor to the tank so there is an extra drain option. Only downside is when the compressor shuts off, it releases the pressure from the cooler, but that is fine by me.

As a plumber I approve this. Actually I did my setup the same. used wirsbo.

I am currently building one of these myself with 15mm copper pipe the same way as you have. i didnt like other ones on youtube especially the ones that run it vertical with several valves to drain it as i thought it was stupid to do that to be honest. the main gripe i had with it was you would have to very regularly open those valves maybe during just one use. i like the way you have done it as it allows some space in the p[ipe at the bottom to be able to store some water temporarily so you dont have to empty it so often. i would definitely empty it after each use or once a day though but the other systems had maybe 3 inch of pipe that could gather water temporarily and that just didnt make any sense to me. the way you explainerd how others do things then explained about yours i just chose your design. it makes a lot of sense the way you have done it and you said you made it 35 years ago so obviously its good otherwise you wouldn't still have it. and it is a very simple setup nothing too complicated and rightfujlly so it doesnt need to have 4 or so valves thats just over the top in my opinion. i have done mine slightly different though ive put the wood pieces closer to the centre not by much just enough so that the bends/joints on the copper pipe hang off the side of the wood. mainly because i dont trust my soldering lol. Also this way if i need to fix a joint i can use the blow torch and not worry about burning the wood. Yes, i do know you can use a soldering mat but i dont have great luck with those lol. i havent pressure tested it yet i need to get some fittings then i can put air in it to check for leaks before i mount it on the wall. i have done 2 strips of wood like you but ive also put some cross bracing between the 2 for support. it wont need it when its on the wall but while im working on it it stops the pipes flexing. Thank you again for this video its great!

I'm trying to design a system right now for my new 60 gallon. This is very useful for me right now.

Needs a Donkey Kong standing at the top

Spot on my man 👍🏻

I'm going to use this design, I just ordered a Dewalt compressor Model # DXCMV5048055, i'm going to use 3/4 copper pipe with your design, then maybe step it down to 1/2 with the maxline system. This is definitely the best air dryer design i've seen so far. Thanks for sharing.

This makes more sense than any other of the DIY after-cooler videos I've seen. A simple, yet effective design without restricting flow. Would love to see the temperature difference at each end of the copper tubing while the compressor is running. Well done Sir!

I most certainly have to not only agree with the person below me but you and your setup as well! Superb indeed! I've been watching videos here an there on this subject for a future air dryer setup at the campground my family owns an so glad I found yours (which is the last I'll be watching on this subject) also had to subscribe since learning about bee keeping has always been on my "to-do" list!

Ideal. Thanks for the design!. Reminds me oil/water separate tanks in the oil fields.

Good stuff. Love the pointer stick. Brilliant!

Thanks Jeff! I appreciate you sharing this neat setup and saving me some money.

This is exactly what I've been thinking of making. I had envisioned a toy marble machine that runs down a successive series of horizontal slopes rather than numerous vertical pipes. I don't see why more people don't think this way and let the water work more efficiently with gravity. As Einstein said, "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." Great engineering is only what the problem requires and no more. It's easy to over-engineer, yet difficult to make something perfect but simple and at low cost. And as you similarly said, I've watched many videos of DIY air condenser builds with many being more humorous than the last. It seems every armchair engineer wants to want to outdo one another with huge vertical systems and countless ball valves. Total overkill and waste of money. I think one guy had 10 water drain valves so I thank you for restoring my sanity here lol. My only critique is yours is set up for post tank cooling and not straight from the pump and the airflow is moving bottom up not top down which seems ok but also counter-intuitive. Pre-cooling with a condenser and water trap is more ideal to keep the tank free of water and not pump it full of hot expanded moist air. Cool dry air, being more condensed, also allows the tank to hold a greater volume of air at the same pressure. Lastly, I wouldn't think you would want the air moving one direction and the water condensate in the opposite direction. I like this set-up regardless, and feel that building a smaller, more compact unit like this could be optimal for direct out of pump condensing, but with a radiator fan on it, much like people have done with the Derale 15300 transmission cooler/condenser units or Derale 15800 (with fan built in). My pump is a large Saylor Beall 705 which is a two-stage pump with 5hp motor and 120 gallon tank. The pump is so robust I could use an 8hp motor. My main worry, as you briefly pointed out, is choking the pumps output by trying to force a large volume of air through a small cooling system on the front end. I believe the fittings and piping of the small Derale condenser units are all 1/2". If they were 5/8" or 3/4" I'd feel a lot safer about using them. They do seem to work great for some people but I'm concerned about pump life for the aforementioned reasons. I think I'll slightly down-scale what you have for pre-cooling with a 20" fan, (house or radiator style) and then possibly duplicate it again to a smaller extent if needed for additional post tank cooling/drying.

