new compressor ... what kind of piping

[Jacob Haiduk]

Finally setting up a central compressor and wondering what to use for airlines thru the shop. I am curious and suspect of schedule 40 pvc but it seems popular any experience or thoughts would help.

[Lee Schierer]

Using pvc pipe for compressed air is dangerous. The material is brittle and can fracture under pressure sending fragments flying. Use steel pipe or copper for your main lines.

[Larry Browning]

I'd say the worst choice is schd40 pvc due to the safety issues. I have copper throughout my shop and it has worked well for me over the years. My understanding is that there are now more options then there used to be. There is now some sort of flexible tubing that is supposed to be the bee's knees. I know nothing of it, but if I was to do it again, I would be looking into it. Google is your friend.

This is what I was thinking of
http://www.rapidairproducts.com/

[Jim Becker]

PVC is not acceptable for compressed air applications...yes, some folks have used it, but that doesn't make it a good choice. While my lines are soldered copper, which was reasonably priced at the time, these day's I'd consider using the new flexible air systems that are available as it's easier to route and install. They are sold as a basic kit and you add to that to accomodate the size of your shop and the number of drops you want to support.

[Martin Wasner]

Another vote for beating the pvc dead horse. Not a great choice.

I have pex in the current shop. Cheap, easy to install, easy to modify. Ugly as sin unless you put a zillion clips up to hold it straight.

Steel is a pain I think. I've seen old runs rust themselves shut too.

There's a blue pipe, I think it's aluminum. Looks awesome, costs a small fortune too. I think the fittings are bonkers expensive as well.

I'm planning on running copper in my new shop. Looks nice, not overly complicated to make modifications to, and while not cheap, not horrifically expensive.

[Jacob Haiduk]

Thank you for the feed back ... seems that PVC is nothing more than a bomb as I suspected ... when it comes to copper are there different gauges I should be aware of or is it more one size with varying diameters?

[Dan Henry]

I replaced my air PVC with
Rapid Air about. Year ago and it vert easy to install so far leak free. The removing the air line from the fitting is very easy to do.. Bought the kit form Northern tool, they had some extra fittings
Dan

[Bruce Wrenn]

Any gauge of copper is going to be rated far greater than anything a consumer air compressor can put out. Copper institute has a set of tables for different gauges.

[John K Jordan]

I installed the Rapid Air also and it has worked fine with no leaks. I split the line after the dryers/regulator into three lines to different areas of the shop. Each line has its own shutoff valve so it can be isolated if necessary. I put the hose in the walls and ceiling and installed air outlets with quick-connect fittings.

I ended up with eight outlets - four in the wood working shop, one in the welding room, one at the machine shop tools, one on a big reel right inside a garage door in the maintenance bay so it can reach outside, and one outside near the front of the shop. Since I do a lot of wood turning, one outlet is very near the lathe. (I hate air hoses stretched across the room!)

JKJ

[Jacob Haiduk]

The Rapid Air system sounds like the way to go noticing 2 options with fittings brass or nylon ... what have the systems described come with? Overall looks impressive ... although not crazy about the blue pipe running around my shop. Thanks again for responses very helpful!

[John K Jordan]

The basic Rapid Air kit comes with a coil of tubing, a tubing cutter, an aluminum manifold block, some outlet blocks, and enough fittings to get started. IIRC. I bought two kits, extra fittings, extra outlet blocks, valves, and quick connects. Northern Tool here had most everything but I think I ordered some from Amazon. They also sell little plastic clips to fit the hose for a neat installation. All of my hose is hidden so I also used other holders. I didn't use their manifold blocks.

The blue tubing running around the shop probably will look better than the dust collector ducts!

I do recommend a certain type of quick disconnect fitting. HomeDepot/Lowes, for example, sell two kinds. They look the same except one type has a gap between the knurled spring-loaded slide and the end flange. That kind is MUCH better for wall mounted outlets since you simply push in the hose fitting until it clicks. The other type, without the gap, requires two hands - you have to pull back the knurled sleeve with one hand while pushing in the hose connector with the other hand.

The whole thing went in with no issues.

I did assemble all the fittings and outlet blocks on the bench and pressure test them before mounting on the walls. To pressure test I connected a short piece of the blue tubing to a tubing connector, a valve, and a hose connector. I assembled the component, connected to the test tubing and opened the valve to leak check. After each test I released then cut off the used end of the test tubing so it would ready for the next use.

JKJ

[Larry Browning]

I really do wish this was available when I built my shop 15 years ago. It would have made the job much easier and I would have probably added a couple more outlets.

[Jacob Haiduk]

Ok so in the Rapid Air kits I see 2 options , the kit you describe John that is a coil with said fittings and one that comes with 10' lengths of pipe with nylon fittings . The pipe looks the same but not sure if it is flexible also as the diagram shows system with all straight runs. The nylon fitting is the biggest difference .

[David Hawxhurst]

i used the rapidair maxline all said and done i would use copper if i were to do it again. the maxline is semi rigid and difficult to get perfectly straight so the piping has a wavy effect running around the shop. the duratec is rigid so it installs like regular pipe, but in my case the duratec was more money than copper. there is always black pipe its been used for years for air systems.

[Garth Almgren]

I do recommend a certain type of quick disconnect fitting. HomeDepot/Lowes, for example, sell two kinds. They look the same except one type has a gap between the knurled spring-loaded slide and the end flange. That kind is MUCH better for wall mounted outlets since you simply push in the hose fitting until it clicks. The other type, without the gap, requires two hands - you have to pull back the knurled sleeve with one hand while pushing in the hose connector with the other hand.

The big box stores usually sell three kinds: an industrial coupler (two hands required), an automotive coupler (two hands required, often steel not brass) and the one you're talking about, a universal coupler. I agree 100% that the universal one is much easier to use and as a bonus will work with both automotive and industrial fittings.