Compressed Air Piping

[timswi]

Anyway, hot water tanks run at 125+ degrees for decades in PVC.

Water does not compress. Very little stored kinetic energy. Air is compressed, lots of stored kinetic energy.

I was referring to working temperatures..You're right about the kenetic energy.

I agree with you..PVC wasn't designed for this, but the burst pressure and temp fit in the ranges and I have used this without issue for years, with a little care and common sense it works. As I said, I'm not selling this as ideal. Please, don't take me the wrong way, I'm not trying to argue, I agree with you in general.

 

[Cami]

@westcliffe01: The remote receiver is an awesome suggestion; especially with tools that take gulps; even little ones. A construction company I did some welding for had problems running nailers a long way from their compressor. A small, portable receiver on whatever floor they were working on fixed things up nicely.

There are a few ways to meet peak demand at the end of a long run of pipe. What come to mind are upping the pressure, laying bigger pipe, or the remote receiver. The remote receiver is easy to install and can be had on the cheap, but upping the pressure raises your electrical bill, and bigger pipes are more time and money...and is definately overkill if it's to supply an intermittent demand.

As for what to use to transport that air, I've dealt with black pipe for others, but for myself just run air hose; easy and cheap. How can a self-respecting welder not use black pipe in his own shop? I still haven't figured that one out

 

[Bedlam]

could you explain a remote receiver please?

 

[RickB]

Anyway, hot water tanks run at 125+ degrees for decades in PVC.

Water does not compress. Very little stored kinetic energy. Air is compressed, lots of stored kinetic energy.

Additionally, few domestic water systems operate at over 100 PSI, hot or cold.

I would not use PVC under any circumstances.

 

[kennyd]

PVC is just plain dangerous for air,so much so that OSHA has banned it. Plenty will say "I have been using it for years..." but that is bad advice.

Do some Google searching, terms like "PVC for air" and the like, I don't have the links here at work-but if you search my name and "PVC" you will find a lot of OSHA links I had posted in the past.

 

[The Haymaker]

I plumbed my shop with PEX, and have no complaints. There is PEX rated over 100psi.

I looked at it this way, if pex can take the pressure along with WATER HAMMER involved with the mass of water, then I knew it would take air, which always runs cool.

Love it, works awesome, and is slick when the time comes to add a T somewhere.

PVC on the other hand..... After having a couple air cannons made with the stuff and let go at 120psi, I'd recommend staying away from it. The stuff disintegrates and leaves razor edged shrapnel over a fairly large area.

 

[GE222]

I strongly agree with CurlyDave. Using PVC is a very dangerous mistake. When PVC fails, it will blow shrapnel everywhere. Even in perfect temperature conditions, I would never use it.

Steep pipe has a big secondary advantage in that it will cool the air which will condense the moisture into a drip leg, before it reaches the tool you are using.

A filter should be installed just before the air quick connect, so rust should not be an issue.

I have never used PEX tubing, but if it does fail, I believe that it would simply tear, or a joint would fail.

 

[tomnky]

There are build Your own solutions that look pretty good to me. Here is an example: Compressed Air Piping and Air Tools from Garage Pak


http://www.transairaluminumpipe.com/?gclid=COm_p-Glu4sCFQVAgQod9nXaxw

http://www.rapidairproducts.com/

 

[Egon]

Do a search on Google. You will find there are now flexible plastic lines available for air service.

It's just a mater of locating them locally.

 

[GE222]

A remote air receiver is simply a second air tank usually mounted some distance from the main compressor/air tank. They are often mounted near a load that has a high peak air consumption. The tank will supply the peak load, instead of waiting for the air pressure to recover through the supply line.

Large industrial plants employ this practice all the time. For them it will often allow one compressor to be shut down, assuming that they have more than one, which many large facilities do. Air is a very expensive commodity.