Air compressor plumbing

[Gannz]

Just recently bought a 5HP 80 Gal SB that puts out 17.3 @175 and now I'm about to plumb it in. I've been researching for the past few weeks and I think I have a pretty good handle on it but still have a few questions and I'm sure there's something I've overlooked. Summary of the plan...

1" schedule 80 supply drawing from a sealed, crawl with an industrial dehumidifier. Crawl also maintains a low to mid 70s temp. Compressor shares the same wall as the crawl so it's only about a 6' run.

3/4 swivel 90 out of the tank to an 18" 3/4 hydraulic hose to a black iron tee (trap on the south end of the tee).

3/4 black iron trunk running 25-30' before the first drop / water separator and falling back to water trap near compressor.

Four 1/2 drops that swing up before dropping down. Traps with valves at the end of each drop. Regulator and filter on each drop. I'll also probably add a drop or two in the future for maybe an additional bench or an outside connection for spraying/sanding/grinding out back.

• 25' 3/8 hose reel
• 50' 1/2 hose reel
• desiccant dryer with direct 1/2 hose (no quick connects) to blast cabinet and quick connect for HVLP
• bench with quick connect (mostly be used with 3/8 coil hose)

The 1/2" hose will rarely be used. Just installing it for any long runs I may need. I'll mostly be using the air in the garage but I have some more framing to do above the garage, on the 2nd floor of the house, and some framing/roofing to do out back at the shed. I'll need to attach a 3/8 hose to the 1/2 to get me there but it will only be used for the framing/roofing guns.

The blaster is the biggest air hog I have and I think that's adequately supplied with the 1/2 hose with 1/2 fittings and no quick connects.

Everything else should be fine on the 3/8... die grinders, 1/2 earthquake impact, HVLP, Sioux 1287 sander/grinder, etc.

The questions...

Can I get buy with just the one 3/4" water separator? I understand it's better to have them at each drop but a good one is not cheap. I think I'll have very dry with my setup... air drawing from the conditioned crawl, running the 3/4 black iron 25' before the water separator and having a relatively large compressor to begin with. And, I'll have the desiccant right before the things that need the absolute driest air (blaster and HVLP).

I have one HF auto drain on the compressor plumbed with copper fittings/lines. Can I also use one of those on the water trap near the compressor (that collects the condensate that falls from the pipe) or just open the valve every so often?

Plan is to use all Milton V-Style fittings/couplings and flexzilla 3/8 hoses. That hose has 1/4" threads and all of my air tools have 1/4" threads also. Is there any reason/benefit to go with the 3/8 milton V? The actual connector is still 1/4", correct? I planned on getting the 100' hose and cutting what I need. Could I put a 3/8 barb w/ 3/8 threads on the end that connects to the 1/2 black iron drops? More importantly, would it make much of a difference? I'm just trying to eliminate any bottlenecks.

This is the water separator I'm looking at. Has good reviews (not many reviews on the 3/4 but the 1/2 has a lot). Would this be a good choice or is there something better in the same price range?

For regulators & filters I have no clue. Haven't gotten that far yet. I know to get an aluminum bowl and not to get HF. Anyone have recommendations for budget friendly filters/regulators?

 

[matt_i]

I question the need for Schedule 80 on the input side. Personally I'd go larger but make sure it can be decoupled. For example, you could use larger diameter PVC but put a flexible "boot" as on the throttle body of a car being isolated from the airbox/air filter. In my mind, no sense in making the pump work hard on the input side. Along those lines the unmuffled sound could also echo in the crawl space making it an undesirable choice. Some Roxul baffles in a "corn maze" type configuration should help out.

My airline plan which is a collection of parts and pipes includes a 1" cyclonic filter followed by a 1" coalescing filter before going to the header system. A rough and a fine separator if you will. The catalog data for the 1" coalescing filter indicates that it won't be a significant restriction with my volume.

Your drip leg can be built to store as much water as you want. Either by length or using bell reducers to open up to a large pipe for "storage" and then back down to the drain valve. I have seen industrial systems with a 2" drip leg fed by a 1/2" main line. Just depends on how often you want or need to blow it down...which may have to be determined by experimentation.

My other free advice is to either integrate a pipe union every so often or else space it out from the wall such that one can be "cut in" if ever needed in the future. Its common to get going on a black pipe run all assembled in series from one end to the other and then realize its time for an unexpected drop somewhere in the middle...

