Ducting Air Compressor To Outside

[ThatGuysFarm]

I have a 50HP Ingersoll Rand screw compressor. Currently it is sitting in the corner of one bay of the shop. When it is running it gets up to 85 in there in the winter (when its 0 or colder outside) so we have to open the big door to cool the place down, and in the summer it gets well into the high 90s until the compressor over heats and shuts down. I'm what to duct the compressor exhaust outside which i don't see a problem doing, but I would also like to duct the suction to outside, because I hate sucking warm air out of the shop in the winter. I'm wondering if anyone has did this and how it worked? I'm worried about sucking cold (it was -61 windchill here 4 weeks ago) air into the compressor and if the air temp difference would cause huge amounts of condensation? We do have a really big 220v air dryer that I think would compensate but I'm not sure. We basically only use this compressor to run a big sand blasting cabinet and we can also run up to 5 big DA sanders on it at a time, in the winter. In the nicer weather we also run a big Clemco sand blaster outside but I don't think the air difference would be as much of an issue in that temp. Just looking for ideas. Thanks

 

[crane operator]

Put a lean to outside your main building, or a little shed and put the compressor out there on its own. My neighbor down the road from the shop, has a screw compressor about that size, and I can hear it from my yard. We put it in a different shed beside his main shop, when it got installed.

The compressor has to make it pretty noisy in your main shop. Get it out of the shop, and get rid of the noise and the heat. Pipe the air back in.

You may have to heat the shed its in, just so moisture it collects in the traps doesn't freeze and break things. It wouldn't have to be real warm.

 

[Truck Shop]

Havre Montana--my first boss was from Havre, his dad worked in the round house for
Great Northern. Youngest of five kids--his mother died at 102-Cliff Wehr. Not to side
track your compressor issues-move it out side.

 

[Acoals]

At the shop I used to work at the boss moved the compressor outside into a little shed, it was nice for the noise and all but there were a lot of complications with running the compressor in cold weather. He didn't do anything as far as maintenance and there was always plenty of water, so it might have been more of a maintenance issue, for whatever it's worth.

 

[willie59]

Yeah, a screw compressor should be outside under a covering roof of its own. Those things are noisy and they need to breath.

 

[digger doug]

Why would you duct the exhaust heat outside in the winter time ?
Enclose it in a leetle room inside the shop to keep it warm when it's cold.
Arrange a vent door to the outside for summer.
Open the door to the shop in the winter to send the heat into the shop.

 

[Delmer]

You can make a damper on the exhaust to send some or all of the heat inside if you want the heat in winter, or some of the intake from inside also to make it heat even more.

Not sure where the condensation is supposed to come from? outside air will usually be drier when it's cold outside. You might have more condensation in the compressed air when it's humid out in the spring and summer, but you have to deal with that anyway. As long as you can close the vents up, the compressor will retain some heat and keep it from getting damp overnight or when not used. Some drywall or concrete block could be added to the enclosed space to function as a desicant to prevent condensation more.

 

[ThatGuysFarm]

Why would you duct the exhaust heat outside in the winter time ?
Enclose it in a leetle room inside the shop to keep it warm when it's cold.
Arrange a vent door to the outside for summer.
Open the door to the shop in the winter to send the heat into the shop.

I've thought of this exact thing to utilize the extra heat in the winter! These shops are only a few years old and we are still trying to get everything dialed in. But even in the winter when its really cold, if you have the compressor running most of the day that bay can get into the high 80's inside. To put it into perspective this is in a 50'x40' bay that is separated by a wall to the main shop that is 50'x110'. As far as the noise goes that isn't an issue as we are always wearing hearing protection because everything we do is loud and my ears are already ringing enough. So I'm big on the ear plugs anymore, just wish i was big on them 20 years ago.

 

[ThatGuysFarm]

You can make a damper on the exhaust to send some or all of the heat inside if you want the heat in winter, or some of the intake from inside also to make it heat even more.

Not sure where the condensation is supposed to come from? outside air will usually be drier when it's cold outside. You might have more condensation in the compressed air when it's humid out in the spring and summer, but you have to deal with that anyway. As long as you can close the vents up, the compressor will retain some heat and keep it from getting damp overnight or when not used. Some drywall or concrete block could be added to the enclosed space to function as a desicant to prevent condensation more.

I was just thinking I might get condensation from temp differences. Like sucking -10 degree air into the compressor, that compresses it, and pumps it into a 70 degree wet tank? From the wet tank it goes though an air drier that is rated well above our compressor output and into a dry tank. I'm not sure until I try it I guess. Right now we have 2 different shop buildings that are about 200' apart, I buried a 3" heavy wall poly pipe 6' under ground between them so both shops can run off the same air. 70% of the time we are running a little piston 60gal type air compressor from the east shop that feeds both but when we need more air we fire up the 50hp screw compressor to feed both shops. We have multiple 60gal, 80gal, and whatever other old air tanks I've come across plumbed into the 1" lines inside the shops for more capacity. I was hoping having that line 6' deep would fix the condensation problem and I think it helps but in the winter/spring when the cold gets drove into the ground we do have to drain our down lines weekly.

 

[digger doug]

I've thought of this exact thing to utilize the extra heat in the winter! These shops are only a few years old and we are still trying to get everything dialed in. But even in the winter when its really cold, if you have the compressor running most of the day that bay can get into the high 80's inside. To put it into perspective this is in a 50'x40' bay that is separated by a wall to the main shop that is 50'x110'. As far as the noise goes that isn't an issue as we are always wearing hearing protection because everything we do is loud and my ears are already ringing enough. So I'm big on the ear plugs anymore, just wish i was big on them 20 years ago.

You modulate the air your dumping from the compressor room into the high bay.
I've seen flexible plastic air ducting in cow barns that run overhead, has simple holes
punched every 2' or so.

Tube ventilation system provides more efficient cow cooling

Regardless of the season, dairy producers are always looking for ways to make their cows more comfortable, but when hot summertime temperatures set in, the holding area can be a particularly stale and sticky place.

www.agproud.com

That's heat you paid for.

 

[Delmer]

I'll admit I don't understand the physics of water coming out of the compressed air off the top of my head. But you'll deal with that all summer long, so there's nothing new with condensation inside the lines in winter. Except the lines themselves are cooler and if the dryers aren't keeping up, then the cold lines themselves will remove some moisture.

Look at some temperature humidity charts though to see how little water is in cold air. -10f air at 100% humidity once brought up to 70f is extremely dry air compared to spring, summer or fall air.

I thought you were talking about condensation rusting the outside of the equipment, that is easily avoided by saving some of the heat, and closing off the shutters to damp, foggy weather.

 

[Andy1845c]

We run 3 screw compressors where I work. We direct the heat inside in the winter and outside in the summer.

They do not like the cold. If the compressor room gets too cold they will fault out. Not sure how new/advanced yours is, but the new ones will throw a fault and shut down below 35F. When its -20F out its a delicate balance getting the amount of air into the room to feed and cool them without freezing them out.

You won't want to let it freeze overnight/weekends.

 

[IceHole]

Screw compressors aren't loud. Many if the shops I go to have them. One I have to stand beside while filling their oil tanks.

It's not silent, but I wouldn't have trouble falling asleep next to it.