How often should I change the desiccant in my Tuxing Water separator? Will it change color with use? What is the best material to use? Anyone use the Molecular sieve material from Amazon?
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Desiccant Change in Tuxing Water Separator
- Thread starter Cajun1024
- Start date
Do you have a water separator or a filter housing? A water separator contains no desiccant. It looks similar to a filter housing externally but it uses cyclonic air movement inside to cool the pressurized air which then coalesces water in the bottom to be drained every 5-10 minutes from the bleed valve at it's base.
If you have a filter housing with a repackable filter cartridge inside then the preferable desiccant choice is 13X zeolite molecular sieve. If you have a larger filter similar to the gold filter, Omega filter, or Alpha filter then the 4x8 bead size is usually what came inside the original filter cartridge. If you have the smaller size filter like the black anodized one, then the smaller 8x12 bead size is preferable. Here is a link but there are many desiccant sellers and quantities available.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/13X-Molecular-Sieve-one-pound-1-lb-Type-13X-4x8-mesh-bead-zeolite/372847917243?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item56cf77b8bb:g:Az0AAOSwAEhd1Mlb&enc=AQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickk8ihYa55VeJusc0Ydu6jng6XCCzv4ZYsFY%2BnlBOyrgnnzzMb5ouodGoBV16BvXP%2Bzr33yf2rTjl17LgVheAD9jL8OaIPu4S0rRtCYy2X8p9NocEpdkInMVFPQYKam0V3jj%2FnfU8bJakZuprUXQO8x%2Bz%2FXXqRoYCPK%2FiWBwzEHzN9wjuBQnA7IaU0qfJTPvnspJD%2FRmmKQNvl31MJfyiQXKg%2F4SIg9Ecd9XJEuA1%2FYWNTjUNo%2Fv6jJdWk9GX%2BEapRgurS8uGQggal87RyXU%2BGAiA9rRrQYrpTWsjeo%2Bi0iFhfYcVbVS8ZGKWbuYAp5bDrb5SOidZyyCXavV74sSA1cqyMP8PETCPqdotN2Qd8%2BrZdBU2wG2Y%2F2JNjh5OC1KxzCsjHzUM8SRYsacqb6SXRDDfUhlSzDhh2aNHjrespKx6nl%2FMb%2FAODk6bxIJQNx3uZ5eZqGUHy5mSzcc%2F8oOsmhVxhdE2pbRaPT8iNblbRONT0MKX%2Ft%2BpDF1i16KEijeZiMfaje8t%2Bxsk8yk%2BlQSnnE%2FLEV8L%2BTRzL1yXiRlIJ7D4NeDIUj1iKZsjmBzWzbu5vQ8XDottbhhUrrjrqlxJ%2FINhpWCbEwnYSw7lANwkic5D7%2FkGvzw1E1RwW5tI7Ckg401ATKxa6D%2FC9IdRBazjJiOgNQx8cZHXfeZ7BMQA6h46vK5nf3MULYYFDvYeCnosoBtuEbAm%2Fdr1cL%2BxZGdC9ogUM9goeMANnPICBaKo%2B1W52QmouVOLPZ4Fr2hiNuvBbGGueydB9o5QZSMLbyy0KQgQ%3D%3D&checksum=372847917243870d33b713b94370bcae43983e21ed32
The beads are tan in color but don't indicate moisture level from any color change Most people change the beads by keeping track of the hours the compressor has run. The fill speed of your compressor, the quality of your compressor's water separator tower, and the humidity level in the air are all variables that determine the amount of time before the filter becomes saturated. Some people seed the tan beads with blue desiccant beads which turn pink when they get moisturized. A dive compressor can usually be run for 20 hours or annually between filter cartridge changes. Zeolite can be recharged and reused but it needs to be heated to 480 degrees F in an oven for an extended period. That's why most people just replace it since a 1 lb bag will give several years of refills. It is critical to keep the unused media in a vacuum sealed bag or container so they don't get ruined by absorbing air before being used in a filter.
If you have a filter housing with a repackable filter cartridge inside then the preferable desiccant choice is 13X zeolite molecular sieve. If you have a larger filter similar to the gold filter, Omega filter, or Alpha filter then the 4x8 bead size is usually what came inside the original filter cartridge. If you have the smaller size filter like the black anodized one, then the smaller 8x12 bead size is preferable. Here is a link but there are many desiccant sellers and quantities available.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/13X-Molecular-Sieve-one-pound-1-lb-Type-13X-4x8-mesh-bead-zeolite/372847917243?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item56cf77b8bb:g:Az0AAOSwAEhd1Mlb&enc=AQAFAAACcBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickk8ihYa55VeJusc0Ydu6jng6XCCzv4ZYsFY%2BnlBOyrgnnzzMb5ouodGoBV16BvXP%2Bzr33yf2rTjl17LgVheAD9jL8OaIPu4S0rRtCYy2X8p9NocEpdkInMVFPQYKam0V3jj%2FnfU8bJakZuprUXQO8x%2Bz%2FXXqRoYCPK%2FiWBwzEHzN9wjuBQnA7IaU0qfJTPvnspJD%2FRmmKQNvl31MJfyiQXKg%2F4SIg9Ecd9XJEuA1%2FYWNTjUNo%2Fv6jJdWk9GX%2BEapRgurS8uGQggal87RyXU%2BGAiA9rRrQYrpTWsjeo%2Bi0iFhfYcVbVS8ZGKWbuYAp5bDrb5SOidZyyCXavV74sSA1cqyMP8PETCPqdotN2Qd8%2BrZdBU2wG2Y%2F2JNjh5OC1KxzCsjHzUM8SRYsacqb6SXRDDfUhlSzDhh2aNHjrespKx6nl%2FMb%2FAODk6bxIJQNx3uZ5eZqGUHy5mSzcc%2F8oOsmhVxhdE2pbRaPT8iNblbRONT0MKX%2Ft%2BpDF1i16KEijeZiMfaje8t%2Bxsk8yk%2BlQSnnE%2FLEV8L%2BTRzL1yXiRlIJ7D4NeDIUj1iKZsjmBzWzbu5vQ8XDottbhhUrrjrqlxJ%2FINhpWCbEwnYSw7lANwkic5D7%2FkGvzw1E1RwW5tI7Ckg401ATKxa6D%2FC9IdRBazjJiOgNQx8cZHXfeZ7BMQA6h46vK5nf3MULYYFDvYeCnosoBtuEbAm%2Fdr1cL%2BxZGdC9ogUM9goeMANnPICBaKo%2B1W52QmouVOLPZ4Fr2hiNuvBbGGueydB9o5QZSMLbyy0KQgQ%3D%3D&checksum=372847917243870d33b713b94370bcae43983e21ed32
The beads are tan in color but don't indicate moisture level from any color change Most people change the beads by keeping track of the hours the compressor has run. The fill speed of your compressor, the quality of your compressor's water separator tower, and the humidity level in the air are all variables that determine the amount of time before the filter becomes saturated. Some people seed the tan beads with blue desiccant beads which turn pink when they get moisturized. A dive compressor can usually be run for 20 hours or annually between filter cartridge changes. Zeolite can be recharged and reused but it needs to be heated to 480 degrees F in an oven for an extended period. That's why most people just replace it since a 1 lb bag will give several years of refills. It is critical to keep the unused media in a vacuum sealed bag or container so they don't get ruined by absorbing air before being used in a filter.
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