 

[sberry]

I don't use any drips, I shoot it right to the filter but I pretty much have dry air before I get there. If you do not have 3/4 air guns skip the investment in 1/2 and get 50 ft 3/8 on a reel. May even get rid of a reel if the only difference is sizing. A 3/8 will drain that comp on blasting too. Most of these do not need 2 filters but one prior to a regulator at poing of use. A big filter on a big line using little air in comparison wont remove much water as the air velocity is too slow. The filter with 3/8 inputs are about right for this class of tool, small enough they will spin out some water. You can reduce your 1/2 drop to make the connection. Secondly, one well placed system is worth a bunch of poorly located hydrants, remain a bit flexible and move something if the geometry or ergonomics don't work out and take advantage of location and do with 1 if it will work vs having 2 to clutter the place up.
This one feeds 4 locations. The second one feeds only 1 reel, no where else to get on or disconnect it and due to the size of the building and wanting to shut the old hose off a local disconnect that may not be needed in a smaller garage with less manifold and stations. Put a valve on the tank and go from there. I don't use desicant anywhere, I sandblast and paint without it only some separation and filters. Neither one of these have drips, the filter is to catch any of it.

bench with quick connect (mostly be used with 3/8 coil hose)

Pipe over to the bench and put a piece of hose, skip the quick connect at the in, screw it to a fitting and a qd on the business end but fixed whip you can hang out of the way and skip those pos coily things.
I tried all that stuff when I started, was nothing but a pain. A piece of hose, either 25 ft hung out of the way or piece custom length to work around of the bench, never needs to be removed. In my shop[ under normal circumstances the user only uses 1 connection at the tool from a reel of fixed hose, never moves it. In the first pic you can see a connector prior the regulator, used it once or 2x in the last year on heavy air guns on large bolts most people don't even own. A T is cheap and easy compared to adding extra filter/regs if you really don't need them. . 2 air drops on reel easily cover 1000 sq ft of building, maybe a drop for bench work.
I am a fan of tailoring and do it but am more inclined to be a bit rube till I feel it out and get it in the right spot vs a lot of pre planning every micro detail, put in several outlets and finding myself using 1.
That blue whip could be removed now, my guy added it for use with a blow guy when building all kinds of fussy hyd parts

 

[Gannz]

I question the need for Schedule 80 on the input side. Personally I'd go larger but make sure it can be decoupled. For example, you could use larger diameter PVC but put a flexible "boot" as on the throttle body of a car being isolated from the airbox/air filter. In my mind, no sense in making the pump work hard on the input side. Along those lines the unmuffled sound could also echo in the crawl space making it an undesirable choice. Some Roxul baffles in a "corn maze" type configuration should help out.

My airline plan which is a collection of parts and pipes includes a 1" cyclonic filter followed by a 1" coalescing filter before going to the header system. A rough and a fine separator if you will. The catalog data for the 1" coalescing filter indicates that it won't be a significant restriction with my volume.

Your drip leg can be built to store as much water as you want. Either by length or using bell reducers to open up to a large pipe for "storage" and then back down to the drain valve. I have seen industrial systems with a 2" drip leg fed by a 1/2" main line. Just depends on how often you want or need to blow it down...which may have to be determined by experimentation.

My other free advice is to either integrate a pipe union every so often or else space it out from the wall such that one can be "cut in" if ever needed in the future. Its common to get going on a black pipe run all assembled in series from one end to the other and then realize its time for an unexpected drop somewhere in the middle...

Just using the schedule 80 because it's the only gray pipe I could find without the long sweep elbows. The gray matches the shop/compressor better and I didn't want to paint it.

The inlet is only 1" and the filter adapter is 1" so that's why I was going with 1". I can run bigger. What size do you recommend?

So I should bush up and put 1" filters/separators on the 3/4 trunk? No filters at the drops? I'd rather not have the expense of a filter for each drop but I see that's what a lot of people do.

I was going to install and plug a couple of tees for future expansion.

 

[sberry]

So I should bush up and put 1" filters/separators on the 3/4 trunk?

, no, skip this and filter at the drops. I hook as may tools to I filter as I can, as I said the orange hose you see in pic 1 on the right feeds a line goes to hoist and to the paint booth and this same reg feeds the hose reel. A small garage may easily get by with 1 fil/reg with some well designed plumbing and a couple t's. Skip the 1/'2 reel until you find yourself cant live without it.

 

[Gannz]

I don't use any drips, I shoot it right to the filter but I pretty much have dry air before I get there.

