I’ve only recently gotten my hands on this machine, ETS 1300
I have some questions about the rear column, this is in line after the collection basin.
So far as I have gathered, it’s there to keep volatiles from going through the system and into your recovery tank, while also passively scrubbing your gas.
I know it’s meant to be filled with desiccant, I have activated alumina and some fine silica gel on hand.
This feels like a dumb question, but I am having a hard time finding info.
So, do I just, like… Dump a bunch of this powder in there and call my gas clean? Can I mix the powders? Do I need to pack the desiccant in any special way? Can I go wrong by adding desiccant to this column?
Thanks in advance!
You have the right idea. I would use the activated alumina, since you have it. Usually people use 4a molecular sieve, you can get a bucket of that stuff pretty cheap. Other people may say to use x13 mole sieve with activated alumina. Someone else may have another desiccant to suggest. I don’t remember what kind of filter the “expansion column” on the 1300 has, but I’m pretty sure you can only put beads in it, not powder, I think your only option is a mesh gasket as filtration (on that single column), unless you get extra triclamp spools to work with, and a sintered disc or some sort of depth filtration (for powders in the vapor path).
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start at: Molecular sieve beads
then maybe: Need Help with Molecular Sieve Beads on ETS
have you tried RTFM? (you have to have a serial number before they’ll email you the manual iirc)
for what it’s worth, there is actually no mention of using ANYTHING in the expansion chambers in the version of the ETS manual I have.
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This is useful info. There’s a metal mesh “muffler” before the gas exits the “expansion column” (thank you for the wording!) that I didn’t think was up to the task of keeping powder out of the tanks. It makes perfect sense I need the beads, specifically.
Thank you for the quick reply!
Yesss, this is what I was looking for.
I’ll get some of this ordered once I get a product nailed down.
I sent ETS an email this morning, I plan to call them tomorrow when I get back in. What is RTFM?
Yeah, I noticed that there is almost no info on what to actually do with the expansion column, It’s a pretty barebones manual to begin with.
I would guess from the lack of info, that adding desiccant is just an extra preventative measure?
its an expansion chamber that doubles as a mol sieve. typically you would fill it with 3a 4a silica. the ets one has a diptube that goes down to the bottom of the column so any overflow will collect in the cup. powders wont be your best option. ets have dessicant socks that fit in there and are easily regenerated when needed.
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It is a bare bones manual. It’s title should be ‘Don’t do what Donny Dont does’.
I would agree that 3 angstrom/4a would be best in there. But, it depends on what you want to adsorb as the angstrom size determines what it will adsorb. I believe 3a is best for dynamic hydrocarbon systems. Nothing wrong with mixing beads either.
There’s even cool colour changing beads to indicate saturation.
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no mention of dessicants in the manual, they are described as expansion chambers. But they double as mol sieves due to the design…
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We’ve been running 3a, but I’m going to start using 13x as a another prong in our hedge against medusa gas.
I’d think powders would cause a ton of issues.
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Mostly, the idea is to mitigate hydrates, and possibly to try to reduce unwanted nucleation.
But what really brought me to this moment
was this post, and the thread of conversation behind it Gas Suppliers - #8 by EGI_A-Aron
I just want to make sure we’re doing what we can to keep things clean 
We’ve been selling 4a beads since about 2018 I think, maybe sooner. Nothing wrong with trying to be ahead and prevent problems. We still sell our sight-glass sieve and 4a beads. Heck, they are on sale even. And we have been encouraging customers to use them for a long time, much longer than the big problem has been a problem.
The most thorough way for you to do this would be to pre distill your gas through your system, over a sock of beads in your material column.
The beads in the expansion filter do serve some function in that regard, but it’s not as great as you’d think and they’re more to touch up any moisture that gets in during running. The greatest function I see for the beads is keeping the little bit of oil/thca residue that can get up and out of the recovery from getting straight inhaled into your pump. The beads act like water in a bong and strips out a lot of that gunk. When you change dirty beads, you’ll see the buildup in the bottom of the expansion columns much worse than the top where the gas exits to head for the pump.