Installing air hard lines in garage?

[Alaskossie]

Does anyone know of a good book or other reference source on the general subject of laying out and installing hard lines for compressed air in a garage, from a fixed compressor location to various places in the garage?

 

Thanks in advance.

[locost7018]

No, but be sure to put a drip leg on each verticle run with a drain valve to drain out the moisture occasionally. I ran all mine in copper but I would think galvanized would be OK. Don't run it in black iron pipe. Also don't hard pipe to the compressor. It vibrates too much. Run a short flexible line to it. Russ

[fastg]

I used 3/4" PVC pipe, works great and it was real cheap. Flex line to the compressor. I run 3 drops one to each work bench and one to the tire changer. I did not entire thing in about 2 hours and $50, wish I had done it years ago.

 

Graham

[locost7018]

Fastg I have heard all kinds of horror stories about PVC pipe being used for air on the woodworkers forums I frequent. It is not rated for that much air pressure and any oil that comes out of the compressor might react with the PVC. Just my $.02 worth. Russ

[DeanG]

I have decided to go with either 1/2 or 3/4 galvanized pipe (it all depends on cost). According to what I have read you need a minimum of 25' of run to let the air cool and water vapor to condense. At that point I will plumb in a water separator and regulator followed by feeds to my drop points.

[fastg]

I think the 3/4" pipe is rated at 450psi so pressure should not be an issue. I have since found many people that have been doing it for years. My local hardware store knew exactly what I needed as he had been asked about it before. So I have no problems with doing it again or recommending it to anyone. Cheap simple and very quick to implement. I have modified my setup a couple of time because I moved the compressor, luckly I had some extra pipe left over to it took 1/2 hour to cut, add a T and run a new pipe.

 

Graham

[Off Road SHO]

PVC gets brittle when exposed to air and heat cycles, even though I've had one in my shop for 7 years no problem. Next one will be out of galvanized 3/4" on uni-strut to mount it away from the wall and ceiling. I will slant it towards one end where I will install a wiggle drain. I'll put the oil and particle separators near the compressor. I will drill and tap all along the 3/4" pipe so that I can install female quik-connect couplers. If I need an oiler, I will just insert it at the quick connect that feeds that tool.

 

For my mills I will install foot valves that will blast the tool area with a quick blast without having to look for the coiled hose with the air chuck; though I will still have them available with my custom made tips made out of 12" of old brake hard line (keeps you from having to get so close to the flying debris).

 

I will not use cheap chinese teflon tape but will splurge for the correct RectorSeal pipe dope.

 

I will buy an auto drain for my compressor.

 

Tom

Edited November 1, 2010 by Off Road SHO

[Eraser-X]

PVC is the most expensive pipe to use for shop air! I used to work at a shop that used it and while I was there saw a customer run over an air hose and the quick coupler on the air hose tore the skin on the door of a Mercedes CL600 and nicked the rear quarter panel. I think the repair was around 9K! I have also heard of mechanics just stepping on an air hose and breaking the pipes.

 

In my garage I am using copper with all of my air drops off set with drains controlled by ball valves at every drop.

 

http://gallery.bcwolff.com/default.aspx?moid=12434

 

I also have the garage split up into sections with ball valves and unions to allow me to cut off a section of the system for changes or repairs. The copper is pretty cheap and very fast to install with just a cutter, torch, soldier and flux.

 

My goal on the system was to be able to work in any area of my garage without having to stretch a hose across a car.

[jlumba81]

They use the Garage Pak air piping system on those PowerBlock automotive shows. The easy to use couplers make it look like a good buy.

[JohnK]

Does anyone know of a good book or other reference source on the general subject of laying out and installing hard lines for compressed air in a garage, from a fixed compressor location to various places in the garage?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

W.W.Grainger has a section on air compressor layouts with explanations and recos on diameter and distance.

 

Plastic is a lot cheaper than black iron or copper, but regular schedule 40 isn't that strong. Consider using CPVC which is higher spec and only a bit more than PVC. Been using it in my garage, running the line from the basement, for a few years now - but of course this isn't subject to heavy-usage/commercial use. Only problem I've had was with an underground section of 3/4" copper which couldn't withstand the cold, in spite of being insulated.

[slomove]

PVC or CPVC are prone to splinter when breaking, especially when it is cold (did you say Alaska?). Happens easily when accidentally hit or attacked by fluids from inside. That makes for pretty good shrapnel and is one of the reasons why it is not allowed for compressed gases including air (even if it can technically hold the pressure). Don't even think of cheap sched 40 PVC.

 

Polyethylene pipe can be used but must be butt or socket welded with specialized equipment and is anyway not very popular here in the US. So I guess copper or galvanized is a better choice. If you have money to burn, take Stainless ;-)

[11Budlite]

Here's a link showing a typical layout of lines/filter/regulator/etc: http://www.tptools.com/StaticText/airline-piping-diagram.pdf

 

I used 3/4" galvanized pipe in two separate zones for the garage and basement shop. I have 4-5 drains at different locations and ran 25' of pipe before the filter/separator. Flex line between the compressor and hard line. It's worked fine for me for ten years now. Just need a bigger compressor at this point!