That's what I'm shooting for and expecting also. Just the one drip to catch the condensate before the separator is all I should need and the desiccant will catch anything that gets past the separator. So, drips eliminated and money saved.

If you do not have 3/4 air guns skip the investment in 1/2 and get 50 ft 3/8 on a reel. May even get rid of a reel if the only difference is sizing. A 3/8 will drain that comp on blasting too.

I know I don't need the 1/2 for the garage. Was just going to install it (on a hand reel to cut down on costs) only for long run use of nail guns. It's going to take me 100' to get where I need to be so I figured it would be better to have the first 50' of 1/2. And, I got the 50' 1/2 on an AWD for $27.

For the blaster I can run the 3/8 but I have a short piece of 1/2 so I was going to use it there. Really no big deal either way. It's a very short run.

Most of these do not need 2 filters but one prior to a regulator at poing of use. A big filter on a big line using little air in comparison wont remove much water as the air velocity is too slow. The filter with 3/8 inputs are about right for this class of tool, small enough they will spin out some water. You can reduce your 1/2 drop to make the connection. Secondly, one well placed system is worth a bunch of poorly located hydrants, remain a bit flexible and move something if the geometry or ergonomics don't work out and take advantage of location and do with 1 if it will work vs having 2 to clutter the place up.

So you're recommendation is to eliminate the 3/4 or 1" separator/filter and just use point of use 3/8 separators/filters/regulators? My setup is rather small. You have one filter feeding 4 stations and another feeding 1 reel. I could get by with one 25' reel in the center of the garage and one drop to the blaster/HVLP QD but I was adding a couple more for convenience. After the first drop, I'm only going about 20' to the last drop with a couple drops in between.

Pipe over to the bench and put a piece of hose, skip the quick connect at the in, screw it to a fitting and a qd on the business end but fixed whip you can hang out of the way and skip those pos coily things.
I tried all that stuff when I started, was nothing but a pain. A piece of hose, either 25 ft hung out of the way or piece custom length to work around of the bench, never needs to be removed.

Ok. I'll skip the coil and QD. I'll do as you recommend and keep an eye out for a good deal on another reel. I picked up a 25' reelcraft on CL for $30 recently.

 

[sberry]

This is another one. Sit,,, on my phone and upside down, need to figure out how to do this. Can someone rotate these? They are upside down.

 

[Gannz]

The original plan was to use 3/8 filters at each drop. The only thing I wanted to put on the 3/4 trunk was the water separator. I'm a little confused there but the water separator is essentially a coalescing filter? This is the one I was looking at...

SMC AMG450C-N06C Water Separator, N.C. Auto Drain, 2,200 L/min, 3/4" NPT

I can't find any photos of the inside of the unit or any details about how it separates but it's basically just a coalescing filter?

 

[sberry]

This would be ok with big tools that needed the demand of a 3/4 pipe but in this case the demand is 3/8 hose. I got one in 1/2 doesn't work right, is really too big and the air is just too slow with 1 tool at a time.
I had another system before with some water come down it, the smaller units did a nice job and collected it.

 

[sberry]

Cant beat that for 30$, would score that and I don't need it. I actually have one came with some stuff for 1/4 and don't even have it hooked up, got no use for 50 ft of 1/4, should post it.

 

[Gannz]

This would be ok with big tools that needed the demand of a 3/4 pipe but in this case the demand is 3/8 hose. I got one in 1/2 doesn't work right, is really too big and the air is just too slow with 1 tool at a time.
I had another system before with some water come down it, the smaller units did a nice job and collected it.

Gotcha. Thanks. The air speed is something I "missed" when researching how to do this. I thought the point of use filtering/separating was to catch it closer to the tool. Didn't consider the air speed.

 

[sberry]

Its a centrifuge of sorts, it needs to be slung and flung.

 

[sberry]

trying to edit pics on phone. How come they go upside down?

 

[Gannz]

I'm not positive but I think it's because they're taken upside down according to the phone. Try flipping your phone 90 or 180 degrees. I know that's the case with videos.

 

[sberry]

This never occurred to me. Thanks.

 

[Gannz]

I'm going to need a Plan B or a decent coalescing filter for under $50. My Plan A hinged on being able to use the 3/4 coalescing filter on the trunk and eliminating the need for one on each drop. I can't justify $150-200 per drop x 4-6 drops to have a particulate filter, coalescing filter, and regulator on each one.

Possible solutions...

1. Less drops. One for a 3/8 25-35' hose on a reel in the center of the garage and one for the blaster/HVLP QD/desiccant.

