Air lines in a shop, what would you use?

[starkmr]

Well, I understand that galv may flake off and plug up tools. I also understand that big oil has deep pockets. I'm just saying that they are using galvanized pipe to supply air for pneumatic valves that are controlling a volitile process. Therefore I think that the 'flaking' on galvanized pipe is overstated. I would be less concerned about a tool being damaged as I would an emergency shutdown valve's air supply being plugged.



I believe that your problem with o rings is due to corrosion and moisture more than galvanized flakes. A properly dried and filtered air supply will provide years of trouble free service.



JMHO,





Mike

 

[Matt400]

I decided to make some changes in my shop that has been using 1/2" PVC.

I ordered up this stuff in 1/2" and found the product very interesting. First note was that the 1/2" stuff is a true 1/2" id so it is considerably smaller id than 1/2" PVC is.



Not wanting to choke down the supply any from what I have I opted to return it in favor for the 3/4" variety they have.

It's interesting stuff cuz it comes in 100 and 300 ft rolls so there is no need to piece together sticks. Also the inner aluminum wall makes it rigid so no need for cutting and splicing in a 90 fitting to change directions, just shape the pipe where you want it to go.



The need for less fittings helps keep the costs down. I bought 100' of 1/2", 10 different fittings, a ball valve, 20 hose brackets and a required tool for 235. 00

The 3/4 will be more but still less than the ChemAir product.

It's marked on the pipe "for compressed air" rated to 200 psi.



I never have had an issue with PVC since 1987 but recently I grabbed a pair of safety glasses and whacked a piece of schedule 40 that was not pressurized just to see what happened and the sharp slivers breaking off was not pretty.



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[donnier]

If I was going to do it in PVC, I would use schedule 80.

Its thicker wall and can be threaded where schedule 40 cant.

I work for a locar water dept and have had to repair customers property pipes where the pressure has been over 180+ lbs and we use sched 80 for repairs.

 

[Buffalo]

In late 1976/early1977, I built a dental lab. (partial denture framework lab). Due to financial embarrassment, I opted for using 3/4" schedule 40 pvc to run the air lines, throughout the lab.



Because of a light rail system going through the front of the building, the old lab had to be demolished in Nov. 2005.



The air lines lasted 28 years. The only problems that I had were when my employees were adjusting the acetylene/oxg. torch with a rosebud tip. They had the flame pointed right at the pipe, which, heated up, expanded until it finally blew. There was a 3", oval shaped hole & a huge roar of air. I thought the ace. tank lit up. Scared the hell out of all of us. This happened twice in 28 years. I finally moved the pipe that was near the ace. /oxg. torch up & out of the way of the torch. It never happened again.



I never new anything about the pvc pipe "grenading" into shards.



Joe F. (Buffalo)

 

[LesStallings]

Living now in Tennessee, humidity is a factor. I've finished the shop air using hard copper pipe and put in loops, low point drains, a moisture separator, and coalescing filter. My hope is that copper will dissipate heat faster than PVC and will help condense the moisture. So far, so good. Copper has gone up over 60% in the last year. Someone may break in to my shop and take the copper, leaving the tools behind!

 

[TPoulsen]

Well I have no air lines in my shop, but am currentlly building a new RV dealership which includes 18 service bays and all the bays were spec'ed out to use copper for the air & water to each bay. Don't want to give the engineer to much credit (because of some of the other lame brain idea's he had ) but this does seam to be a good system for the long haul, but as most things time will tell.



Tyler

 

[RALLER]

Beware Of Pvc

PVC will work harden because of changes in pressure and it will explode like a gernade. I am retired now, and i had a 6,000 sq ft garage in LV NEV. ( THE Z SHOP ) for 23 years. I had PCV air lines run around the cealing with a drop evary 10 ft. After about 5 years it started exploding. Repair it and it would do it in another place. When i built this system, i used black iron pipe for the drops, so all the explosins were overhead. Sure would wake everbody up.

 

[donnier]

If I was going to use pvc, Id rather use schedule 80 than 40.

80 is thicker.

Otherwise I think Id go with copper.

 

[rbattelle]

As I face another nightmare this weekend with a plastic pressure system that has cracked and leaked, I'd like to re-iterate my vote for iron pipe.



