How do I clean my Plasma air system?

[Andrewbcdueck]

So I've been having some air issues with my system. I need a real air cleaner. But not yet. I have a fully contaminated air system and its causing me to have a bit of a rough edge finish. Is there a product anyone could recommend for me to flush my air lines out with all the way to the table?

[acourtjester]

If you know its fully contaminated I would replace it. It may be costly but from what you say you already see what not having clean air will cost. If your system has been contaminated by your compressor (passing oil) a rebuild or replacement is the first step. You may have been using the system for air tools and have had a oiler in the system, that make it unusable for plasma or painting.

[Joe Jones]

Get yourself a pack of gun cleaning pads. Take the square felt pads and soak them in a solvent that evaporates, such as gun scrubber or ??? Disconnect your air lines at the joints. Use a steel rod to shove a cleaning pad into the air line. Reconnect the air line and run compressed air through it until the wad comes out of the other end of each segment. If it is grungy, repeat the process until a wad comes out of the other end of the air line CLEAN. Obviously the wad will not be able to pass through air filters and screens, so you will have to remove them from the air passages.

For larger piping, wrap one or two cotton balls with the cleaning pad. Shove the wad into the pipe, reconnect the air line, and blow the wad through the pipe and out the other end. If it comes out grungy, rinse and repeat.

Alternately, you can disconnect the entire air line system, and pump a liquid cleaning solvent through it, to return to the source via a hose. It is like bleeding brakes.

You can also use a steel fish line and do it manually.

Joe



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[Joe Jones]

I have a fully contaminated air system and its causing me to have a bit of a rough edge finish.

How did you determine that it is "contamination," and not just WATER in the air lines?

Joe



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[weldguy]

In my opinion the best thing you can do is replace the air line with a new one from your compressor source to the plasma cutter. Simple and easy. The only contaminated thing left will be the plasma cutter and the torch whip and this will clear out over time assuming you are now using clean and dry compressed air.

[Joe Jones]

I am not sure how he defines "contaminated." Is he saying the lines are full of mold, or green algae, or red gooey liquid?

I think you are right. A simple, NEW, single DEDICATED air line from the compressor to the plasma cutter is the best solution. After all, we are only talking about a 50-foot rubber air line at best, aren't we?

Joe


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[SegoMan DeSigns]

Need more input on this one.

Start at the tank does it have a drain (automatic or otherwise)

Pull the end fitting off the longest run and blow a tank of air through it..

[adbuch]

If lots of residual oil on walls of rigid air lines/pipes, a tank of air may not do it. What about capping off both ends of the piping and using a vacuum pump to pull it down and boil off the oil residue? This works for ac systems. But as Tom said, it might just be easier to replace the piping with clean stuff (after eliminating the source of the oil).
David

[Andrewbcdueck]

Hey I'm back. I don't "KNOW" that is is anything other than water. I have a 1/2" pex airline direct from my compressor to my plasma with nothing in it or on it, no oilers, dryers, or filters. But everytime I pressure up my air and then take the line off at the plasma I get water, but this could be just the condensation that happens with pressure change. I do drain my air compressor everytime before I start cutting.

[djreiswig]

If you touch the residue does it feel oily? I would try and catch some in a clear container and see if it is just water or if there is any oil in it. If just water, get a refrigerated dryer. If you have any oil, add an oil water separator before the dryer.

[acourtjester]

If your sure it just water (condensation) that is very good you can put a chiller (cooler) between the compressor and tank with a drain to remove the collected water. Here is one from Youtube you can get the idea form it, there are many more to look at to fix your needs. If you blow some compressed air through a white cloth you should not see any color in the cloth after that.

[plasmanewbie]

If you have no filtration to eliminate the water your compressor will inevitably generate then you need to get one. A good one that removes water, particulate, oil vapor, and humidity is what you want. Also drain this water from your tank daily unless you find you get barely any water each day in which case you could start going every other day or more and find the perfect drain interval for your setup.

My initial suggestion was to just replace the air line with a new one but if its clean pex with only water in it then you should be fine to just install a good filter right before the plasma cutter and call it good.