Excellent idea

Excellent video! thanks!!

Very good info. Thank you. I thought of an old AC condenser core too, but as you say, too restrictive. I will probably build a similar set up like you have, but will use slant-fit baseboard heat lines, as they have the radiant fins on the lines, then I will not need as long a run, but will still need the zig zag. Great info. Also I plan to set up automatic blow offs, since I don’t want to keep opening the drains all day. I also live in a humid place. Right by the beach in Jersey.

I did the copper pipe cooler years ago and it worked great. I moved a couple of years ago and the new garage didn't have enough wall space so I used a coil of 1/2" soft copper. I wrapped it around a plywood circle about 18" in diameter to make a uniform coil (think spring). I rigged it to spiral downhill to an automatic drain water separator at the bottom (air in at top, out at bottom). Air is back to ambient temp by the time it gets to the separator. I think the coil was 50' but it might have been 100'.

That setup is nice.For most home guys it’s perfect. But when you get into larger compressors along with high air demand tools it will not keep up. I own a 2 stage V design compressor with vertical copper pipes 60’ installed onto a sheet of plywood. With a ball valve at the drop of every line (6 lines) at about 1’ from the bottom of drops so water would be less likely to go into t and more likely to drop to ball valve. Along with a 5 stage filtration system and high demand tool still get water into my desiccant filter. So I’m looking at adding a small section of copper into tub of ice water before my copper wall to increase cooling capacity.

I build this air dryer; it works great. Total cost: approximately $245.

Appreciate you sharing!!

He answered all your questions so learn .listen to him again ,play video several times or many times . common sense goes a long way to under stand the language .understand what he said .

finally a good design

thanks

This is great Thanks

I have a water distillation unit that has a spiral condensing coil of finned stainless tubing, it takes water vapor at 212F and gets it cooled to liquid state at the end. It has a powerful fan under it and is very compact. I like the Idea of a compact efficient condenser. I'm sure this home brew 50' of copper pipe on the wall works OK under moderate duty conditions. I'd like to see how it holds up under heavy duty long running in summer heat. Gravity doesn't help much if the air isn't cooled enough.

Excellent

Jeff, Yes, I am. Thank you. /efrain

simple and effective...best mini hand-pointer on KZfaq (condensor too) =o)

that is awesome....

Best to cool the air down before it enters the tank,, l used a 25 foot roll of 1/2 inch copper tubing between the compressor pump with separator just before tank,,l ran 3/4 copper with drain drops at stations but I hardly ever get any water after doing the tubing between. It dropped the air temperature by 70 degrees

Simple mechanism. I should put one in for my everlast plasma cutter.

I like this design, its the KISS theory. For those commenting on why the airflow is going 'uphill and the water having to go 'downhill', just reverse the airflow, everything will go 'downhill' then.

Great way and explain only problem nowadays is COPPER PRICES

Gonna do this.

Thanks for the info, I’m going to use return bends to keep the flow up as well. Is that spin on filter made specifically for air? Haven’t seen one used like that, where did you get the filter base?

Jeff I like your approach to reducing the moisture from the compressed air the best of any I have seen, the one question no one has asked is what schedule of copper pipe did you use? K or L or do you know? Thank you! 🛫

Best design. Better than having 3 ball valves having to purge each one.

Hey Jeff, thanks for sharing your design, love the video. Does your system have a step down after the air passes through the 3/4 copper cooling tubes? Could I make this system and have it connect to my 3/8 filter/regulator/hose and not have any issues? Or does it need to be 3/4 tubing from the compressor to the air tool? I hope my questions make sense. Thanks! Also, awesome what you do with bees!

