Harbor Frieght Refrigerated air dryer review

[Arrowhead]

I see a lot of posts about moisture problems and fish eyes, etc. I had the same problems and got so frustrated I bit the bullet about nine moths ago and picked up one of these units (based of some good feedback from this site and some others).

Got to say I'm VERY satisfied (so far) with this unit. Has performed perfectly and have not gotten a single drop of water from the secondary separator piped inline after the dryer (need it for the filter). Yes, it a little pricy, but nothing compared to name brand units and not much more than some of the loops of piping and valve needed for some of the diy setups I've seen. Plus a 20% (or even 25%) coupon helps quite a bit with the cost. No, I'm not a production shop, but the unit is in use anytime the compressor is on and that is usually 15-20 hours a week. I run it when I'm using the air for just about anything. The super dry air helps with a extending the life of the plasma cutter consumables, no more water dripping from air powered tools and I get fish eye free painting under the highest humidity conditions. It's one of the larger tool purchases I've made with no regrets.

Now it is HF so no guarantees, but this has has been my experience. The best part is there is no maintenance really other than blowing off the condenser coil and no filters to change, etc. The automatic drain works just fine also.

http://www.harborfreight.com/compressed-air-dryer-40211.html

 

[Raymond_B]

Thanks for this info!

 

[Jim C]

good deal. i have posted about this unit before. a friend has had it for about 5 years now and its still works great. his has all honeywell controls in it which i was surprised to see. not sure if that is still true on the units today. not sure the cost today either but at the time it was less than $400. thats the same or less than a desiccant dryer. you also dont have to change desiccant all the time either. i had one of those and with the summer humidity here in NJ i was changing the media non stop. probably only got a week or two out of it. that really adds up. i would never buy a desiccant system again.

 

[Steves69LS3]

How much psi can this unit really handle? My wall regulator is set at 150 psi for painting

 

[Jim C]

my friend has his running on his 2 stage compressor. a 2 stage is 150-175psi. i think the unit is rated for 20 something cfm. 21-22 maybe. i dont recall.

 

[Arrowhead]

I remember reading your posts on it a while back Jim and that did help sway me into trying it.

How much psi can this unit really handle? My wall regulator is set at 150 psi for painting

Here's the info from the link I posted:

Advanced 3-in-1 compressed air dryer system features modes for pre-refrigeration, evaporation, and air and moisture separation to remove up to 90% of the moisture from your compressed air lines. When you prevent too much moisture in compressed air, you can avoid problems like corrosion of equipment and freezing of outdoor compressor air lines.

High efficiency pre-refrigeration system is three times faster, takes 60% less power to operate
Accommodates compressors up to 21.6 CFM, 140 PSI max
Lowers the dew point to 36°F
Not for medical use

Recommended operating pressure: 100 PSI. Not for medical use. Overweight Item subject to $14.95 additional Freight Charge.

 

[anotheridiot]

its all about the dew point of the air. Dessicant is not really a water trap because the air hits the dessicant and traps it, they are reducing the dew point of the air to dry it. Definitely a long term investment, you feel it at the beginning, but considering you are not changing filters and dryer cores, its definitely a good investment.

Got three from ebay. oldest, biggest one was 200, probably because it looked bad, but works great with 1" lines. That dries our powdercoat line and industrial spray side. Smaller one with 1/2" lines is an IR unit, think I paid 550 because it had a dented case. Smallest one was not really enough, it only had 3/8 copper compression ends coming from the unit. Just use that if we are spraying something under the car at the lift.