What pipe to use for shop air?
- Thread starter MtPockets
- Start date
I used RapidAir MaxLine in my shop:
https://www.rapidairproducts.com/shop/maxline/3-4-maxline-master-kit
It was easy to install and has held up well.
https://www.rapidairproducts.com/shop/maxline/3-4-maxline-master-kit
It was easy to install and has held up well.
Same here. I’ve got six outlets in my shop that I built about four years ago. Every single fitting sealed the first time and has been trouble free. Insanely easy to install.
PSA for any unaware readers: do not use PVC piping for compressed air service.
KennethS
TJ Expert
Saw once someone posted if the PVC bursts and fragments hit a person they can’t be seen in hospital x-ray to assist in removal. I do not think that is accurate based on the x-ray systems we use at work.
DMopar97
Member
This is one of those internet questions that gets all the debates and opinions. guys with dough to spend use rapidair, my dads had PVC in his shop for 40 years, guys with too much time on their hands use black pipe, too much time and money use copper pipe. Plumbers use pex. I use air line. I bought a couple 250ft spools of flexzilla 1/2" airline, and ran it throughout my 4,000sqft shop in one evening, with a handful of drops, including a CNC plasma table, 4 post lift, and tire machine. It's barely enough volume for the tire machine, but enough none the less for my use. Everything else is more than enough. If I decided i need more, I could easily and inexpensively just manifold another line to wherever I need it. Because its regular ole air line, it's easy to run around obstacles, through things, etc. I use conduit clamps to keep it secured to the wall, and oetiker clamps to attach to hose barb NPT fittings. I keep the main trunk at 130psi, with it regulated down at most of my drops.
I couldn't be happier, and I wouldn't do it any other way. I see no reason to over complicate it.
I couldn't be happier, and I wouldn't do it any other way. I see no reason to over complicate it.
Personally, I wouldn't use PVC or work in a shop that used PVC pipe for compressed air. Ever. Same goes for PEX. I wouldn't use copper unless for medical use installation. Use appropriate materials for the application.
As an aside, most if not all materials deteriorate over time, and I think you'll find this is particularly true of plastics. If you think the pressure rating of old PVC is the same as when it was installed, think again. Also, pressure ratings are typically based on a temperature, hotter/colder temps decrease what the pipe can handle. For PVC, I believe max pressure is calculated at a temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
As an aside, most if not all materials deteriorate over time, and I think you'll find this is particularly true of plastics. If you think the pressure rating of old PVC is the same as when it was installed, think again. Also, pressure ratings are typically based on a temperature, hotter/colder temps decrease what the pipe can handle. For PVC, I believe max pressure is calculated at a temperature of 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
Well if the question is framed like that, I’d rather get hit by sch 40 shrapnel than sch 80 shrapnel, but that’s not the point.
It’s not that PVC pipe can’t handle shop compressor pressures. The danger is that the failure mode of PVC under internal pressure is brittle fracture due to its material properties.
That’s not too much of a problem with pressurized water service, because liquids are relatively incompressible and thus do not store much potential energy. Compressed air stores huge amounts of potential energy, and if the PVC containing it fails, all that energy becomes kinetic energy, and you get to play plastic shard dodgeball (with player’s choice of pipe schedule) for a split second.
In other words, compressed air in PVC is a frag grenade. Now, you can argue that live frag grenades are completely safe as long as you don’t pull the pin, but you won’t catch me sleeping with one under my pillow.
One other thing to consider, while not applicable to home use, is that OSHA rules prohibit PVC use for compressed air lines for the reasons posted above (stored kinetic energy, brittle failure mode, and increasing brittleness as it ages). And another point about PVC is that its potential for catastrophic failure increases with strain cycling, meaning that as your air compressor discharges and recharges, the pressure in the lines cycle from high to low, causing the strain in the pipe material to cycle as well. When this happens, the material weakens, crazing occurs, forming small surface cracks. Those surface cracks become stress-concentrators, and the potential for brittle, catastrophic failure increases.
I've seen a lot of posts over the years on various forums from people who've used it without failure, but I've also seen the OSHA investigation photos of failures and injuries from the shrapnel. As far as I'm concerned, PVC just isn't worth the risk.
I've seen a lot of posts over the years on various forums from people who've used it without failure, but I've also seen the OSHA investigation photos of failures and injuries from the shrapnel. As far as I'm concerned, PVC just isn't worth the risk.
I'd actually been leaning towards this.
My biggest issue is that at some point it'll be buried in insulation and covered with plywood so repairs would be a pain in the arse.
I don't have a lot to run, so may just do steel pipe. To me, long term durability trumps ease of installation.
The RapidAir setup looks awesome, but I dont know.
Still debating...
Are you planning on running the air lines within a framed wall? Punching through a wall, no worries, but I would not run compressed air lines within a framed wall that will be finished all sides.
Yeah, I would keep the lines on the outside of the wall. Tuck it up in the corner of the wall and the ceiling.
It's in a pole shed, and the plan was to run it along a horizontal brace.
I guess a better plan is to remove and reinstall it when I insulate and install panels?
I can do that.
Yeah, I'm going to have to do something similar when I do the insulation and panels on my two walls in the garage. Or if you leave enough space between the line and "wall" you might be able to just slide them between without having to take it all down.
Depending on the particulars of your situation, you might be able to set the line, but block the mounts off the framing with small pieces of whatever sheathing you intend to use later to finish. Later, as you set your sheets, you can remove the blocks from the mounts as you progress, rather than having to remove and reinstall the system.
DMopar97
Member
I put mine on the outside of my wall. I run it along the 4" (electrical) gutter that also runs surface mount. I ran it through the gutter with some grommets.
That being said, it wouldn't bother me whatsoever to run the line behind a wall, I just wouldn't make any connections back there unless I really had to. The stuff behind the wall won't see any UV, or be at risk of physical damage - it will probably outlast you. My primary complaint with flexzilla is that it's a godawful green color. going behind the wall would fix that
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