Interesting. I designed one very similar to yours. I use 10, 5 foot 3/4” copper pipes in a switchback fashion along the wall. Nice because there’s only one drain valve instead of one for each vertical pipe. I’d like to share my design with you. Get your comments. It’s all in power point. I enter mine from the top, so the air and water move in the same direction. Then I go into a refrigerated cooler with 3/4” soft copper tube in a double helix. The air enters from the bottom, cycles up through the inner helix, turns around and cycles down in the outer helix. This is all contained in a bucked that has chilled water circulating through. Last night I thought how I might reconfigure the hard copper switchback by turning each 180 degree turn around out by 5 degrees. So it becomes sort of a rectangular helix. This sticks out about 4” from the wall, but cuts the height in half. Let me know if you want to see my plans. We obviously think alike on this and I want your thoughts. Good work. Paul

This looks to be the most effective design I’ve seen. I’ve ordered a new compressor and it’s on it’s way, so I will need to get this completed quickly as it has to sit on the wall behind the compressor. I was wondering if you could either post a detailed drawing or picture or send one to me as of your coolers as there are some parts of it that are not quite as clear on the video as I think I need? I understand the cooler and dryer, but your drip legs and connections are puzzling. Thanks in advance, Kelly

That’s a damn good idea! Best one I’ve seen to date! Been there over 30 years you say? How often do you have to open the ball valve & drain out the condensation? Will this work for painting cars??

They make 180 degree copper fittings to save a little time on the soldering.

Oh so simple .. So beautiful. Not a mess of valves and two smart traps. Only thing making me sad is the copper $$. Hah I run an art air brush.. I use brass fittings to isolate tampons, it's a small draw of air and it works as good as a 300 Buck unit. Just hard to purchase the "Part" unless your female partner gets for you. Great Video Ill be sketching that up for when I can get the copper Thanks Much !! ........ Only thing I could add is to lay it all out stretch just a little then brace it down.. so you have a little angle on the parallel parts.(Wouldn't even have to solder like that, as it would stretch) it would then certainly all drain down hill... no biggie though.

Hey Jeff, this appeared, in all respects, logical, so I built it, almost identical to yours, only difference is my in and out is on left side, that's it. I was getting, for years, water vapor in air tools etc. especially with heavy compressor usage, 60 gal. tank 11.5 cfm, which was OK but then I needed to spray paint vehicles, not OK any more. After a week or so it seems to be working, including spray painting, (expensive stuff to screw up). For me it was worth the time of 2 days to make despite the big box store hit for 60' of 3/4" copper and fittings (ouch) and hydraulic hose fittings. I would upload pic if I could, people like to show off their work even if it is copied I guess. I think the only time this would give me trouble is in the event of wicked heavy compressor usage, like almost constant, the water droplets might not be able to fight the velocity of the air going through, that kind of air usage is very rare for me though. I did view, of course, many of the other KZfaq designs which are predominantly vertical runs, I don't understand the logic of the physics there, air would have to pass through a gauntlet of a minimum of 3/4" of water on every loop unless drained repeatedly. To each their own I guess, thank you very much for sharing your design/concept !!! David in Maine

Hi Jeff. I really like this model allot over the up down up down design. I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on installing this system after the compressor head and before the tank? To prevent moisture inside the tank and have dry air directly out of the tank. Do you think this is a good idea? or not so much? Thanks so much for taking the time to share this video!!

great video. a couple of question if you don't mind. Does it have to be that wide or can you make it more narrow and more rows. Are you draining the traps after each use. Thanks

Hello Jeff, Wonderful design, thanks for sharing with us , do you have approximately what percentage of moisture gets removed from air . I am going to use this for dehydration system of vegertables so I will be heating air again , Kindly do share your suggestions if you have any.

Besides beekeeping are you a mechanic? Liked the explanation of the principle of the design.

I love your set up and I'm planning to use it. Thank you for posting! Question - there is a good amount of talk on line about people using Type M, Type L or Type K copper pipe for Air Compressor lines. Do you know which kind you used here? Would be great to know. Thanks. Hopefully I didn't miss it where you've already mentioned in the comments below.

It looks like it makes a lot of sense and works. I'm wondering what you used to install a car oil filter to the air line to catch particles?

I use vertical PVC with 3 different ball valves. Love it! I did it this way because it blows up and I want people to tell me how stupid I am. Oh, I was also smart enough to make a safety box/wall in front of it. Delete me

I love the simplicity of this design. I kind of went ridiculous in the other direction, it’s not simple at all unfortunately. I am just finishing up with my intercooler (between pump and tank) using a 1/2” in, 1/2” out B&M transmission cooler, with a matching automotive fan, run by a computer power supply that I have triggered by the compressor’s automatic switch (220v setting.) I put an auto drain on the low side, another auto drain on the tank, and a large desiccant filter after the tank. For all the work I’ve put into it, I really hope it works! If not, I’ll be taking it all back down and replicating your dryer setup. It’s for sand blasting, plasma cutting and powder coating. I’m crossing my fingers!

