[AT] Air lines for shop: Finished with review

[Spencer Yost]

So, I finally finished the air lines.   Here is my unvarnished option:   
Maxline is a good choice but not quite the slam dunk I thought it was.

I was impressed with:

     -   Lack of air leaks in the fittings (provided you installed them 
correctly).
     -   Gentle turns and bends are easy and don't require elbows and 
what not(see below)
     -   Completely modular system:   You can get most any kind of 
fitting or hardware that is compatible and don't need to "hack" anything.
     -   Seems good quality (see below though). time will tell.

What I learned:

As far as handling its the worst of both worlds.
     -   Shorter lengths:  I've never used PEX-AL-PEX but I understand 
its akin to that so this was a learning process.  It is fairly stiff and 
difficult to shape shorter lengths. Its a bit like wrestling a dead 
snake with rigor mortis.  Unrolling it straight from the roll was the worst.
     -   Longer lengths:  It is flexible enough that you can't lift 
longer lengths without help.   Long lengths are like partially cooked 
spaghetti: the far end just won't come up if its over 12-15' long.  My 
wife was so happy to have to assist (-:


What I didn't like:
     -   One of the fittings designed to attach the line to a standard 
female NPT fitting (a regulator in my case) had weak/bad threads and a 
few 12-18mm sections of the thread broke during installation.   So air 
leaked and I almost could not remove it. Removal did minor damage to the 
female threads in my regulator but I saved it by chasing it with a pipe 
tap.  Since the fitting is steel and regulator housing is aluminum and 
was undamaged (other than trying to remove it) I assume the problem was 
with the fitting and its thread cutting during production.
     -   Its way too easy to kink it when bending a 90 degree or greater 
by hand.  Had to buy the bender.
     -   If you don't want it to look like an eighth grader installed it 
you really need their tubing straightener to unroll it and give you nice 
crisp lines.
     -   Instructions state that you tighten each fitting by hand and 
turn 3/4 more.   I never could get a full 3/4 but none leaked so not a 
biggie but I have 10' ceilings so standing on a ladder using all my 
might to try to hold a fitting with one wrench while torque-ing that 
sucker down with another was zero fun.
     -   The lines are, as Steve W stated, very blue.   Matches my 
compressor but could be unsightly if that matters.


All in all I was glad I used it.   I bought the straightener and bender 
and also glad I did.    As for money:  I can resell the straightener and 
bender but counting the loss on the resale I am way over copper - 
probably $100 over copper.  But still happy.  It went in faster and 
leak-free.  Plus soldering on a ladder is zero fun as well (-:


Hope this helps.   And if anyone needs a straightener and bender I'll 
make you a great deal......


Spencer


On 9/20/21 4:41 PM, Spencer Yost wrote:
> I am going with the Rapidair system.   Im using the Maxline product rather than their rigid AL piping so I can simply hand shape turns and curves.  I placed my order on Amazon over the weekend. While the “Master” kit is $200 on Amazon, it’s also a very simple system.  I needed a slightly more complicated system.  So my order was quite a bit more.  But still it will cost less than a copper system and maybe only $50-75 more than a steel pipe system so this was a nice choice. Modular and easy.
>
> Will let you folks know how it goes. With delivery of a few items stretching out to the end of the week and my schedule rarely allowing me more than 20 or 40 minutes of fiddling on something in the shop before other priorities call me, it’ll be a while before I’m finished.
>
> Spencer
>
> Sent from my iPhone