Saw this pop up on the youtube feed today from Alkin USA.
New water trap / muffler drain attachment for the W31.
Link:
New water trap / muffler drain attachment for the W31.
Link:
ALKIN W31 - New Muffler drain add-on
- Thread starter GA_LeadHead
- Start date
I don’t think so. It appears to be a moisture trap system. But I could be wrong. Video only shows it connecting to moisture drains from first and second stages. They are advertising it for “all” W31/32 models.
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In his opening statement he said horizontal, vertical and mariner versions. I don’t recall seeing a gasoline vertical but I’m going to research it. Also, the horizontal in the video is electric.
The lines, at least the one I could see, attaches to a solenoid valve. My W31 vertical is manual drain so my set up would need to be a bit different. They probably offer different kits depending on the version one owns, hopefully.
Curious on price. It looks like a solid unit.
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Question asked in comments section on that youtube video asks Alkin if this would work for manual drain versions and their response said "all".
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The two functions seem to be 1) collecting water vapor from the drains in a container 2) muffling the sound of the air blast when draining.
It seems to be a option for a dive shop or paintball field.
Is this a cost effective alternative to 1)a towel 2)ear muffs?
Alkin owners please share your thoughts.
It seems to be a option for a dive shop or paintball field.
Is this a cost effective alternative to 1)a towel 2)ear muffs?
Alkin owners please share your thoughts.
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I wear ear plugs,, not so much for the compressor noise,,, but for when I open the bleed valve as fast as I can pop it open,
that noise hurts my ears,, safety glasses and ear plugs sit atop of my motor elec box,(Coltri), protection first, then push start,
I open my bleed valve while the unit is running and do a little cool down run before shutting off,,, gun or tank fill, both the same
my 2 cents,,, ear plugs are cheaper, but like humdinger said, in a commercial use around others, I would give the muffler another thought
that noise hurts my ears,, safety glasses and ear plugs sit atop of my motor elec box,(Coltri), protection first, then push start,
I open my bleed valve while the unit is running and do a little cool down run before shutting off,,, gun or tank fill, both the same
my 2 cents,,, ear plugs are cheaper, but like humdinger said, in a commercial use around others, I would give the muffler another thought
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In 2015 when I bought my compressor, I was told by the builder/master diver that all high pressure air compressors regardless of who makes them, should be cooled down after use before shutting off by opening valves and letting run. The reason is easy to understand, hot air holds an enormous amount of moisture, you are lowering the temp of the air in the compressor stages, if you don't, you MAY, not will end up with actual water drop or two sitting on top of piston/against bore depending on environmental conditions when it cools down. Rust/corrosion to follow, if you don't use the compressor as often as a commercial facility. He had rebuilt many compressors, including bauer's that needed rebuilding for this exact issue, compressor regularly just shut off, and not used nealy daily.
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For my use, this isn’t needed. The small amount of water it produces is usually dry by the time I put a cover over it. I run mine in controlled 50% humidity. I also run a quick cool down to expell any residual moisture.
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It is a rather big unit to attach to the compressor. The one gallon bottle would be a pain. Why is it needed. For me no. But if on a nice floor or something, maybe. I think at 25 hours a year, might take a few years to fill that bottle.
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This new muffler/moisture collection bottle option costs 75% as much as a GX CS4 compressor. My guess was $300 or more so $450 makes this a no brainer hard pass for most individual users. No wonder YH owners think Alkin buyers are off their meds. I wouldn't live long enough to fill that auxiliary tank an inch deep in purged moisture.
Most commercial compressor buyers have larger Bauer or Alkin models which are inside sound absorbing metal enclosures. Alkin has removed the manual model W31's from their catalog. Customers have to pay for the auto shutdown and auto drain features at $950 additional cost.
There's a $1700 price differential from the Coltri MCH6 to the Alkin W31.
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I live in Georgia where the humidity is so thick, it feels like you can cut the air outside with a knife. So, my alkin sucks quite a bit of that moisture out of the air. I hit my manual drains every 5 min during a long fill because of that. But $450 for this add-on? That's a hard NO from me. I'll continue to enjoy using an old rag and ear muffs.
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This is what I do. Use earplugs and keep my phone timer on, every 5 mins I open the manual drains for a few secs. I also put a towel under the front drain spouts, so I don't damage the floor underneath.
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NC is very humid in the summer. Even so, a top off on a 6.8 liter tank takes about 6-8 minutes which is well within the 15-20 minute capacity of the water separator tower. I use a phone timer when I'm filling from empty which still only requires an intermediate purge at 10 minutes and one after shutdown. A top off only requires a purge after shutdown.
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It seems to me water would get trapped in the hoses. The drain bucket hose is as high or higher then the hose connection to the pump. And then those hoses make a complete loop also. Hose from muffler drain to (white )catch bucket it not down hill ether. I guess it may not matter ?
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You are assuming the moisture moves through the hoses by gravity. The water that gets expelled is under significant air pressure when drain valves or auto purge opens. High pressure air and water rushing out is why Alkin offers a muffler option to reduce the loud blasting noise. The water expelled and the pressure behind it is much more powerful than gravity and has no difficulty traveling upward into the catch tank.
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