Garage Air line Kits.

[zendriver]

I don't recall ever seeing a product kit like this and if there were discussions here, I missed them and can't find them.

Maybe not this exact setup, but is there any reason this type of air line (and fittings)would be a bad idea for a home garage?

https://www.amazon.com/HDPE-Aluminum-HDPE-Compressed-Compressor-Accessories-Install/dp/B0FLXWCW97/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[PCustoms]

I don't recall ever seeing a product kit like this and if there were discussions here, I missed them and can't find them.

RapidAir

 

[manwithtools]

RapidAir

Probably discussed about a thousand times on the GJ...

 

[finn]

Looks like the kit I have, except for the tubing in my kit is blue.

Mine came in a brown cardboard box with no labels, but I think the contents were identical to the RapidAir kit, including the way it fit in the box.

The RapidAir kits were, at the time, in white boxes with a sticker plastered on the front. I can’t prove it, but it looks like there’s a linited number of manufacturers (some of the terminal blocks are a little different) and a multitude of retail brand names out there. A lot of people talk about pex-al-pex, but digging into it, all info says they’re really HPDE, not pex

I’m pretty happy with mine, although I only used it as an extension from my existing 3/4” iron pipe to the rear shop where the blast cabinet and lift are.

 

[racecougar]

I don't recall ever seeing a product kit like this and if there were discussions here, I missed them and can't find them.

Maybe not this exact setup, but is there any reason this type of air line (and fittings)would be a bad idea for a home garage?

https://www.amazon.com/HDPE-Aluminum-HDPE-Compressed-Compressor-Accessories-Install/dp/B0FLXWCW97/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It's pretty much the standard for running compressed air in home garages. It's a copy of RapidAir Maxline.

 

[FTG-05]

Bought this over 10 years ago from the local Northern Tools store. I forget what I paid for it; I've been totally happy with it.

 

[troys]

I installed the Vevor kit over the weekend along with a Vevor regulator/drier, the distribution blocks sucked but overall it was good for a Chinese knockoff.

 

[Scotto]

I just used PEX. Was cheap and is good for 160 psi (max I run it is 130). I ran it in the walls 5 years ago and it works without issue - no leaks.

 

[finn]

I just used PEX. Was cheap and is good for 160 psi (max I run it is 130). I ran it in the walls 5 years ago and it works without issue - no leaks.

That was my original plan, but, besides it not being rated for air by any manufacturer, there’s the issue of UV deterioration, since my walls are all finished, and surface mount is the thus only practical way to install it.

The leftover 3/4” barrier pex tubing I have is quite stiff and difficult to straighten compared to the HDPE-Al-HDPE kit I eventually bought, and since the kit I bought included the terminal fittings, adapters to my existing black iron etc, and only cost $ 69 or $79 last year, I wouldn’t have saved that much by using pex I had on hand.

A lot of people do use it though. I haven’t heard any horror stories like the pvc installs occasionally generate.

 

[PCustoms]

PVC is way cheaper, and the sticks are easier to run straight

 

[fourjeepin]

I just used PEX. Was cheap and is good for 160 psi (max I run it is 130). I ran it in the walls 5 years ago and it works without issue - no leaks.

Me too. I already had the crimper and other tools after repiping my basement. Quick, easy, leak free, and not expensive.

 

[Dig Doug]

I always ran my air lines in copper

started w/ 1 inch & then 3/4 inch and made drops in 1/2 inch

 

[MileHighRover]

I always ran my air lines in copper

started w/ 1 inch & then 3/4 inch and made drops in 1/2 inch

That would be an expensive endeavor these days.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Looks like a Rapid Air knockoff... can't say I'm not surprised.

 

[duneslider]

I use rapidair/maxline quite often at work for installs we do and it is great. However, be careful buying "rapidair" on amazon as it is usually not real rapidair and isn't always compatible with rapidair despite what the description says.

If you buy the chinese brand it will work fine but it may or may not be compatible with other brands of fittings or tubing and you could run into issues later if you need to replace something. I needed some fittings that my distributor was out of so I made a purchase on amazon for what was stated as rapidair and one of the styles fit and worked but didn't look as good as the real deal and the other (from the same company) did not fit correctly and couldn't be used. I ended up going back and replacing all the chinese fittings once the correct ones came.

