Hot Rods Caution air hose..

The black spots in paint jobs is the inside of the hose breaking down. That's why you don't drive over them.

 

Small safety cables are available, and OSHA required in a lot of places. We always called them "Whip Checks" in the well drilling industry.

 

I have a few different air hoses. One is just for paint and treated accordingly. The others are for the air tools, and those don't always get treated so great, being dragged around the floor and such, but hold up pretty good. Never bought cheapo Harbor fright hoses, but never bought top grade ones either. Just a better quality hose. Couldn't tell ya what brand, it has been quite a while since I bought any hoses

 

Go to Parker (or probably any major hose fitting supplier) and buy some hose that uses push fittings instead of crimp fittings. It s kinda expensive, but it will pay for itself in the long run. I have never had a failure. If you should get a leak (I never have), just cut the end off and stick the fitting back in place. No more trying to fix a hose on the weekend with a screw tightening hose clamp. You never have to throw the hose away. Its worth the extra cost. If you buy a longer length and a couple of extra fittings, you can cut a few feet off for a special need and stick the pushin fittings back in place and its just like new. I won't buy anything else.
Another thing is I never leave a compressor turned on. If you get a leak it can make the compressor run continuously and ruin the compressor. I have a light hooked to my compressor with a red bulb in it. When the compressor is on, the light is on. If I forget to turn the compressor off, I'll see the light. The light should be on the outside of the building so you see it if you look out your house window.

 

wonder how many have air lines around shop plumbed with PVC landscape irrigation pipe

 

I thought that was a givin… I do the same also. NEVER drop the hose end on the ground, I have always either hung it on the tool car,t end of bench or what have you.. Besides sucking ass to bend over time and time again to retrieve it, Also a time saver in a shop environment.

5. NEVER buy the cheap couplers also, I always buy Milton.

 

I have 4 80 gallon compressors in different buildings and they all have some or all of the transport lines plumbed with schedule 80 PVC pipe. One is 30 or so years old. Never had any problems. It allows me to use larger lines with less friction and more volume. That helps a lot when you have to move the air a good way before entering a hose.

 

It's also why you paint cars black.

 

When I outfited my new shop I made a dryer out of 2 inch PVC pipe, with working pressure of 250 psi, if I remember right. Made four ups and downs with drains at the bottom of each down. Worked good for a couple years. Then one day I walked into the tool/ compressor room, as I noticed my compressor was running. There was pvc all over the place! That system blew all apart, stuck shards of pvc in the wall, bent up some hub caps I had stored in there! Must have been a hell of a blast, luckily it happened at night when I was home. Just my experiences.







Bones

 

This is why one doesn't use PVC for air lines... BOOM !

Also you don't shut your compressor off at nights/weekends?
Just in case a line blows and your pump don't run all night or weekend long !

 

Now you tell me!!! Lol..... I had seen pvc air lines all over for years......no trouble! I put a system in and damn near killed myself. I figured at 50% working pressure it would be safe! I changed it all out to iron pipe!

My compressor ran for forty years...... didn’t figure another weekend would hurt it! Lol





Bones

 

We use Flexzilla hoses at work. We beat the hell out of them. Even the oldest ones say who make them, all over the hose.

We have yet to have a failure. I'd call them and ask them to replace it.

 

HRP it was the Barbed end fitting the Air Coupling was attached to that blew right out of the line causing about 80-90 psi to escape rapidly out of the hose it was attached to.

Generally you run for the shut off valve or grab the hose bend it in half stop the rapid air release and unhook the line.

That said couplers themselves are very important too.
​

 

I'm only a part time hobbyist, but everything in my shop is plumbed with iron pipe.

 

Looks like a press fitting, not designed to take a lot of pressure like the metal fittings on a high pressure line.

In this case it appears the line was press fit to the adapter with no other measures to prevent what happened, heck even something as simple as a hose clamp would have been advantageous in this case. HRP

 

Flexzilla is all I buy here in the shop for general use, probably have 25 of them in service. We have had one or two blow the end off just like the one in the first post, but the same thing has happened to other rubber hoses as well.

 

They make a tool that you can use baling wire to clamp the ends on air hoses , it works good, beats big clamps, then just wrap it with tape....and your back in business. My friend had one.....back in the day. Haven’t seen one in years, I think my friend made his.




Bones

 

Always try to use these for the repair, work great.https://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.c...MI0cuBnoz24wIVj4bACh2ZAA2GEAQYGyABEgK3_vD_BwE

 

Watch this video, then watch it a second time and listen to the noise after the explosion.Sounds to me like a tank full of pressure was released suddenly as the escaping pressure seems steady rather than being pumped gradually. Might be wrong about that, but thats my impression.

Now notice that the heavier/thicker coupling and end cap are undamaged. A thinner wall pipe was used for the demonstration. So yes, overpressure can be dangerous, and so can hitting the system with a sudden charge of air.
They won't say how much pressure they used for the demonstration. Boneyard51 said his system had a working pressure of 250 psi. I'm wondering if he used Schedule 40 or maybe 20 pipe for his system? Also did he leave his system pressurized 24/7 ? I always turn my system off when done. Air pressure is dangerous, so anyone choosing to use pvc does so at their own risk. Myself, I have no complaints.

 

I only use hand tools, that way I don't take a chance with compressed air. I always use a brush to paint my hot rods.