[AT] Air lines for shop

[Stephen Offiler]

Hey Steve W - THANKS for mentioning Rapidair!  I have seen this stuff
marketed into automotive, but unfortunately I've been reading Motor
Magazine and TEN (Tool&Equipment News) a lot less lately and I had
forgotten about it.  I also had an impression that it was pretty pricey
stuff.  This might be a great option for Spencer!  (Not to mention the fact
that my workplace could certainly use some plumbing upgrades)

https://www.rapidairproducts.com/


Steve O.

On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 1:53 AM Steve W. <swilliams268 at frontier.com> wrote:

> Spencer Yost wrote:
> >
> > One of the reasons I have been thinking copper is because here in the
> > humid south, water in air lines is a problem.  You can not paint without
> > a desiccant filter for example. Nothing worse than seeing water droplets
> > coming out with your paint (been there done that).  One benefit I
> > thought copper would have would be  to condense water quickly and
> > earlier in the run; therefore water vapor would be less of an issue at
> > the tool end(assuming I slant the lines to run back towards the
> > compressor) and my tool-end water filters wouldn't fill up so fast.
> >
> > Anyone with experience with copper find this to be true?
> >
> > Also, copper is less than $1 per foot more expensive(3.46/ft vs 2.69/ft)
> > so for a run that will be less than 100' worth of pipe so I decided to
> > not sweat (excuse the pun) the cost factor between black pipe and copper
> > and just go on the merits.
> >
> > While continuing to look around at various options and along the way I
> > saw 1-1/2" black pipe at Lowes with an oddly specific PSI rating:
> > 231PSI    I'm beginning to think Brice might be right and they are using
> > steam rating....
> >
> >
> > Spencer
>
>
> When I ran the new lines for my shop I went with a rapidair kit. Think
> it was about 200 bucks for 100 feet of 3/4" line, three drop blocks,
> line clips, cutting tool and a couple t fittings. It's basically
> aluminum reinforced PEX. The aluminum makes it stiffer and a bit stronger.
> My only complaint was the color, I like blue but once installed it
> looked out of place, so I went over the entire thing with semi-gloss
> black. Now it hides better.
> Stuff is EASY to work with, can be changed or added to in minutes and
> requires no soldering or threading. The blocks have extra ports on them
> so if you wanted to run a line through the wall you can do it straight
> out the back of a block. That's how I feed the system in the shop,
> compressor is outside in an insulated shed with a small heater and a
> flex line goes up to the 3/4 pipe nipple I ran through the wall.
>
> I added a cooler loop to my compressor using an A/C condenser that is
> plumbed between it and the tank, the tank has an auto drain that also
> has a remote switch if I want to drain it longer than programmed.
>
> I also added a couple remote tanks at the other end of the shop, those
> help a bit when you first open up a high flow tool like an impact or
> sandblaster. I did cheat a bit though, the remote tanks are ex FD air
> bottles from an old cascade system, rated for 2200 psi so my puny 150
> psi air system doesn't make them sweat..
>
> --
> Steve W.
> _______________________________________________
> AT mailing list
> AT at lists.antique-tractor.com
> http://lists.antique-tractor.com/listinfo.cgi/at-antique-tractor.com
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.antique-tractor.com/pipermail/at-antique-tractor.com/attachments/20210914/bce3b757/attachment.htm>