What is the best way to run air compressor lines

[tweake]

problem with rubber air lines is you loose pressure with them. i think its like 5lbs per 10ft of hose. please correct me if im wrong.

its all in the sizing. with any pipe or hose thats rough internally you simply go up a size.
what often happens is people have good sized main truck line then drop down to a small diameter rubber hose and thats where most of the losses happen. typically because they are using undersized hose, poorly sized fitting and bad connection design.

[Sberry]

problem with rubber air lines is you loose pressure with them. i think its like 5lbs per 10ft of hose. please correct me if im wrong.

Depends on how much you are trying to run thru it, at 5 cfm almost no loss, at 25 then that could be accurate on a 3/8 hose.

[Reebz]

OK I'm going to use copper pipe. What gauge or thickness. Would home depot carry the proper stuff. This will be new for me. Never sweated pipe.

[davec]

Type L copper. There is a thinner type M that you will also see in the stores, around here one is marked with red lettering and the other is blue but i forget which is which. There is also a type K that is really heavy but that is overkill. Only used for direct burial i think. You probably won't even find it around. All fittings are typically heavy enough to not worry about. The home stores will carry it but they have thinned out their selection of old style sweat copper in favor of the new quick connect things like Shark bites, so you may have limited selection. I know home depot was going like that, but we have Menards here too that still carries a wider range. The nice thing is you can use lead solder for this as it isn't potable water piping, if you can find it.

[ronsii]

Around here HD still carries L and M. M is the hard temper pipe(cheaper) L is bendable; you can get most the other types K, dwv,acr,oxy,etc at either core and main, ferguson, johnstone or many other industrial supply houses.

Requirements for water pipe in pretty much any building we have worked in were the thicker tubing... no M allowed... and if ground contact then it had to be protected.


Only reason I used so much copper when I plumbed air to the shops here was the price was still reasonable back then, if I had to do it over now I would go pex and poly mainly because of costs.

[Hoff907]

just a heads up, here most plumbing stores charge a lot less than Home Depot for copper, last time I bought 3/4 copper at Ferguson i paid half of what HD charges.

Type L has Blue writing, M has red. two most common grades of rigid copper (for plumbing). L is thicker and will handle more pressure, and is what i hope to use when I build a shop.

[Ypop]

The pictures you posted are a perfect example of how too do it. Would I use a bigger pipe Yes. your first T is how all down feeds should be run.

[Sberry]

If we look at the way those over and up hydrants are plumbed they are usually part of an air beyond system, not on the dead end in a small garage. Could turn a t the other direction on a dead end and have a drip leg, that would make some sense. I got nothing against copper, wish I would have used some modern plastic in part of my last remod but if I was a home gamer would make up a simple manifold out of a few pieces of steel pipe and take off from a riser to a spot or 2 I needed it.

[arcflash]

I use 3/4" copper in my shop. My new place in Texas is plumbed with plastic. That will be coming out. As far as pressure loss goes just run a continuous loop around the shop so feed from both directions.

[John T]

As far as pressure loss goes just run a continuous loop around the shop so feed from both directions.

Hmm...

Never thought of that...

Sounds like one of those ideas that is either shear brilliance OR a waste of time...

kinda sounds legit... maybe.

[Sberry]

I don't run loops in small shops, there is no point and it can actually trap water in some places. I like to drive any moisture down to an end to a leg or filter. It is a good idea,,, in a GM plant with long lines, lots of continuous use;.

[tweake]

Hmm...

Never thought of that...

Sounds like one of those ideas that is either shear brilliance OR a waste of time...

kinda sounds legit... maybe.

I don't run loops in small shops, there is no point and it can actually trap water in some places. I like to drive any moisture down to an end to a leg or filter. It is a good idea,,, in a GM plant with long lines, lots of continuous use;.

ring feed is fairly normal for commercial setups where you have many outlets around the room. if you actually need it in a small shop is debatable, but it is most certainly a legit thing. if you have pipes running almost all the way around i would add a bit extra on and go completely around.

ideally water should be removed before it gets to the piping. however if your running a wet setup for some reason its easy enough to put slope in and fit drip legs. water only gets trapped due to bad design.

[duramax-rob]

ring feed is fairly normal for commercial setups where you have many outlets around the room. if you actually need it in a small shop is debatable, but it is most certainly a legit thing. if you have pipes running almost all the way around i would add a bit extra on and go completely around.

ideally water should be removed before it gets to the piping. however if your running a wet setup for some reason its easy enough to put slope in and fit drip legs. water only gets trapped due to bad design.

what he said!!!!