Building my own compressor- Need filter advice

[Rogier]

What about using the water your boat is floating on?
Pump it up from 5 feet or deeper and run it allong a coil before the (final) water seperation.

A colleage of mine does this by using water from a well.

 

[Rogier]

As a diver you know about a thermocline right?
Just go deeper to find the cold water ;-)

 

[pescador775]

Travis, you are on the right track. Gyrolock is OK. Standard practice for military is 1/4 inch, 37* flare (AN fittings). That's what I use. Recommend RIDGID flaring tool for stainless.

Forget the weird water bath. Make up a few coils for the after cooler; eg, the line leading into the condensator. Stainless tubing can be bent around a pipe, by hand. Suggest a 3 inch dia section of pipe. All tubing must be secured with brackets or it will break due to vibration produced by engine drive.

Recently, the govliquidation.com sold 24 of the Steward Warner flame thrower compressors brand new, complete assemblies. I posted on SB and everybody was worried that the compressors might have some flame thrower gas in them, of all things. They went for 50-75 dollars each, complete, in two unit lots, some in four unit lots. Incredible.

 

[pescador775]

Lake, ask BM if there are any shims required for installing the pump to your new engine. Maybe not, I've seen it done with and without. The problem is that installing the flange bolts and center bolt on the SW pump may cause too much load on the bearings. I don't know where you can obtain the shims. A "gasket" can be made from one or two sheets of computer paper. Snug the flange bolts against the gasket. Tighten the center bolt. Remove the flange bolts and pull out the paper gasket. Reinstall the flange bolts and tighten. The Kidde pump uses a spline adapter and no shims needed.

 

[rjack321]

You can get 1/4" flareless SS fitting cheap on ebay (brand new). $2-4 a fitting. Swagelok and parkers both work well.

 

[h90]

Guys: I have just joined this forum after reading and re-reading the threads on setting up your own homebrew compressor. I have decided on the Stewart-Warner 3.5cfm from BargainMarge. I am getting the basic military flamethrower compressor, and am adding my own Honda 5 hp engine. I don't relish the idea of spending almost $400 for the filter housing. I understand that it has to be able to withstand 5,000 psi of pressure, but I am a pretty capable welder with lots of equipment and i would like to try and make my own final filter housing. I think I would like to start off using the Factor cartridges in it. Are there any suggestions or plans for building the housing? I have a 350 amp TIG setup and a lathe and vertical mill, so I can thread tubing etc. I don't know the inside diameter, type of metal, method of capping the cylinder or anything about it. I was hoping that someone who has dealt with this might be able to help a new recruit.

Just want to wish you luck! I already considered to do the same but as I do not even have time to go diving it does not make sense....
To bad that I am a few thousand miles to far away from you, to scrounge one air file
Good luck
Michael

 

[LakeTravis55]

Thanks to all for the great advice. I am trying to decide how to handle the condensing. The water bath seems simple enough, but Pesky advises that coils of stainless are adequate. I was also thinking that, if 4 coils are good, would 8 coils be better. Or maybe an aluminum heatsink clamped to the coils?? On one of the other threads someone (maybe Pesky) stated that the condenser cannister on the flamethrower units would not handle 3000psi. Did I understand that correctly? I was really counting on being able to use the condenser as it exists.

 

[h90]

if you need any non-standard seals/O-Rings, let me know, we produce them, could help on that.

 

[pescador775]

The water separator (condenser) installed on the flamethrower is rated 5000 psi BP. WP is 2000 but it should handle 3000 OK. I'm sure some people use them at that pressure. Manuals are available on CD. Check the book for specifics on your unit. As to the after cooler, coiling a five foot length of 1/4 SS tubing should be adequate. If you flare the ends, a 37 degree flaring tool (Ridgid, 50 bucks on EBay) is needed. However, there are tons of Parker (Swagelok) fittings on EBay as well. Flared fittings (AN-4) are spotty and may be more expensive. These are also called JIC fittings. I use flared fittings because of compatibility with military compressors and reliability. However, anything can be used including the Ferulok you mentioned.
Pesky

 

[FISHBONE 962]

YOU AND I MUST HAVE THE SAME STEWART WARNER MODEL 43040 4CFM GAS DRIVEN 3000PSI COMPRESSOR. MINE HAS ALL ITS PARTS AN THE HOBS METER HAS 5 HOURS ON IT, RUNS GOOD AFTER I THREW AWAY THE GAS TANK, AND CLEANED THE LITTLE CARB , AND DID AWAY WITH ABOUT 3 FT. OF OLD GAS LINE
NOW I MADE A INTAKE FLANGE THAT REPLACES THAT LITTLE INTAKE FILTER ON THE COMPRESOR AND RAN 20 FT. AWAY WITH SOME PVC SUCKTION HOSE AND AFIX TWO DUST FILTERS OFF A RESPIRATOR I HAD . I PUT A GOOD MUFFLER ON IT.
I 'VE GOT SOME 4130 SEAMLESS TUBEING 2 IN. ID X.250 WALL THAT I'AM GOING TO MAKE MY FILTER STACK OUT OF, BUT LIKE YOU I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT NEEDS TO BE?? IT'S 5 FT. LONG NOW BUT DON'T WHAT TO START CUTTING UNTIL I KNOW JUST HOW BIG, I WANT TO DO NITROX?? THAT 4130 IS ABOUT $25 AFT. ANBODY KNOW MORE EMAIL hambone97@frontiernet.net