2. Cheaper filters/regulators. I did pick up one of the 3/8 SMC coalescing filters on eBay for $35 but can't find any more around that price. Anyone have any recommendations for budget friendly filters/regulators that aren't ****?

What about the 3/8 coalescing filters used for air ride systems? Would those be adequate for a compressed air system? They can be had for $30 each...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SMC-3-8-NPT-Water-Oil-Trap-Air-Ride-Suspension-Bags-AirRide-Rat-Rod-Air-Line-/201551897643?hash=item2eed6de42b:g:JzcAAOSw34FVHzL-&vxp=mtr

3. Step down to 3/8 sooner and run 3/8 drops. I can then use just one 3/8 coalescing filter and have a particulate filter and regulator on each drop... plus the desiccant still on the blaster/HVLP drop.

 

[sberry]

How big is the garage? You can step down at any point, right before it if you want. I have a couple expensive filters but I got a deal, the cheap ones seem to work just as well. You can leave the regulator with pipe too, with the blue one in my pics the orange hose goes on a second pipe that is regulated to feed several drops. Pipe the main to a good location, filter/reg and pipe a little to drops. We see several good systems here that are fed from a single reg. The filter on one up there was 30$ at Home Depot and was ported 3/8. A unit from an air ride may not be sized correct, they don't use much air.
Something in the 30-40 cfm range is about right, they put 20 thru a 1/4 but for air guns is a bit small but I put little ones before my plasma and paint reel.
Some of these are old, they have been reconfigured. The first one is the same unit as one in a pic in a post above. Some got installed in a hurry when we moved in and had to have them immediately.

 

[sberry]

This one is large and doesn't seem to work well to catch water on small tools. Its on a single circuit I can isolate from the rest of it for service but today has only one out feed and the plaz has been moved to a different unit that cleans a little better.

 

[cvairwerks]

, you could use larger diameter PVC

 

[Gannz]

The PVC is for the inlet, not the supply lines. I'm going to be drawing air from my conditioned crawl space.

 

[Gannz]

How big is the garage? You can step down at any point, right before it if you want. I have a couple expensive filters but I got a deal, the cheap ones seem to work just as well. You can leave the regulator with pipe too, with the blue one in my pics the orange hose goes on a second pipe that is regulated to feed several drops. Pipe the main to a good location, filter/reg and pipe a little to drops. We see several good systems here that are fed from a single reg. The filter on one up there was 30$ at Home Depot and was ported 3/8. A unit from an air ride may not be sized correct, they don't use much air.
Something in the 30-40 cfm range is about right, they put 20 thru a 1/4 but for air guns is a bit small but I put little ones before my plasma and paint reel.
Some of these are old, they have been reconfigured. The first one is the same unit as one in a pic in a post above. Some got installed in a hurry when we moved in and had to have them immediately.

22x30.

I think I can swing the multiple 1/2 drops with 3/8 regulation and 2 stage filtration on each drop. I picked up that 3/8 SMC for a good price and I also picked up a nice, new, 3/8 Wilkerson for $45. And a nice used, tall & skinny 3/8 Hankison for $35 that has replacement filters readily available. And I have an offer in on a new 3/8 Accuspray. Couldn't find any info on it but that's a 3M brand sprayer so I'm assuming the filter would be 3M. That will cover the coalescing filters.

I wanted to have them all the same brand but I guess my frugality got the better of my OCD. LOL

 

[cvairwerks]

The PVC is for the inlet, not the supply lines. I'm going to be drawing air from my conditioned crawl space.

Good to know. I get nervous when people mention PVC and anything in the way of compressible fluids in the same conversation. I've seen the results up close when the compressible fluid exceeds the stress limits of PVC and it usually not for the faint of heart.

Since you are going to use it as open intake piping, you may need to play with the length and/or diameter to tune it a little for intake noise reduction.

 

[KDXSR5]

Build one nice filter assembly that includes all of the filters you want to run. Assemble the filters with quick connects on both ends of the filter assembly. Put a quick connect on each drop and move the filter assembly to whatever drop you are using at that point in time. Quick and easy, with the expense of only one filter assembly and some extra quick connects.

 

[sberry]

I could use 2 in 6000 sq ft, I have another one feeds an outside apron mostly for filling tires and blowing off equipment. From those 2 I run 1 reel from 1 and a reel and a hose from another as well as feed regulated air to my paint booth 40 ft thru 1/2.
In a small garage it could be well handled with a single unit, maybe 2 to make plumbing a bity easier but air is a bit different than electric where there is so much parasitic or parked equipment, lights, grinder etc.
If you put a bunch in will find yourself using 1 the most convenient. You don't need any 1/2 hose in this setup. With a good compressor such as you have the 3/8 will be well sufficient.