I have also seen pex installs that are 15 years old at this point and have had zero issues. A lot of the compressors we supply are at 150psi and the pex holds fine. I install tons of poly tubing with the quick pressfit fittings and have very few issues with those as well, only has issues if you disconnect and reconnect a lot.

 

[finn]

I use rapidair/maxline quite often at work for installs we do and it is great. However, be careful buying "rapidair" on amazon as it is usually not real rapidair and isn't always compatible with rapidair despite what the description says.

If you buy the chinese brand it will work fine but it may or may not be compatible with other brands of fittings or tubing and you could run into issues later if you need to replace something. I needed some fittings that my distributor was out of so I made a purchase on amazon for what was stated as rapidair and one of the styles fit and worked but didn't look as good as the real deal and the other (from the same company) did not fit correctly and couldn't be used. I ended up going back and replacing all the chinese fittings once the correct ones came.

I have also seen pex installs that are 15 years old at this point and have had zero issues. A lot of the compressors we supply are at 150psi and the pex holds fine. I install tons of poly tubing with the quick pressfit fittings and have very few issues with those as well, only has issues if you disconnect and reconnect a lot.

I have one of the Amazon knockoffs. I needed a couple more fittings, in my case, to go around a wall and into another room. I ordered the additional fitting from Amazon. The new fittings were a little different design, but were completely interchangeable with those in the kit.

As long as the tubing is the same I.d.and o.d., I can’t think of a reason it won’t be compatible, unless one (name) brand is totally unique. The tubing is generic, as far as I can tell, in all the kits on Amazon. although there are variations in terminal blocks, as seen in the pictures.

I don’t know about the name brand kits that use ridged tubing instead of coils.

 

[duneslider]

I have one of the Amazon knockoffs. I needed a couple more fittings, in my case, to go around a wall and into another room. I ordered the additional fitting from Amazon. The new fittings were a little different design, but were completely interchangeable with those in the kit.

As long as the tubing is the same I.d.and o.d., I can’t think of a reason it won’t be compatible, unless one (name) brand is totally unique The tubing is generic, as far as I can tell, in all the kits on Amazon. although there are variations in terminal blocks, as seen in the pictures.

I don’t know about the name brand kits that use ridged tubing instead of coils.

The ridgid and flexible use different fittings. All I know is not all the off brand fittings I bought worked with the tubing even though their chinese translated descriptions said they would. In the case I had, the tubing wouldn't full seat into the fitting.

 

[finn]

The ridgid and flexible use different fittings. All I know is not all the off brand fittings I bought worked with the tubing even though their chinese translated descriptions said they would. In the case I had, the tubing wouldn't full seat into the fitting.

Interesting. Did you use the tool supplied with the kit to chamfer the tubing before assembly?

 

[Firebrick43]

Interesting. Did you use the tool supplied with the kit to chamfer the tubing before assembly?

Are you talking about Fastpipe or Maxline?

 

[finn]

Are you talking about Fastpipe or Maxline?

Generic, with the 100’ and longer coils . I don’t recall what RapidAir calls the model, but like I said previously, my generic came boxed identical to the equivalent RapidAir kit, just no label in the box.

 

[duneslider]

Interesting. Did you use the tool supplied with the kit to chamfer the tubing before assembly?

Yep, it was just one of the two types of fittings I bought that we had issues with. In the end we just stopped messing with it and just waited for the right stuff to come. Maxline (flexible) is what we were using, we do occasionally use the fastpipe but not as often.

 

[Firebrick43]

Rapid air is both a company name

but also a product line that is just blue colored nylon tubing with push connect fittings, aka air brake line.

Maxline is semi flexible, aka Pex-Aluminum-Pex

FastPipe comes in 19' sticks and is an true aluminum pipe, very stiff, with a thin pex coating. Its the only one rapidair calls ridged

 

[finn]

Rapid air is both a company name

but also a product line that is just blue colored nylon tubing with push connect fittings, aka air brake line.

Maxline is semi flexible, aka Pex-Aluminum-Pex

FastPipe comes in 19' sticks and is a true aluminum pipe, very stiff, with a thin pex coating. Its the only one rapidair calls ridged

Rapidair advertises Maxline as HDPE-Al-HDPE, the same as the knockoffs.

I can’t find anyone calling it Pex-Al-Pex anymore. I’m no polymer chemist, but I think Pex has more cross linking chemistry than HDPE.