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jason lambert
03-09-2008, 10:31 PM
My air compressor is now going to be about 50' from my main work area. I do have a hose on a reel but in order to save space I am putting the compressor in another room several bends away. Should I us a copper line sweated to fittings to run the supply to my hose real or shoudl I just tie wrap a good quality fleable hose? Also if copper aht size 1/2"? What do I put at the end to regulate pressure? I see these things that remove moistuer and have a pressure reg in them, should I just pick one up from harbor freight since I won't have great access to the compressors pressure regulator?

Joe Chritz
03-09-2008, 11:16 PM
Maybe on all counts.

1/2" is fine for copper line for air. Anymore with the price of copper it is almost better to use 3/4" black iron pipe. You will want a water trap/filter at some point. Mine is next to the line going from the compressor to the main runs of copper.

I run full pressure to the lines and run a small regulator if it needs to be dialed down. It is already through the filter so it doesn't really need anymore.

You can just run a flex hose if you want but the smaller diameter may (and i stress may) reduce the available air to less than needed. Only an issue with large air consumption tools like HVLP or sanders.

Joe

Kevin French
03-10-2008, 6:51 AM
Did my shop in BI pipe last year, I've got a lot more pressure now. I had the sme thing, my compressor is about 50' away.

Another thing you can do to increase pressure at the far end is to put a spare tank on the far end and work off that. This worked out great when I put a framing gun on it to build my deck even further away.

Jim Becker
03-10-2008, 8:02 AM
Copper or iron is the way to go since you can properly slope it and it also adds some air storage capacity to your system.

Larry Fox
03-10-2008, 8:56 AM
I recently piped in my compressor and used 3/4" copper (stung a LOT at the cash register). In terms of piping configuration I had a back-and-forth with Jeff Jewitt and he was able to help a lot and sent the link below as a reference for running the lines.

http://www.tptools.com/StaticText/airline-piping-diagram.pdf

One thing that you should try to do is, whatever size pipe you use, try and use that size all the way back to the compressor tank. For example, I used 3/4 but don't have a vibration eliminator yet so have a 2' piece of 1/2 hose from the compressor to the pipe and when I open the valve at the far end the volume really drops off when the reserve in the pipe is exhausted. This problem will certainly go away when I eliminate this bottleneck.

Dave Lessley
03-10-2008, 11:42 AM
Black iron or copper either one will work. Use the thick walled copper. Having your compressor 50' away is actually a blessing as you want about that much pipe so the water will condensate out of the air. Other than safety one of the main reasons why you don't want to use PVC. The water condensates much better on metal than plastic. You want to put your water trap as close to the output of your air as possible this is of course so it will trap the water that has separated out of the air. At least at the end of the 50'. Subsequent drops should still slope down hill from the trap and put a 6" drop below each connector with a drain valve.

If you have a small compressor 1/2" pipe will help keep your pressure up through out the system. With a higher volume compressor 3/4" pipe will of course deliver more volume and maintain pressure. The larger the pipe the more surface on which to condensate. If you wish to eliminate some of the vibration transmitted through the pipe and walls you can hook a small chunk of air hose from the compressor to the pipe.

Air hose over time breaks down inside (rots) and needs to be replaced. More of a big deal for painters than wood workers. If you use it for your main airline it can rub and chaf from the air movement and eventually could wear a hole or burst.

Most wood working does not require high volume unless you are using air sanders or using a conventional spray gun. For nail guns and blowing off sawdust any of the smaller compressors will work. The rule of thumb is your compressor should not run for more than 50% of the time you use it. If you start exceeding that on a regular basis you might want to upgrade to a larger compressor.

jason lambert
03-10-2008, 4:21 PM
This is actually a home workshop so it runs very little I need it for small nail guns, tires, blowing sawdust, filling tires noraml house stuff. It is actually a portor cable pancake compressor with a huge motor on top they no longer make.

I was looking at this but I don't need lube can someone recomend a seprator and pressure regulator or do I get this and just not add oil to it?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45009

Dave Lessley
03-10-2008, 6:33 PM
They are different creatures. You should be able to find one at Harbor Freight or any of the box stores that have compressor accessories.

I may have mis-spoke in my previous post the pipe should run down hill back to the compressor as much as possible the connections for your water trap and outlets should come out of the top of the line so there is always a path back to the compressor and drain the water there. A common practice especially for folks with no piping or air runs is to just let the hose lay on the concrete floor attached directly to the compressor. The cold floor causes the air to condensate in the hose and collect everytime you use air your spraying water in your tool. You can hook up an air nozzle first and clear the line before hooking up your tool. It will get the bulk of it out of the hose. It is the same problem if you hook up your water trap too close to the compressor. The air passes right through the water trap and condenses in the hose rendering the water trap virtually useless