Finally picked up an IR compressor last weekend, now I need to run air lines in my garage. I already have a 50’ zillareel i’m mounting to the ceiling. What are you guys using for your hard airlines? I was looking around the net and thinking of using the rapidair kit, any other suggestions or feedback on it?
http://www.rapidairproducts.com/store/shopexd.asp?id=37
(It’s $100 shipped elsewhere on the net fwiw)
thanks
I remember Wayne posting pictures a few years ago and i wanna say he used PVC with water traps etc.
def going to need water traps/ water/air separators, i like looks of the rapid air kit… i was going to go with pex when i do mine, i guess the biggest concern is the couplers at high pressure but i doubt you will be running anything higher then 150 psi… pvc is also good cheap way of doing it too… let me know what you decide to do ill come over and help 
i just did some at my work
I used pvc pipe, been that way for 4+ years
that rapid air link you gave is NOT hard line its soft. Their Fastpipe is the aluminum tube stuff.
things to consider about running PVC, even at lower 150psi, you wack a line with something hard and you are getting hurt when it explodes. PVC is stong but brittle, especially at cold tempters. Route it away from the work area so you dont hit it with a work piece or tool or something.
The inside dia has a HUGE effect on the CFM the system will support. hard 90’s add alot of inefficiency to the line too. This is the biggest thing I would worry about. that link you gave is their flex line, its 3/8" ID. Run that for a “main run” around the place and performance will suffer at the far end drop. They have a calculator, play around with it. 40’ of that at 150psi can support 41cfm, put a bunch of 90 fittings in there and that gets worse. That IR comp you got is single phase right? like 25cfm @150? 3/8 inside dia would suffice for the comp, but it doesnt leave you much head room, and remember the CFM rating is usually over-rated on those machines and at 180psi the CFM from the comp is even less… Now look at .870 ID line, 40’ of that at 150psi supports 340 CFM! thats a huge difference.
My point is, when you want to crank up the impact to bust something loose 180-190 psi and no CFM loss is key. Skim on the line now and kick yourself later.
get the 1" aluminum hardline.
In my old CRC location, it was all 1.5" black pipe, and ALOT of it. Even being large ID, having to travel so far (to say the drop at the entrance door as you walked in) was a shitty drop for tools. It would loose pressure fast and cfm wasn’t there either. I had to move the blast cab over there for space reasons and it killed its performance. When the blaster was at the main head drop next to the air cooler by the comp it worked 100 times better. Even the impact guns, DA sanders, etc all acted dramatically differently when used at different drops around the shop.
Keep your system as SIMPLE as it can be. Minimum amount of drops as needed around the garage. Keep the number of 90 fittings to an absolute minimum. and angle the runs like a gutter on a house, so the condensation inside can roll downhill to each leg/drop, and put a knife valve at the bottom to dump them, and place your quick disconnect on a T about a foot or whatever higher than the dump valve, that will keep as much condensation out of your flex lines off the drop to the tools.
and that rapid air tubing (soft) is only 150psi rated… that 30 psi (over 180psi line pressure) can be the difference between busting out a breaker bar and pipe vs getting it off with the impact.
by hard piping I just mean permanent mounted pipe. i.e. not a hose reel
I appreciate the kk novel but that doesn’t help me much in turn of what direction to go. What would you recommend Mike? Should I use their 3/4" kit?
FWIW I will have a tire machine, my Mohawk lift-lock release and a hose reel for impact/tire air. impact is definitely the most air I would need.
NM i looked up the specs on the comp you got… you could get away with the flex line stuff unless you even planed on getting a 25+cfm @ 150/180psi machine later on
no prob on the novel. lol knowledge is power, right, just tring to spread some knowledge.
yeah rock out that link you had above.
for the price and ease of install I think that is what I will do, just add a dryer after the compressor
yeah buddy. the 3/8 ID will be more than sufficient for the comp you picked up, and its not rated at 150 anyways so you wont be pushing the line. (i am sure 151psi wont explode the line, but 180 over time might stretch the line and maybe break the nylon cording inside the line and cause a failure)
You just made me realize how much more expensive my shop will be to plumb next year. 
on the drier… unless your using a TON of air every time your out there and condensating like a mofo, dont worry about an AC drier… just make a habit of dumping the tank and the drop legs when you walk out at the end of the night. It not like your running a DA sander for 8 hours along side other guys working there. Our compressor would run so much the tank itself got too hot to touch at times, the AC drier we have would dump literally a few gallons of water a week when we emptied it.
You would be perfectly fine with proper preventitive maintaince. Save the $600 for an external drier and get a nice auto purge setup for the compressor tank and dump the leg drops ever so often and be good to go.
What are these air tools you speak of?
I think I have decided on this one. I want 3 connections and it’s only $20 more to go with the 3/4" now over the 1/2" so it seems well worth it
Wayne updated his PVC with copper. Im still running PVC, its been up for 3-4 years now. Only downside is if you accidentally hit it with something and it breaks.
I will never ever use PVC again. Copper was what I went with when I most recently redid it.
looks good Wayne, I was waiting for you to chime in. If you don’t mind I would like to drop by sometime and check out your shop. we have relatively the same space and i’d like to see how you’ve got yours laid out while I am in the midst of redesigning mine. lmk
sure man whenever. i’m not home much anymore so catching me is the tricky part. Also, my shop is a fucking mess now.
There are so many different ways to run hard air lines 1) black iron is ok but it rusts inside and out rust and air tools spells failure…2) copper is expensive and if not soildered well could cause problems 3) Pvc is the line of choice but it needs to be sq.80 pipe and what I did was ran it overhead with galvaized down runs and clamped to the wall well by the ends…Also it is a good idea to shut the air off at night in case of failure in any of the applications…Galv.is the best line to run out of all the lines mentioned…Bill
Damn I need a wall mount spring compressor asap