Thanks for the info. I will more than likely go with your style system. Where did you get the “spin on oil filter” air filter system? Thanks, Decon

Hello Jeff, it looks like you and I have more than bees in common. lol. Thanks for the video!

Hi Jeff, I came for the electric knife uncapper then found your air dryer assembly. Very happy I did. Apart from a handful of hives I buy and rebuild skid steers as a hobby too. It’s how I get my “play money”. I will end up building one of these as it can get quite humid where I am in Australia and the water separator filters just don’t do a good enough job and saturate quickly. You mentioned a sand blaster. Is it homemade? Is it just a cabinet size or something that would suit sandblasting a few ton skid steer? I need to build one of those too. 😃 Thank you Sir, Cheers 🍻

my husband really like the setup you have. Can you please send a list of materials you used for it? I would really appreciate it. Thank you for your time

Jeff could you detail more on your setup after the main feed line?

Thanks for the video, so you don't have anything setup to try to keep the water out of the compressor tank? Seems most units connect between the compressor and the tank? Just curious what the benefits of either.

HI, I like your idea better than what is on the tube for dry air. Do you have a parts list I can use ?? Thanks

It's a well known fact that expanding air cools. I have been thinking about a manifold type build with several 3/16's (6 to 8) orifices dumping into another manifold that has at least a 3/4 feed out. I do like this design though

Hi Jeff, Great video. I have just watched it again as I need to make a decision on which way to go with my cooling system. I can tell from yours that it has been there a long time and given you good service. You say you are in Florida which is a lot warmer that the UK plus you must have high humidity levels to contend with too. I only have a small garage and my compressor is only 16 feet away from my blasting cabinet. This is my first compressor so I have been doing my homework to try and get the system right first time. I have decided to but a PCL DropOut unit (made in Sheffield, UK) which is supposed to remove the need for a dryer. However, I am still on the fence. My question is...do you get much water out at your ball valve nearest your compressor or the one at the other end of your system? Thank you for taking the time to share your system. Kind regards Paul

I Love the gigantic water traps. Can be made the size of an A4 sheet by just using a small radiator(trans cooler or similar) and then an auto water trap straight after. No need at all for a giant setup like this. Plus straight copper tube doesn't have a huge amount of surface area, hence the need for so much tube.

what is the benefit over the vertical configuration? Seems both work effectively.

Ive been on you tube all night and saw all the videos you mentioned, so far this is my favorite, im no air expert so maybe you can help me with somthing. I run 50' of 3/8 line to a 20 gal pig tank and 100' 1/4 line from there,. My application is mobile contractor as apposed to a shop where most things can be reached with a 50' whip. Is there a way to apply your 50' cooling system ( size wise i can fit it on the inside wall of my trailer) to my 150' foot system? Or will i lose to much performance once i add this and get 200' of line? Any help would be much appreciated. Again great vid.

Great intro to a cooling / drying system! Just need two question answered as I prepare to cut my tubing to 36" lengths for my build, which I calculated will reach six feet high to get 50' of radiator (about 16 cross overs)...Read through all the comments but am still confused: 1. Regarding getting the slant right, did you make your connectors for the rise of each 180 degree corner the same length and then merely "lift" opposite ends of each cross flow run a bit higher as your mounted them, or, did you cut longer connections to form slightly "higher" ends at one side of the system than the other? 2. Where to find whip hoses (I need four for my build that includes an auxiliary tank to fill in tandem with or independently from my compressor, plus two hose reels where I supply the lead hose), and what to use for 3/4" to 3/8" adapters and valves? (feel so dumb about these).

I know this was posted almost 2 years ago but I'm getting ready to make one for my quincy air compressor. Did you just slightly bend the piping to get that out of level run on the long pipes? Hope I explained my question good enough.

Looks like a simple and effective design. I am interested in building a similar setup, but as I have a fair bit of room, I was considering stretching out the width of it to some 6 meters, with only 3 horisontal legs. With that in mind, a question came up: does the actual number of horisontal lines matter? Or the amount of rise, height difference between the top and bottom of the system? I hope you could clarify that. Thank you in advance!

If all the ends are 90 degree bends do you just kind of bend them a little upwards to create the slope? Not a problem to bend the joints?