 

[sberry]

My Bud had a 30x40 he worked out of for near 30 years. He had a helper some of the time. The air was a bit primitive for my taste but had a 1/2 ball valve screwed on a Sears 2 stage 5 hp comp to a 3/8 fil/reg and a 50 ft piece of hose.
We should have had a file from here, a couple of the nicest ones I have seen on this forum are relatively simple. I aint scared to make a change after the fact, things don't always look like the vision of the plan. This small garage will get crowded super fast, any extra stuff is going to eat space.

 

[Gannz]

Since you are going to use it as open intake piping, you may need to play with the length and/or diameter to tune it a little for intake noise reduction.

Any ideas on a good starting point? I'm not too familiar with it but the compressor will get the air it needs one way or the other I think... smaller pipe will flow it faster and larger pipe will move it slower. So the larger the better for noise reduction or not necessarily? It's only about a 6' run but I can make it longer if it would help with the noise and not hurt the flow.

Kind of OCD but I don't want to go too large if it's not necessary or helpful. Don't really want a 4" pipe with 8 bushings sticking out of my good looking pump. LOL

What about a muffler at the end of the intake? I see people using them when drawing from the same space but I didn't think it would be necessary since I'm drawing from the crawl.

 

[Gannz]

Build one nice filter assembly that includes all of the filters you want to run. Assemble the filters with quick connects on both ends of the filter assembly. Put a quick connect on each drop and move the filter assembly to whatever drop you are using at that point in time. Quick and easy, with the expense of only one filter assembly and some extra quick connects.

Slick, budget friendly idea. It's taking a little leg work but I'm getting good deals on the parts so I think I'll go with the filtration on each drop.

I did already plan on doing that with the 1/2 hose I'll use for very long, out of the shop runs. I'll put a cheapo particulate filter w/ regulator on QD between the 1/2 and 3/8 hoses. It's just for nail guns.

 

[Gannz]

I could use 2 in 6000 sq ft, I have another one feeds an outside apron mostly for filling tires and blowing off equipment. From those 2 I run 1 reel from 1 and a reel and a hose from another as well as feed regulated air to my paint booth 40 ft thru 1/2.
In a small garage it could be well handled with a single unit, maybe 2 to make plumbing a bity easier but air is a bit different than electric where there is so much parasitic or parked equipment, lights, grinder etc.
If you put a bunch in will find yourself using 1 the most convenient. You don't need any 1/2 hose in this setup. With a good compressor such as you have the 3/8 will be well sufficient.

Doing the multiple drops mostly for convenience but also for different requirements...

One will be dedicated to super dry air with an added desiccant for blasting and HVLP.

One will be near the center for to reach any part of the garage.

One will be right next to the bench(es).

One will be near the back door for for grinding, sanding, and other messy stuff I don't want to do in the garage. I may even stick it through the wall with the QD outside.

And I'll have the 50' 1/2 directly connected somewhere near the back/house side to reach any long runs. I know you've said I don't need the 1/2 but it was $26 shipped for a nice quality rubber 1/2 on AWD and I will be about 100-125' total to get me where I need to be to frame and roof a shed/workshop addition. I'll eventually be making that a wood shop so I'll be running 3/4 black iron out there in the future. But that's a few years away. Too many other things I need to do before I can get to that.

 

[sberry]

The price was right.

 

[Gannz]

I picked up a 25 ft combo reel I want to mount on the ceiling in the center of the garage. What's the best way to handle the filter/regulation? Ceilings are 10 ft tall so I can't put the regulator right next to the reel.

I can put the filters next to the reel and plumb the auto drains back to the wall and then put a small regulator on the end of the hose.

Or, I install the the filters and regulator on the wall where I can reach them and run a hose or copper to the reel. It would be about 10-14 feet I'd have to cover with the hose/copper and the reel is 25 ft so I'm looking at 35-40 feet unfiltered/unregulated.

 

[Firebrick43]

On the inlet you want long sweeping curves, as sharp elbows are the equivalent of adding 10 feet or more. How long is your inlet pipe going to be?? If more that 10 feet or so I would suggest larger pipe and use as few as fittings/elbows as possible. Low pressures on the inlet mean very big performance degradation due to surface friction.

