Air compressor air system - add auxiliary tank

[planters49]

I have my big air compressor in my detached shop which has an air distribution system run throughout. I also have an air line ran back to my house's attached garage and into the house's basement. Everything is on the same system with valves that can close off the house air run. The issue I have is that I run out air in the basement rather quick since I guess i'm mainly pulling air from the actual air line since the the main tank is at least 100-200 feet away in the detached shop. My idea is to plumb in an auxiliary tank in the basement using one of those portable air tanks which would increase the local air capacity in the basement. Would this work like I hope it would? (I don't want to put an actual separate air compressor in the basement due to the noise).

 

[mike93lx]

Yes, it would help. What kinds of tools are you using in the house? That will dictate how big the tank should be.

What size is the line running back to the compressor? 100-200 ft is long, but also a big range

 

[ycgoat]

I had a ~20gl craftsman compressor fail and used it as additional storage on the 60gl I replaced it with. The old tank is also on wheels which making it handy as a mobile tank.

 

[Metal-Marc]

Yes it would work. I do this in my shop with two pancake tanks. I also have a 20 gal tank on wheel for when I need air far from the compressor. Last summer I had 200 feet of air hoses connected to the aux 20 gal tank so I could remove the wheel on an old 1 ton Chevy truck. Works great.

 

[planters49]

Thanks for the comments, I'm glad this will work! To answer Mike's questions, the basement would mostly just be using compressed air to blow dry pinball parts after being washed and cleaned and also an air stapler. The air line running to the house is 1/2 if I recall. The shop has larger 3/4 inch runs.

 

[Bondo]

I have my big air compressor in my detached shop which has an air distribution system run throughout. I also have an air line ran back to my house's attached garage and into the house's basement. Everything is on the same system with valves that can close off the house air run. The issue I have is that I run out air in the basement rather quick since I guess i'm mainly pulling air from the actual air line since the the main tank is at least 100-200 feet away in the detached shop. My idea is to plumb in an auxiliary tank in the basement using one of those portable air tanks which would increase the local air capacity in the basement. Would this work like I hope it would? (I don't want to put an actual separate air compressor in the basement due to the noise).

Ayuh,..... That'll no doubt help,..... I use a 100lb. propane tank to do the same thing,.....

I took the propane valve outa the tank, 'n then put a 3/8" tee, 'n 3/4" adapter into the tank, on each leg of the tee are quick connect fittin's to plumb in the air hoses,....

Propane tanks are rated to 250psi, so runnin' 120/ 140 psi of air is no problem,....

 

[stubbsrodandcustom]

The addition of the tank will make performance a ton better. Accumulator tanks is what we call them in my profession. So lets say you have 3/8" line over 20' and then a 50 foot hose connected, then your tool is seeing 70' of restriction. You could upsize the feed line to 1/2" to cut down on restriction. But the accumulator tank helps with surge needs, like first pull of air tool trigger etc. In a garage setting, a 4" or 6" air tank for a car air bag system would be sufficient, 5 to 10 gallon if you have a decent enough compressor size tank. If your just wanting more capacity then I would size the accumulator max sizing 1/2" the size of the compressor tank for efficiency. If your not worried about long run times on the duty compressor, then you can upsize from there but realize that the larger it is, the longer it takes to cycle and fill, and added strain to the compressor motor and head will deff happen.

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

Be careful to verify maximum allowable pressure for your accumulator tank is not lower than your input pressure and if so, install a pressure regulator at the tank infill.

 

[cadunkle]

I have a similar setup. 60 gal 5hp compressor in the shed. 3/4" lines out there but I used an existing unused 1/2" conduit to run 1/2" truck air brake line (3/8"ID, I think and about 60'-70' length) to a 20 gal tank in the attic of my garage (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Industr...ortable-Auxiliary-Air-Tank-IT20ASME/300516221). This is at 165 psi of the pressure switch. I then transitioned back to 3/4" in the garage and through a filter and regulator for my garage lines.

Performance is much better than before I added the tank, compared to dragging whatever length of air line to the garage. I also changed over to Milton V fitting at the same time, so some of the improvement is surely from that. In any event, no more issues with die grinders or other tools running out of steam in sustained use.

Note the tank I used is twice the price now and has small fittings (1/4", maybe). Hasn't been an issue for my use but I've considered drilling and tapping for 3/4 NPT in the 20 gal tank fittings, to eliminate all restrictions aside from the line through the conduit.

As the Tyrant mentions, be aware of tank pressure ratings. I used this tank because it was one of few I could find rated at or above the 165psi my compressor is set at (rated for 175 psi). Most of these 5-20 gal small tanks I found were rated at 135-150 psi for a single stage compressor or regulated air. Since I have such a small line supplying it I wanted to avoid adding another regulator and run full tank pressure to it.

 

[PoorUB]

As the Tyrant mentions, be aware of tank pressure ratings. I used this tank because it was one of few I could find rated at or above the 165psi my compressor is set at (rated for 175 psi). Most of these 5-20 gal small tanks I found were rated at 135-150 psi for a single stage compressor or regulated air. Since I have such a small line supplying it I wanted to avoid adding another regulator and run full tank pressure to it.

You could have put the regulator right before the second tank.

Beings most air tools are designed to run at 90 PSI I would have run the regulator at 100 PSI and not worry about regulators in the shop.