LP Air in the shop

Looking for ideas on how to distribute LP air in my shop.

My shop is 18' X 22' and I have a stair case in the back corner, under which my compressor sits. Right now, I have a rubber hose running through the ceiling with just one outlet at a hose reel in the front of the shop. I would like to have the hose reel and a fixed outlet at the front of the shop, a hose drop in the ceiling in the middle and a outlet at the back. Maybe to elaborate for a small shop but things that make my work easier are a bonus.

I have looked at the Rapid Air System, seems a bit pricey at $139.99 for

100ft of hose, a compressor manifold and 2 outlets. I was also looking at building my own black pipe system that would give me the 3 outlets and the hose reel for less money and more labor.

Any ideas?

Neil Larson Crystal Lake, IL

Reply to
Neil Larson
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What type of air do you need to transport? Low volume where a small tube is okay or higher volume where a 3/8" ID or larger tube is needed?

If low volume, I'd simply put some plastic tubing with quick release fittings all over. Plugs are avaialble for the places where you don't need a tube too so you could make everything quick release.

Regards, Joe Agro, Jr. (800) 871-5022

01.908.542.0244 Automatic / Pneumatic Drills:
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Reply to
Joe AutoDrill

in 12 feet, with a "T" pointing down where-ever you want an air outlet. On each drop install another "T" to bring the line out, with a "stub" on the bottom. Put a drain valve on the "stub" to drain out any condensation that gets trapped there. I'm using a braided steel flex hose to connect from the compressor to the wall-mounted line, but you could use a short chunk of air hose.

Reply to
clare

"M" Copper is fine, unless you are running some ridiculous pressure.

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Reply to
Greg O

If this is ordinary compressed air like 80-100 psi. NEVER use plasitc pipe. Proper compressed air rated plastic tubing may be OK but plastic water pipe style can explode without warning.

John G.

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Reply to
John G.

Reply to
SonomaProducts.com

John I have 1/2 inch HOT water plastic pipe running from garage to basement>125 PSI at compressor. Been in service for more than 6 years. Have

3 outlets. One at each end of shop and one outside. no problems so far. WW
Reply to
WW

But that does not mean it won't blow. OSHA does not allow it and the tubing makers don't recommend it. May last another 6 or 16 years, may produce shrapnel next time you pressurize it.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

It's giving the rating vs temperature.

-Kevin

Reply to
LEGEND65

Agreed; the problem isn't so much that it can't withstand the pressure in general (it can), but that the failure mode when it fails is dangerous. Copper pipe tends to rend itself and split open to release the pressure; plastic (at least PVC) pipe tends to shatter into many shards. For water and such incompressible liquids, these shards don't get any great velocity because the pressure instantly decreases once released; but for compressed air, they are projected quite forcibly and become dangerous shrapnel.

Other kinds of plastic piping/tubing may be suitable for compressed air use, such as the kinds they sometimes make air hoses out of.

Reply to
Andrew Erickson

WW wrote: ...

The last two words are the key phrase here.

For 1/2" the volume isn't large enough to be a huge threat but as others have said, not recommended application. The bigger threat normally isn't just a spontaneous failure but that any impact may produce an explosive fracture instead of just a break.

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Reply to
dpb

"M" is borderline for 130PSI shop air. For the small difference in price for 30 feet, I went for the "good stuff".

Reply to
clare

I'm doing the same project in my shop. Apologies for a minor thread highjack.

I managed to score some black iron pipe at an auction for a plumbing shop that was moving out of state. About 60 feet of 1 inch, 20 feet of

3/4 inch and 20 feet of 1/2 inch. Way more than I need, but I got it for $30 (golly, is that my first gloat here?).

The problem is that a couple of the chunks are used. I guess for natural gas, but I'm not sure. There is some black corrosion/residue/something that flakes on the inside of them. Any suggestions on how to clean it out?

Reply to
Frank Stutzman

Just don't strike it when it's cold and pressurized.

Reply to
clare

Frank Stutzman wrote: ...

Once you cut to length, might try a stiff (#10, say) wire thru pulling a brush first. After that, I'd just hook it up and use the air pressure to flush it. If add a screen/filter should be no time before all that's going to come loose is out.

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Reply to
dpb

It depends on the size. I see above 1" was mentioned. M would still be fine. Smaller diameters even better yet. Really 3/4" is more plenty for any home shop. 3/4" will flow well over 20 CFM at reasonable lengths. 1" is way over kill for 99% of us! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Added storage caqpacity out weighs flow rate for most DIY installations.

2' Black iron with 3/4 side taps bushed as required is hard to beat.

BTDT

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Threading and assembling 2" black pipe is a pain, nothing I would recommend to any one without experience and a couple high quality 24" pipe wrenches! For the little extra you would gain in capacity you can pick up a tank and add in the system if you feel the need for more capacity. Unless you get the pipe for free I would not consider it, and even then I probably still would go with 3/4"!! Figure the price of fittings in the mix and I think most will agree.

2" black pipe will contain about 375 cubic inches per ten feet or 1.6 gallons.

I worked in a CNC machine shop, 20 HP recip compressor, later a 50 HP screw. We had 1-1/4" mains that served us very well. I will post a chart on binaries. It shows pressure drop of various pipe sizes at 100 feet. 1/2" at 100 PSI will flow about 16 CFM. 3/4" at 100 PSI will flow about 32 CFM. Greg

Reply to
Greg O

1/2" is adequate for most - 5/8" for the rest of us.
Reply to
clare

Not withstanding all the cautionary tales this suggestion might generate herein, we used schedule 40 3/4" PVC to "pipe" the air throughout our shop for years w/o a problem. We had a very large dual- stage compressor inherited from an auto body shop down the road. we ran drops down from the ceiling, tapping them at working height and incorporating drains below each drop after about 6-8 inches of pipe with the petcock at the bottom. We ran air tools and Binks Spray guns. Worked like a charm and much cheaper than iron (read expensive/ rusting) pipe.

Reply to
Hoosierpopi

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