PEX for shop air lines?

[FTG-05]

RapidAir MaxLine 3/4in., 3ft. Master Kit, Model# M758 | Northern Tool + Equipment

This kit looks interesting. Anybody tried it?

Andy

That's the 300' kit. I bought he 100' kit (M7500) and couldn't be happier.

My son and I planned to spend half a day installing the 75' down the side of my shop. Once we had it set up - it took us 10 minutes! We spent the rest of the day drinking beer and hanging out.

Best pics I have of it:

The end:

 

[Oldoak]

I also started with the 3/4", 100' kit and added more to it. Individual fittings (Tees and unions) are a little on the expensive side, but well worth it for a nice neat air line plumbing job.

Not difficult at all, just takes a little finesse uncoiling the tubing for straight runs. But with a helper there's nothing to it.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

As a retired pipe fitter I would not be satisfied with that appearance. Hard to take the mechanic out of an old phart, so I do it the hard way; pipe and fittings level and plumb with adequate hangers to prevent sagging. To each his own. I admit, my approach does not make it work better. I am leery of plastics of any type for air service based on bad experiences.

Worked on a Navy aircraft parking apron job where we replaced a mile of 6" EXH HDPE welded and buried air line at 200 PSI. It blew up one night underneath a parked fighter. Virtually destroyed it and damaged 4 others badly. Mega millions damage. Replacement was schd 40 SS. Luckily no one was around. Pieces of HDPE and aircraft pieces were found by FOD crews for a week after. HDPE was sold by the previous project engineers as the answer to all their corrosion problems with steel piping. Th Navy does a poor job of maintaining passive cathodic protection. Well, they got their answer the hard way.

Ron

 

[charlton289]

I have my compressor just inside my big shop door my shop is only 16 by 26 but 16' ceiling so a standard 50' hose is fine I reach outside and all the way to the back of the shop and I also have a extra section I can add to it for more length.it works just fine for me as it is.

 

[radios1]

you have to consider that oil contamination will degrade the plastic, making it unsafe, and any dips in the tubing will collect water..

 

[BLSXJ]

I considered pex and iron and then went with RapidAir Maxline 3/4" kit from northern tool.

I'm cheap. so 1st I ball parked the cost. Rapid air was the most expensive (about $100 more then iron) Pex was the cheapest ($100 cheaper then iron)

2nd I looked at air quality, Iron was the worst (eventually you will have rust inside and out) and pex and rapid air where clean (aka better)

3rd durability I weld and grind in my shop, Iron pipe would be the most durable, pex degrades when exposed to daylight and cant take any real heat, rapid air is in the middle some where

4th ease of installation Iron pipe would be a pita for me to install, pex is easy as it gets, and rapid air is pretty easy two.

if you search you will find my air compressor install thread which details everything. I went with rapid air and have no regrets

 

[EddieWalker]

Problem with using rubber air hose to plumb a shop is it's short lifespan.

When I moved here to TX in 2002, I bought two used 100 foot air hoses from my brother that he used to use back in the 80's when he worked construction. They are still working fine today. They are both stored on a garden hose hanger, outside my shop in full afternoon sun. I also have two newer hoses that are about a dozen years old, giver or take a little, that are the newer non kinking type of hose. One is a Home Depot brand that is bright orange, the other is lime green. In my life, I have not had an air hose fail on me. For what they cost, I don't understand why anything else is used.

 

[Ortimber]

I installed Rapidair in my home shop and it's been in place for about 2 years. So far it has been great. I don't have too many pictures to share, but you can see it hanging on the wall.

At work I will only use iron pipe for the simple reason that it's under pressure 20+ hours a day and break down's are costly. I think Rapidair would work, but iron is the king for industrial applications.

 

[PILOON]

Problem with using PEX for air lines was obtaining (locally) fittings that married 1/2" PEX to 1/4" NPT that most air line couplers use.
Might just be a local thing., consequently each connection involved a multitude of hardware and not the most efficient or economical solution.
Otherwise PEX is a nice way to go.

 

[ovrszd]

When I moved here to TX in 2002, I bought two used 100 foot air hoses from my brother that he used to use back in the 80's when he worked construction. They are still working fine today. They are both stored on a garden hose hanger, outside my shop in full afternoon sun. I also have two newer hoses that are about a dozen years old, giver or take a little, that are the newer non kinking type of hose. One is a Home Depot brand that is bright orange, the other is lime green. In my life, I have not had an air hose fail on me. For what they cost, I don't understand why anything else is used.

I must use mine more. I can get 4 years, maybe 5 at the most out of a hose. I buy high quality hose. Beats me.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

When I moved here to TX in 2002, I bought two used 100 foot air hoses from my brother that he used to use back in the 80's when he worked construction. They are still working fine today. In my life, I have not had an air hose fail on me. For what they cost, I don't understand why anything else is used.

Same here, I bought high quality hose back in the 80's and I'm still using them to this day without any problems.

I have several smaller compressors, but my big one shuts off at 185#, so the hoses aren't babied,

They don't get any spl. treatment at all, I just roll them up when I'm done, hanging them up off the ground and they "keep on, keeping on"...

SR

 

[ovrszd]

What brand hoses are you guys using??? I gotta get me some!!!! I just finished repairing a hose on my hoist that ruptured while I was rotating my truck tires.....

 

[countrybumpkin]

I took some measurements today, and pretty much decided to just go with pipe, I think it will look a lot nicer with out sags and such, plus I shouldn’t have to touch it again. I’m looking at 300 foot loop system with only 6 drops and two maybe three, 50ft retractable reels.

