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AIR LINES

I was into a Amish window factory the other day and their air lines caught my eye. They used 3" PVC pipe for all their air lines suspended from the ceiling with supports and T's with snap couplers at all the work stations. They used brass gas line couplers for shut offs for the various branches. A 8" pressure gauge noted 145# PSI at the end of the line. What are the Plusses for this type of system other than the line acting as a storage media? I didn't see any water separators and was wondering if they were using a engine driven compressor in the cold and drawing cold air into the compressor and bringing it in a warm shop what effect this type of line would have?

Reply to
BT98
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Interesting.

If that is 3" DWV pipe, I don't think I'd go back in there. I understand it isn't good for pressure lines, and will shatter and blow plastic shrapnel all over the place.

And they don't use it in the summer when it is warm and humid?

Old Guy

Reply to
Old guy

That's a bomb waiting to explode.

Definitely would not catch me in the place.

BTW, the concept is good, it's the PVC that is a problem.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Unless this place was by a nicely moving creek and had either a waterwheel or a pack of apprentices taking turns on the bicycle powering the compressor, you wern't in an Amish shop.

:P

Reply to
Myxylplyk

I have heard that diesel engines are allowed. I will look into this.

r
Reply to
Robatoy

We got wood from a place called Amish Hardwoods around Burton, Ohio. The land of snow, maple syrup and Amish buggies. Yes they looked Amish to me. They had some of the coolest power tools I ever saw at my young age of 20. Huge circular saws, power debarkers, kilns. It might be more a question of how strict they are but I guess those guys strayed. I read that the community leaders can decide on thngs like modern cooling systems for their milk so they can sell for higher prices.

This article suggest that they need to feed themselves and land is expensive so they might turn to jobs off the farm.

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read somewhere that the other benefit of metal pipe besides be>Unless this place was by a nicely moving creek and had either a waterwheel

Reply to
Jim Behning

That's not necessarily the case. The Amish don't seem to have any real trouble with using steam or internal combustion engines to power stationary or portable machinery, it's just self-propelled vehicles that they seem to have trouble with.

People confuse the Amish with luddites--they aren't anti-technology but they look really hard at how any given use of it will affect their community and their values before they allow its general adoption.

Reply to
J. Clarke

A few years back I stopped into an Amish woodworking shop In East Otto, NY and was surprised to see a brand new Unisaw in the shop. The owner must have read my face because the first thing he said is, "It's allowed as long as it isn't powered off the grid".

He was running it off a generator tied to a Chevy V8.

Reply to
Nova

I checked out the pipe at Home Depot and the PSI ratings on this pipe and it is almost double than what they are running on it. It looked like the outside diameter was about 3 inch. This place is on the corner of 700 and Shed road. That may be in Burton, Ohio.

Reply to
BT98

I was in an Amish home and it was explained that they won't use electricity from the power company but they had refrigerators and freezers supplied by gasoline generators.

B.

Reply to
Buddy Matlosz

The problem is that most PVC pipe is not UV stabilized.

If it's painted or enclosed, great. If not, it probably gets brittle with age.

I lost count of how many PVC shop aids, truck racks, work stands, storage devices, etc... that I made that became brittle and simply crumpled with sunlight exposure.

Reply to
B A R R Y

Maybe it's ABS pipe instead?

Reply to
Just Wondering

Myxylplyk wrote: > Unless this place was by a nicely moving creek and had either a waterwheel > or a pack of apprentices taking turns on the bicycle powering the > compressor, you wern't in an Amish shop.

The Amish are allowed to use internal combustions for stationary power.

My dad used to sell oil and grease to them.

Among other things, they power thrashing machines using a flat belt between the engine and the thrashing machine.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

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has links near the top to some fascinating charts about Amish use of technology.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Pressure ratings for PVC are given for liquids not air. Couple that with the damage from UV on those pipes and it's tendency to go brittle with time, and well, let's just say I wouldn't use PVC for air lines.

Reply to
James "Cubby" Culbertson

Not necessarily true. It depends upon where they are and what their bishop will allow. I've seen articles where they use engines to power milkers saying that's OK as long as the engine is not making a vehicle move. I've also seen an 80's vintage White tractor for sale on the Old Tractors web page indicating it came from an Amish farm. It had steel wheels -- apparently rubber was the forbidden item -- I guess insulation for the cables and wires was OK.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Reply to
Mark & Juanita

Many years ago, I think it was FWW which featured an article about an Amish shop which ran entirely off hydraulic and air motors. The main power plant was a diesel which ran compressors and/or hydraulic pumps, I am not entirely certain which was the main power supply. IIRC, the routers were air driven. Diesels do not require any electrical auxiliary equipment, and can be started off compressed air, which can either be saved from when the diesel last ran, or pumped up by hand. I was always under the impression that sharing a network of electrical devices with sinners was the reason for their prohibition.

r.

Reply to
Robatoy

But is that water or air rating? When water bursts, it just flows out and does not have the explosive force of compressed air. Both OSHA forbids it and the makers of the pipe recommend against using it for air.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

They use engines and generators. They just won't tie into the grid.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

J. Clarke wrote: :>

:> I was in an Amish home and it was explained that they won't use :> electricity from the power company but they had refrigerators and :> freezers supplied by gasoline generators.

If the point of avoiding grid electricity is to not share a system used by English (outsiders), how do they justify making use of a gas distribution system used by English? Or, for that matter, roads made and used by them? is there any internal logic here?

:

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has links : near the top to some fascinating charts about Amish use of technology.

Fascinating, and hard to fathom.

-- Andy Barss

Reply to
Andrew Barss

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