I'm finally finishing up my garage and was thinking of plumbing cpvc pipe around to different locations. Any suggestions on... Regulators, and drier filters at each drop? If I run the cpvc pipe in the attic (under the insulation) will i get excessive moisture? I'm in Indiana Anyone have any experiece with those $35.00 Harbour Freight retractable hose reels? Thanks
Do not ever run pvc pipe. It is a good way to get yourself killed. it is not designed to handle the pressures and when it blows, it blows into shards. Use blk pipe. Search the garagejournal. lots of info about it there.
dont run any type of PVC oe CPVC I am a plumbing cont and have seen what High psi does to ANY PVC. Dont be cheap and run it in Copper or Gal. Be SAFE 1ST It can blow up like a pipe boom Dave
I worked in a shop where a PVC pastic line exploded. It sounded like an M-80 and stuck shrapnel in the wall 25 feet accross the room. Lucky for me we were at lunch. Gave me the creeps. That was where I'd been working earlier. Don't chance it.
Thanks for the info. I too am about ready to plumb my lines, WAS thinking about pvc also, but HAMB has made me see the light. I wil change my ways, too.
Black pipe, galvanized, or copper also has the bonus of chilling the air back down so a lot of the moisture condenses out of the air.
Actually they do make some pvc that will hold the pressure but there is a still a bad side and that is when used for air delivery it will actually increase the production of water. Copper is probably the best because Iron and black pipe start to produce fine rust particles after a few years. It maybe slightly more time consuming to solder but the results is worth it. A p-bottle with a turbo- torch works great and it is easy to handle.
Use a larger inside diameter pipe than what you think you'll need.Not that much more money and running a DA or straightline sander you'll need the extra volume.
The pressure ratings for schedule 40 and 80 PVC are listed at both 70 and 140 degrees (the maximum temp allowed). Note how the ratings drop off at the higher temps. The two big issues with PVC are how it reacts to the new synthetic compressor oils and as already mentioned it's brittleness and how it spews shards when it breaks under pressure. Copper (Type K or L only - no Type M) is best and should be silver soldered or brazed - not soft solder. Threaded pipe is next best.
I had issues with their retractable reels (****py mechanisms?) but I use the manual wind ones. Lubricate the input fitting where it goes into hose reel and it will last awhile and all that failed on mine was an o-ring.
My son worked in a shop where they plumbed the air line with pvc against my son's advice. It took about a week before it exploded and showed them the error of their ways. I was very impressed with the sharpness of the piece of shrapnel he showed me. There is just no sense in doing it twice and dealing with the nasty explosion in between.
I orignially used schedual 40 PCV pipe in my garage. It was cheap and easy to use and a friend of mine had used it with no problems. Last summer when running the compressor to fill up a tire in my lawn tractor I heard a big noise and then the sound of rushing air. One of the lines had exploded. Luckilly it did not damage my convertiible sitting near where the line exploded. Eventhough the cost of copper had skyrocketed, I rebuilt all of my air lines with copper. I will now find out for myself if copper makes less water in the air lines than PDV pipe does. For safety's sake do not use PCV pipe.
Just finished mine yesterday as a matter of fact. New compressor out of Sam's, 6.5 running hp, 19.6 scfm. about 30' of black pipe, 1/2 with only one drop by the garage door. I do plan on a retractable hose reel though not a $35.00 HF one. Also toss a few unions in the runs so you can add pipe and or drops at a later time. Everyone else has already keyed you to the pipe type. Good luck.
2 1/2 yrs ago I asked the exact same question and it turned into a TECH post. Glad I did my research and asked a whole bunch of questions on here, when I started looking into this, my build list consisted of the following points, 1. economy 2. safety 4. moisture control3. realiability etc. After a great discussion I changed that around to safety, safety, safety, then the rest. I went with steel pipe and highly recommend it. You can read the post and figure it out yourself but in past 2 ½ years, no moisture gets past the traps, always dry air no matter the temperature and will never have a problem with pipe breakage. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1535&&showall=1 good luck Rey
a big no on any plastic pipe... i use galvanized 3/4" and ran them all around my shop about 4' off the floor, easy to reach without bending over, every quick release came 90 degrees off the wall and was plumbed with a moisture trap to prolong tool life my painting line has a u shape that drops down about 2' with 2 moisture traps and a pressure regulator. with hugh climate changes and lots of humidity you can't take too many precautions when painting. this system works great for me.
I bought a retractable reel from Tractor Supply for $70 bucks and love it. I haven't had any problems with it. I hung it from the ceiling towards the center of the shop and no more tripping over the hose. Now if I can only get an electical system in the same configuration I could quit tripping over those.... they don't call me "four eyes" for nothing
Use the largest pipe you are comfortable with. The larger the id, the slower the velocity through it. Lower velocity equals less chance of the air carrying contaminants with it. Price of 3/4 " copper is scarey and black iron will provide a lifetime of good service. The sole decider of how well your system performs is how well do you clean and dry the air before it goes to the distribution lines. Save the excess cost of the copper pipe and put it into an active airdryer and good quality coalesing and dessicant filters.
Holy ****, I have that stuff in my garage without any problems SO FAR but I think I will be making an adjustment! I can hurt myself in too many unintentional ways to chance the ones I have control over. What's the black pipe you are talking about. I have my air run underground(about 200 feet) in 160 lb water pipe. Thanks HAMB! Jim
Hello! If you are going all out pro. Check out this link, you probably have the same product in the US. We mounted the system with an Ingersol Rand compressor at our workshop. It works really great, and looks god to! But might be a bit Hi-Tech? Br Kjell
Sorry Here is the link: http://www.teseoair.com/ Im not a computer man!!! Kjell If you are going all out pro. Check out this link, you probably have the same product in the US. We mounted the system with an Ingersol Rand compressor at our workshop. It works really great, and looks god to! But might be a bit Hi-Tech? Br Kjell[/quote]
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