Diameter of air lines

That sounds like a case made by lawyers, not engineers. It's like the warning on Qtips that says not to put them in your ear. Don't most compressors have buffer tanks that smooth out the pulsations?

PVC is a lot different than other nonplastic materials Ratings for liquid that it is designed to carry is different that compressed gasses. Liquid at

Copper or iron pipe does not shatter like plastics. They may leak but will crack or pin hole. Plastic just "lets go" when stressed.

The stresses can be different also. Plastic will degrade from UV exposure Plastic can become brittle and break like glass, and that is the biggest problem.. Ed

pulsating caused by the compressed air system >snip<

I rest my case.

Peace~Sr Edgar øøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøøø

Not to argue the point, but the IR dealer put copper in our plant. He did, however, use flex couplings at the compressor to take out most of the pulsations. Ed

BULLCRAP! soldered copper fittings in an air system would only fail if you are LESS than a MORON! Where do you come up with this alarmist BS, anyway? If there was a leak at a fitting, you'd probably hear it anyway. I'm no PRO at sweating fittings, but I did an entire shop with copper that lasted 8 years and all my friends in the business used the same methods to build their air systems. Don't pass Go, go directly to Jail.

dave

Sir Edgar wrote:

I used about 2 feet of air hose to join my air system to the compressor.

dave

Edw> Go to:

On 22 Dec 2003, Bay Area Dave spake unto rec.woodworking:

Chew the peanuts a little finer, and they won't scratch as badly.

Scott, you need to change your one-note rejoinder.

dave

Scott Cramer wrote:

Ok, I will throw my 2 cents worth in on what may be a bit off topic to you. I would not use copper. If you use a length of common high pressure air hose to connect your current tank to the air line it should dampen any air pressure surges and pump vibration besides eliminating the problems of hooking a solid line to a solid tank. But if you spray contact cement or some finishes the moisture in the air will react with the copper in the lines and cause contact cement in particular to chrystalize and fail. This is not an old wives tale and is a known issue for shops that do upholstery and plastic laminate work. However, if the air line is just used to service common air tools for machine work or automotive work it will work fine, though the thicker wall copper is recommended, along with drops and drains at low points in the line.

There is no danger of sweated copper pipes bursting! We often pressure test copper pipe at 300PSI with nitrogen. Copper in R22 air conditioning systems can see 400 PSI with no problems. Systems running R410 can see pressures over 600 PSI. If done correctly there is no danger. Any piping system done INCORRECTly is dangerous! Greg

... Also with lots of vibration, heat and oil. A failure from a freon line is going to be a lot more explosive than air. Any advice that starts out saying a compression ring and ferrule is superior to a sweated fitting is suspect from the outset. An HVAC contractor would never use a jackleg device like a compression fitting

mere O-rings contain freon on trillions of vehicles, Greg. A freon line doesn't necessarily have more pressure than a 175PSI air system. Depends on if it is the low or high side and if it is running or not. Different pressures in different "sides" of the system.

dave

Greg wrote:

Hmmm... Correct, to the point, non-inflamatory...

HEY, MISTER! What did you do with Dave.

Greg G.

I've taken over that miscreant's mind! :)

dave

Greg wrote:

Am I misunderstanding you? Residential and commercial AC systems can and will see pressures over 300 PSI in regular service. More depending on the type of system or if there are problems with the system. I have never seen a burst copper AC line. A cracks perhaps, or worn through from vibration and the line rubbing on something, but never a burst line. Greg

Dave was talking automobile AC, but applicable to others as well. Pressure (High) side, yes - 300PSI+. Suction (Low) side - somewhere around 30-50PSI. I think he was being pedantic about the difference between high and low side pressures - both of which are present in an AC system.

Agreed. I HAVE seen auto AC lines burst - the rubber ones. And the occasional metal tubing failure, both copper and aluminum, from fatigue and abrasion.

Just my 2 cents,

Greg G.

right on.

dave

Greg wrote:

yes, you are misunderstanding my earlier post. As you are aware, there is less pressure on a non-functioning ac system than a 175 PSI air system. The high and low sides equalize. During operation, the high side can go up to 200+, depending on the, Freon type, the ambient temperature, the effectiveness of the condenser fan, etc. the low side is WAY less than any compressed air system. In auto A/C it's around

dave

Greg O wrote:

Okey-dokey! Greg