Ryan

 

[Sled Puller]

Heres a nice diagram of a proper air system:



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





An excerpt:



Let's talk about metal piping ..... When we moved into our Canfield, Ohio plant, we had a shop full of air tools and needed to get set

up quickly. We ran temporary rubber air hoses, and had 4-way crosses and quick connectors everywhere. Hoses were scattered all

over the ground. Within 2 weeks, we started to have problems - air drills were failing, air rivet guns would not operate properly, and

shears and other air-operated equipment were out of order more often than not. The reason this happened is simple. By using long

lengths of air hoses, moisture remained in a vapor form, which passed through our water separators. Regardless of the

number of water separators installed, moisture worked into our air-operated equipment, causing premature failure. We needed

to make corrections quickly, so we equipped our entire shop with metal piping.



Another:

Use Black Iron Pipe only. We do not recommend galvanized metal pipe, as galvanization can come off the inside of the pipe, clogging

separators and regulators. Do not use plastic pipe, as plastic will not help cool the air; and glued joints often separate. Avoid copper

tubing, as it is easily damaged; and soldered joints can come loose under pressure (Safety Hazard). Use 1/2" pipe for up to 75 feet of

horizontal runs of pipe from your compressor. Use 3/4" pipe for horizontal runs of over 75 feet.

 

[Alphacowboy]

Well, my dad finally got the air line in the shop! Took him long enough... :-laf Anyway, he decided to go copper. 3/4" for all of it with 8-9 drops I think. Looks really good, and since none of the drops come below 6 ft, I dont see any of them getting damaged by stuff hitting them. As to solder joints failing, I can only see this happening if it was not soldered correctly. The friend that put it together used silver solder as well, which is what is used for gas lines, it is stronger, and can withstand higher heat as well. He told my dad that he could easily use 200 PSI and not to worry about it, but my dad runs it at 150 max anyway.

 

[rbattelle]

The friend that put it together used silver solder as well, which is what is used for gas lines, it is stronger, and can withstand higher heat as well.

Tin/silver or Tin/Antimony? Tin/Antimony is supposed to be very strong.



Ryan

 

[sstefanini]

I've generally used silfoss (15%) silver solder when brazing copper on industrial gas lines. I'd have to call B. S. on copper not being able to hold a little compressed air in. Type K is a little thicker and its used in bulk gas installations all over @ 200psi plus.

 

[tgordon]

I had never put much thought into it, but there are a lot of good points here. Aside from staying away from the PVC I only have more thoughts and questions than answers.



Matt, how is that tubing for thermoconductivity? I am woundering if if will have the same effect as the pipe or not on getting more moisture out of the air. For the people worried about the black pipe, I hope you don't have a steel tank on your compressor, it might rust out. :-laf



Another option for those of you super worried about breakage and accident prone, just use hydralic hose. It is rated for over 3000psi and operates with fluid well into the hundreds of degrees.



Troy, and yes I am always one to blow thing out of proportion

 

[Matt400]

Matt, how is that tubing for thermoconductivity? I am woundering if it will have the same effect as the pipe or not on getting more moisture out of the air.

I had PVC and replaced it with the Duratec product 8 months ago and is working great.



The 3/4" is better IMO for a shop than the 1/2" stuff I originally posted about. I don't notice any more or less moisture with it vs the PVC but then its next to none for me. I only drain the compressor once a month and get maybe a cup full of water with none getting to the service outlets. I have 90' of the 100' roll in use. Its all I really needed for a 30x40 shop that has 2 hose reels & one coiled hose attached to it.



I would buy it again.

 

[seriousdiesel]

ipex

Just plumbed my new shop, a 50x60 i used leftover 1/2 inch Pex tubing from my in floor heating. Its rated for something like 160 psi @ 180* so i figure it will work great at room temp. no problems so far, which has only been a few months. We did enquire with the manufacturer and they seemed to think it would be fine. Time will tell.



Nathan

 

[CBarr]

Air lines in shop

Use galvanized where danger of crush damage, pvc in remainder of area.

Have used & installed a bunch of PVC air lines without problems. Use schedule 40 or 80 pvc.