Bits & Pieces

Here are most of the fittings and tools used to put in the air line. Water soluble flux is great stuff, and won't irritate your skin like other fluxes will.

Sweating

The technique is to first clean the copper where the connection is to be made. Then spread flux on the area to solder. Lastly, heat up the fitting, which is where you want the solder, not the pipe. When it's hot enough, the solder will flow into the gap.

Down the Line

Here are a few sections soldered together.

Finished Joint

Here is one of the joints that holds two lengths of pipe together.

Flexible Connection

This air hose was purchased from a bulk roll at a local hardware store, and is permanently connected to the copper line, but uses a quick coupling at the compressor to allow the compressor to move about if needed.

Full Line

Here is the full setup. The line goes up the wall from the compressor in back, along the roof line, and down to the air filter station at the right of the picture.

Method of Drying

To get dry air, you have to first cool it (minimum 25' of copper tubing), then make the air go upward to get to the filters so that any liquid water can continue to the end of the line where it goes to a drain. If any liquid water gets as far as the filters, there is a stub line that goes to another drain, directly down.

Filter Station

Once the air has the liquid water out of it, any remaining water vapor should be removed through the coalescing filter (large blue cylinder), and final filter jar after that. The air then goes to a T-fitting where clean, dry air can be taken off, or can move on through an automatic oiler to another fitting in case I need to use air tools.