Air Line Setup

Air Line Setup
If you have a factory installed water trap installed on your compressor, we need to remove it, we
may use it again later. Then, coming off of the compressor, we need to install at least 25 feet of
metal line, either galvanized or copper. In order to provide enough cubic feet per minute of
usable air, you should use line sizes of at least 1/2" national pipe (these will measure about ¾
of an inch outside diameter). A shop with many users will have 3/4" to 1".

As air is compressed it heats up and the moisture in turns to a gas. Most moisture traps are
designed to remove liquid moisture, so we must allow the air to cool for at least 25 feet so that
this moisture can turn back to a liquid. Then it can be captured in a moisture trap. We will want
the line slanted away from the commpessor, so that the excess water will flow away from the
compessor. Then put a drop on the end of the line, with a valve, so that you can empty the lines
frequently. You want to catch all the liquid moisture that you can, even if you have a dessicant
filter (which is made to take out the moisture vapor) because you will use up your expensive
dessicant in the filter if you don't take out the liquid moisture first. Then put on a quality water
trap made to handle 15-20 CFM of air. That way you don't restrict the flow of air.

Below you will see an illustration of our recommended air piping layout, provided to us by the
Sharpe spray gun company.
Air Piping Layout
Shop Air Piping Layout Diagrams

As we all know, compressed air is a key element in everything we do in the shop. And the
quality of the paint job on refinishing work is affected by the quality of the compressed air we
use. The quality of our compressed air is also effected by how our air delivery lines are laid out
in our shops. The following two diagrams will show you a very good layout for shop air piping.