Air Systems makes breathing-rated air pump compressors, breathing air filtration systems, ventilation fans, and other serious products of a similar nature.
I came across this Air Systems cooling box, which they describe as low-cost even at over $700, and found it to be a simple but clever approach to cooling down compressed air.
They say that with input temperatures of up to 180°F, they can get the output air down to around 50°F. 20 lbs of ice provides 4-8 hours of cooling. There’s a built-in condensate drain, adjustable regulator, pressure gauge, final filter, and safety gauge, all in an Igloo roller cooler.
To be perfectly clear, I have no idea how this is meant to be used. I guess with breathable air that’s too warm?
I find the design to be particularly imitable.
Compressed air blower coolers, used for clearing chips and cooling down machinery tooling, require quite a lot of air output – 15 CFM at 80 to 100 PSI. You need a rather beefy compressor to use them. I remember reading about other downsides. I’ve been using plain compressed air, but I immediately saw the potential in type of compressed air cool-down system, at least for once in a while uses when bit and work cooling is very important.
This idea isn’t as elegant, but it sure looks easy to duplicate in a DIY project.
There’s an Igloo cooler, quick connect input and output fittings, air regulation and gauge components, and what looks to be a couple of dozen feet of tubing strapped to the cooler’s walls.
Make sense. Fill it with ice, and the tubing will conduct heat away from the compressed air and to the ice, cooling the air.
Well, you need 20 lbs of ice. Maybe less if you have smaller air cooling needs. So it doesn’t seem like a use-it-daily type of thing for DIYers.
File this away as a potential solution to a problem or need that might arise in the future.
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