 

[bdog]

I'm not familiar with PEX being used for air lines. I know that PVC is the worse material that you can use because it fatigues over time and the explodes when it fails, sending splinters though the air that have blinded people and caused serious injuries to those around when it happens. Never use PVC for this!!!!

Does PEX make the fittings to do this? If they do, then I would be fine with doing it if the numbers made sense. If nobody makes PEX fittings for air lines, then that's a sign to me that says it's not a good idea.

Personally, I like using air hoses for air lines. The ends are already threaded, you can get them in a variety of lengths to fit your space, they are cheap, and you know that they are safe. Why use anything else?

The problem with air hoses is the don’t allow the air to cool. Air coming out of a compressor is hot. It needs to cool down so that you can remove the moisture from it. The water separator filters don’t work well when the air is hot. It needs to cool so the moisture can condense. There are commercial aftercoolers that are used in critical applications but many people just use a good long length of copper or steel pipe. The air will cool flowing through it. A rubber hose is basically insulation.

When I was renting a shop I had two 100’ rubber hoses for my air plumbing. It worked but when I used a blower or even an impact you could see moisture coming out the exhaust. When I got my own shop (about five miles away) I ran copper air lines. The moisture problem disappeared.

I guess it depends what your needs are but dry air is much better for air tools and is essential for painting and sandblasting. There is a science to getting dry air and adequate flow without restrictions. Literally countless studies and papers written about it.

 

[KennyG]

Good point on the moisture. When you run pipe, make sure it slopes back to a drip leg and fit a drain valve to the low point. I've got a bunch of old copper pipe and I'm going to do this when I get the other 100 projects on the list taken care of.

 

[ddbackhoe]

I use three things to get dry air. An automatic compressor drain kit, a refrigerated dryer and a dessicant can. The plasma cutter, hot coat gun and paint sprayer need it as dry as possible

Tsunami Auto Drains and Purge Systems - Filters.com
Compressed Air Dryer - Save on this Compressed Air Dryer
3/8 In. Desiccant Dryer with Oil Removal Filter

 

[Diggin It]

Personally, I like using air hoses for air lines. The ends are already threaded, you can get them in a variety of lengths to fit your space, they are cheap, and you know that they are safe. Why use anything else?

That's what I did. Not a shop, just a 24 x 30 residential garage. Used a 50' length, cut it to the sizes I needed, then used barbed/crimp fitting as necessary. Made up a small distribution manifold with brass pipe and fittings.

 

[Diggin It]

That's the 300' kit. I bought he 100' kit (M7500) and couldn't be happier.

My son and I planned to spend half a day installing the 75' down the side of my shop. Once we had it set up - it took us 10 minutes! We spent the rest of the day drinking beer and hanging out.

That's pretty much what mine looks like. I don't care about droops and loops, but a few conduit hangers took care of most of them. I had bought a piece of HF's blue PVC air hose to use for general purpose, but I found it got far too stiff in colder weather and could be difficult to uncoil. Then I got the bright idea to cut it up and use it for a feed line. It's all inside, no Sun or other weather exposure and I don't keep it charged unless I'm using it.

 

[EddieWalker]

The problem with air hoses is the don’t allow the air to cool. Air coming out of a compressor is hot. It needs to cool down so that you can remove the moisture from it. The water separator filters don’t work well when the air is hot. It needs to cool so the moisture can condense. There are commercial aftercoolers that are used in critical applications but many people just use a good long length of copper or steel pipe. The air will cool flowing through it. A rubber hose is basically insulation.

When I was renting a shop I had two 100’ rubber hoses for my air plumbing. It worked but when I used a blower or even an impact you could see moisture coming out the exhaust. When I got my own shop (about five miles away) I ran copper air lines. The moisture problem disappeared.

I guess it depends what your needs are but dry air is much better for air tools and is essential for painting and sandblasting. There is a science to getting dry air and adequate flow without restrictions. Literally countless studies and papers written about it.

I agree about the moisture. I drain the tanks on all my air compressors regularly. I have three. Back in the 90's, before moving out to the country, I was into 4x4's and fixing them up, which included doing my own paint jobs. Moisture was the hardest part of getting a good finish. Now I'm just interested in airing up tires, and running air tools. Water in the lines doesn't have any impact on what I'm doing, so I don't worry about it. Just drain the tank and keep on trucking!! I love the idea of metal pipe air lines, multiple drops, and having a hose close to where I'm working, but it's not worth the money for me. I have two locations for my air connections, and I can run a hose to either in a minute. For me, and I think most people, it's not something worth spending any money on.

 

[Lelandwelds]

I used RapidAir MaxLine system. It is plastic pipe lined with aluminum. It was a snap to install. Have it about a year and so far no leaks or failures of any kind. All fittings are also available in far supply stores. I think it is way to go.
Maxline Air Compressor Piping | Rapidair Piping | Engineered Specialties

This stuff is two layers polyethylene separated by aluminum. It is the same as PEX without the cross linking. Or aluminum. I plumbed an animal hospital and a vets clinic with the stuff years before the kits were available. Both were oxygen supplied at 80 psi and worked well.

Rubber air hose doesn't resist oil. PEX is pretty resistant to oils and many (if not most) chemicals. The black color is almost UV proof. PE is blended with PVC and other plastics to make them stronger and more flexible without resorting to plasticizers. PEX and PE, etc. are used everywhere.

I haven't built yet but my plan is to use the PEX-B version (stronger, stiffer and cheaper ) for the overhead loop and black pipe for the drops. I will use import SS fittings and long nipples for sumps. The hardest part of plumbing a line with black pipe is the overhead section. The worst part about PEX is you can't tug on it and it wants to sag. I need to use a metal pipe near the compressor. (Or, something like hydraulic hose.)

I really lIke PEX but think Sharkbite, etc fittings stink.