Hello Jeff, great video and thanks for sharing! Few questions. I have a 60 gal, 155 max PSI, 14.5 cfm at 90 PSI (pretty typical) air compressor. Minus the cost of copper, if I ran 25 ft of 1in copper tube would this equally cool the air as a 50ft 3/4 copper tube. After reading all 300+ comments I haven't seen anything that questioned the length-to-pressure drop ratio. For my compressor with 25ft of 1in tube+high flow fittings+25ft of 3/8 air hose = 50+ft or more of length. Would my compressor still push enough PSI at the end of the hose for automotive painting and tools?

Hello Jeff, thanks for sharing, how did you connect the air compressor with the first pipe? I heard you said you used a 3/4 inch hydraulic something...I need the exact pieces in order to make the right connections please. I appreciate it

The air coming FROM your tank is actually freezing because it's being DEcompressed (ever had an air tool ice up after extended use?). The air going TO the tank is the 200 deg. hot humid air, where these coolers are most effective?

I also like to trick the water and contaminates with mirrors and passages inside the pipe that lead to nowhere.

What’d you use for the air filter?

question, for your needs, the filter with dessicant/silica was not necessary?

Nice Project Indeed. What is the Size/Specs of your Pump and Motor vs at output(System)...? Greg

hey bud I'm thinking of a 1/2" coil condenser figure I would feed the air in the top and use the natural taper of the coil to let the water settle toward the bottom of the coil you have any ideas on what type of filter /water trap I could use at the bottom of the coil to collect the water?

this set up makes sense and seems to incorporat some basic old school plumbing ideas used with radiators long ago. but I don't understand how the hot air from the compressor pump itself is going back into the tank. If you have an after cooler isn't the idea to cool the air before it's in the tank to help eliminate moister build up in the tank itself from condensation due to internal/external temp. differentiation? this appears to just take the output from the compressor which I am assuming is the tank outlet, since it all terminates with the final filtration and orange flexible tubing on the coil. or is that somehow going back into the tank itself after cooling?

I like your video how about some measurements and almost all the after coolers I’ve watched they run the compressor to the after cooler back to the tank .you said you had 50 ft of copper at my Home Depot it’s $ 440.00 plus tax and fittings

that Zynga filter head has a bypass. do you reverse the flow of air thru the head?

There is a easier way and in my opinion better way, mount the cooler between the compressor an the airtank and let the water flow in the airtank. The benefit is you dont have the resistance of the cooler while using big airtools. So you can use smaller and cheaper pipes, the air direct from the compressor is the hottest so your cooler work more efficent. And because all water get collected in the tank you has only one spot you need to drain, which you can do with an automatic valve.

why did you decide to have the condensate flowing against the air flow. inlet at the top instead of the bottom. it seems the water would drain easier with the air pushing it as well as gravity? tks

About how long are the horizontal pipe lengths? And to position them slanted up hill, was that like the elbow fiittings that are at a different angle of 90? Great video, thanks

The reason a small diameter aircond condenser works is because you pull the air off right as it comes out of the compressor, which is low flow anyway, run it thru the cooler and then allow the air to EXPAND as it enters the tank. You have yours backwards or dont have a storage tank as you are cooling it after it exits the large storage tank. That is totally backwards.

Hi jeff Can you explain if the moisture trapping system is before or after the tank? If it is after the tank, then doesn't that mean the air cools & moisture collects inside the tank already? To me it seems like it would make sense to connect the moisture trapping system to the compressor so it can remove moisture before the tank & protect from rust.

I like this system. I don't understand why many go through all the trouble of mounting aftercoolers on their compressors, between the motor and the tank? Why not put the aftercooler AFTER the tank instead of putting it between the motor and the tank, similar to what you've done here? If they want to use an oil cooler that they purchase on Amazon, fine ... put it after the tank like you've done here. Pop an auto drain on the bottom of the tank, let the tank and auto drain do the job they're designed to do, collecting most of the moisture at the tank .... then have the aftercooler inline right after the tank, cooling the air before it hits the filter.

awesome video! can you use pex pipe instead of the copper?

This is the style of set up I have been looking at. Looks like you have the orange hose connected before the oil trap and another connection after it. Just curious about that. I'm learning so excuse if a dumb question lol. Is there a successful way to cool the air before it enters the tank. Sorry for the q's but you seem to know your stuff! Thanks! :)