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temperature switch for electric fan in air compressor cabinet

dnsfailure

dnsfailure

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I have my 60 gallon air compressor outside in a little shed (just big enough for the unit), with vents on the bottom, and vents on the top for air flow. It's not cooling enough when it's in the upper 80s or 90s+ outside, so I want to put some fans in either the lower vents to bring fresh air in, or the upper vents to blow the hot air out, or possibly both.

I don't want the fans to run all the time, just when it gets hot, like say ambient over 110 or so. Any suggestions for a temperature switch to do this?

Anyone done something similar?


tank_02.jpg
 
As an alternative, you could pretty easily wire a fan to come on when the compressor cycles on....although a temp switch would allow it to also continue cooling after the compressor shuts off I suppose.
 
I Lean said:
As an alternative, you could pretty easily wire a fan to come on when the compressor cycles on....although a temp switch would allow it to also continue cooling after the compressor shuts off I suppose.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I thought too. But yes, I definitely want the fans to keep going after the compressor stops. Hell, even a 20 minute timer after the compressor stops running wouldn't be a bad option. I just suck at electrical shit, and don't know what my options are :rolleyes:

Even thought about making a box around the compressor cylinder, and filling it with water and running it through a small radiator, basically turning the air cooled cylinder into a water cooled :lmao:
 
You can get digital switched thermostats that plug in the wall at home depot. Programn on and off temps
 
One of these should work good. I use them to control our egg incubators. They have been 100% reliable so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0152...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ETA; Im planning to use one in our unheated shop bathroom to turn on a heat lamp when ambient tump gets below 35*F, to prevent the plumbing from freezing. I think it will work out good.
 
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perfect timing
i gotta put my compressor into some enclosure so my summer neighbors doesn't complain :)

im going to build the box out of 2" rigid and i was thinking about the fan idea and how to make that shit work
 
Fredycruger said:
perfect timing
i gotta put my compressor into some enclosure so my summer neighbors doesn't complain :)

im going to build the box out of 2" rigid and i was thinking about the fan idea and how to make that shit work
Click to expand...

I would suggest doing away with the air filter that comes with the compressor, make a block-off plate with fittings for a muffler or two. I used these: https://www.mcmaster.com/1213T15

Made quite a difference in the noise. And if you want to, you can run a hose and put the muffler/filter elsewhere, so you're drawing fresh air instead of the hot air inside the cabinet.
 
Have this -30° - 100° f.

See thread I just posted.


fBmHsY4r.jpg
 
Got an old Mercury t stat around or even a junk space heater?
 
that seems like it would do the trick. I guess setting it somewhere around 110 would probably be good?
 
I'd think anything less than about 130 would probably be fine, if you set it at or under 100 you'll probably be running the fan all summer.
 
A bit of an update, I ended up not needing any fans inside the cabinet, even on a hot day it doesn't get above 130 inside the cabinet, so I think that's fine.

I did want to get some of the water out of the system, so I added a transmission cooler and water separator in-between the compressor and tank. It works really well. Incoming tube to the cooler got up to 150+ degrees, and the output (even after the compressor running for a while) stayed at ambient 72 degrees.

I'm just running the 12v DC fan off of a bench powersupply, somehow I need to figure out a way to power it with 220 AC and have it kick on when the motor turns on.

IMG-0781.jpg
 
dnsfailure said:
A bit of an update, I ended up not needing any fans inside the cabinet, even on a hot day it doesn't get above 130 inside the cabinet, so I think that's fine.

I did want to get some of the water out of the system, so I added a transmission cooler and water separator in-between the compressor and tank. It works really well. Incoming tube to the cooler got up to 150+ degrees, and the output (even after the compressor running for a while) stayed at ambient 72 degrees.

I'm just running the 12v DC fan off of a bench powersupply, somehow I need to figure out a way to power it with 220 AC and have it kick on when the motor turns on.
Click to expand...
Bridge rectifier to convert to DC, capacitor to smooth it out if you for some reason give that many fucks and resistors to drop the voltage. Power it off whatever switch you already have to turn it on/off.
 
I use a rotary timer switch on my compressor. I found a 12-hour version so I have it on all day if needed. I ran the low amp pressure switch through it so it goes - hot -> timer switch -> pressure switch -> magnetic starter. I did this because I'd always forget to turn the power off to compressor and I was worried about blowing a hose or fitting when I was out of town for days or weeks and comping home to a compressor that had been running non-stop or completely melted down.


You could easily run a relay off it to trigger a fan as well. The fun would run when the compressor has power and not just when the compressor motor was actually running.


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clodhopper said:
I did the same thing. Fire and forget.
Click to expand...
Yep. I came home to a blown rubber air hose and a compressor that had probably been running for 3-4 hours. I had bought the switch a year or two before and never wired it. That pushed me to finally get it done.
 
Here's what I ended up with for the fan on the aftercooler. Wasn't confident on how to get a a DC motor to run from 220v, so I found a 110v fan that I have powered from the garage, and have it on an older style brake light pressure switch. when the aftercooler is pressurized, the fan turns on. works pretty good.

Just need to cover up the wiring box. metal shielded BX wire goes from the box to the garage.


IMG-0854.jpg


IMG-0855.jpg
 
dnsfailure said:
Here's what I ended up with for the fan on the aftercooler. Wasn't confident on how to get a a DC motor to run from 220v, so I found a 110v fan that I have powered from the garage, and have it on an older style brake light pressure switch. when the aftercooler is pressurized, the fan turns on. works pretty good.

Just need to cover up the wiring box. metal shielded BX wire goes from the box to the garage.


IMG-0854.jpg


IMG-0855.jpg
Click to expand...
I would drop the line coming out of the cooler so that it flows downhill so any water that condenses and isn't moved out by the airflow drips down and into the water separator.

Aaron Z
 
yeah the angle on that could be better I think. Could also maybe angle the cooler itself a bit.

It seems to be working pretty good though. I may make more of a shroud around the fan, some of the air blows out the sides of the fan, instead of going straight through the cooler.
 
How much space is behind the cooler? that might also be part of your issue with the air coming out the sides.
 
was DA sanding some parts for a friend tonight, and the water trap filled half way up! I've never seen one of my water traps fill up that fast. It did rain last night, so I imagine it was more humid today than normal, so there's that.

But the water trap at my hose reel had basically zero water in it, when I purged it, it was just a very slight puff of mist, that's it. And didn't even register on the sight glass. I'd say this setup is doing pretty good.

IMG-0927.jpg
 
It's amazing how well these setups work, some of the best money I've ever spent.
 
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