This DIY Vortex Tube Turns Your Compressed Air Cold
So you've hooked up a source of compressed air in your shop. It's super useful for blasting away dust and stuff, but wouldn't it also be great if you could control the temperature? If you had easy access to cold compressed air, for example, you could cool off your tools when they get too hot.
What you need is a vortex tube. A vortex tube is a piece of metal that splits a stream of compressed air into two streams: one hot and one cold. Typical vortex tubes can cost upwards of a hundred dollars, so here's a way you can make your own, courtesy of YouTuber This Old Tony:
Vortex tubes are pretty great because they can both heat and cool compressed air with no electricity or moving parts. However, building one can be a little tricky. The dimensions have to be just right or the cooling and heating effect won't be very good.
The vortex tube in the video managed to create about a 50-degree difference between the two ends, and with a little adjustment that could be improved. But if you really want a tube that can create a difference of a few hundred degrees, then you're better off just buying one.
Source: This Old Tony via Digg
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