 

[Gannz]

I"m running a 3/4 black iron trunk with 1/2 drops as seen in "C"...

I've probably looked at over 100 different photos/diagrams of installs and I've never seen long sweeping curves unless it's with a hose. Not saying it wouldn't be better but, for whatever reason, I don't see anyone doing 45s with black iron or copper. I've seen "the family handyman" recommend 45s with copper instead of 90s but even the copper installs I see use 90s. And they snake 20-30' with 90s before the first drop.

If my supply house has them and at reasonable prices, I'll run wyes instead of tees and 180 return bends (as seen above and below) instead of 90-******-90 bends that all the installs I've seen using.

I can do 45s instead of 90s if it would make a noticeable difference but I'd rather not... that's double the fittings and double the work since I have to cut and thread each piece of pipe.

 

[sberry]

I have 60 ft after the regulator. Mount a filter regulator some convenient place in this garage, put a t after it, screw a hose from it to the reel, screw another for a whip somewhere if you want.
As I said earlier, you don't need all this **** in an outhouse size building. It actually distracts from the usefulness and neat design. Some of the best for these garages are here in other threads. An idea for 3 regs in my building is different than this, I am 80x80 and 20 ft ceilings, you can do all the work in a 30x40 garage with 1 hose.
A design that allows the same work with 50$ worth of fittings vs 3 sets each costing 50 or more and taking space and another dozen fittings just adds up. Sell the other 2 sets of regs to buy something you can use.

 

[sberry]

Those are all ideas for industrial plants, you don't need that **** or 3/4 lines. Run a simple pipe to a regulator, on some I don't even bother with drip legs. This up and over design is for plant air with long continuous loops and constant air movement with drops ahead of taps. Look at that drawing, says,,, condensate from branch cant get in to service line,,, then,,, wtf is the drip leg for,, ha. Those drawings are out of context for a small garage. I plumb it like A and drive it to the filter, a drip may be useful, some experimentation may be in order.
The other set ups are where there is air use beyond.

 

[sberry]

You want a drip ahead of the drop in the main.

 

[Firebrick43]

I"m running a 3/4 black iron trunk with 1/2 drops as seen in "C"...

I've probably looked at over 100 different photos/diagrams of installs and I've never seen long sweeping curves unless it's with a hose. Not saying it wouldn't be better but, for whatever reason, I don't see anyone doing 45s with black iron or copper. I've seen "the family handyman" recommend 45s with copper instead of 90s but even the copper installs I see use 90s. And they snake 20-30' with 90s before the first drop.

If my supply house has them and at reasonable prices, I'll run wyes instead of tees and 180 return bends (as seen above and below) instead of 90-******-90 bends that all the installs I've seen using.

I can do 45s instead of 90s if it would make a noticeable difference but I'd rather not... that's double the fittings and double the work since I have to cut and thread each piece of pipe.

On the inlet! Not on the pressure side. The pressure side it would help at very high volumes but not as noticeable as the inlet. Since the inlet is very low pressure restrictions, friction, and sharp turns are very noticeable to performance. Since you are using PVC with no pressure conduit will work for its long curves. Most installs don't use long intake piping, actually none at all

 

[Gannz]

OK. I'll keep it simple. Going up then down for the drops is not that difficult so I'll still do that on two of the drops. The hose reel on the ceiling sits so high that it would be difficult to do it there so I'll just pitch the pipe back toward the drip on that one.

I ran a 26 gallon oil less for 15 years but it was pretty much just for nail guns and the occasional small sandblasting jobs. Most of those years it ran without any kind of filter and I drained the tank maybe once a year. LOL Just want to try and do it "right" this time around since I plan on doing more with this compressor. But, I also don't want to overkill it.

What about the compressor vibration? The previous owner had it on a dolly. The vibration doesn't bother me if it's not going to hurt anything. I have a 3/4 hydraulic hose to keep the vibration out of the iron pipes. And, it's a horizontal tank so it's not going to tip over. It's so heavy that it doesn't walk around, even on the dolly.

Before I install the iron and finish the PVC inlet plumbing, should I get it off of the dolly and onto some anti vibration pads? Bolt it to the floor? Or, just get it off the dolly and let it sit on the wood pallet it shipped with? I have some leftover vinyl runners I can double up and put under the 2x6.

Here's a video of it making milkshakes.

Hard to see the vibration in the video but the hydraulic hose and PVC are vibrating also. Not as bad as the MC though.

BTW, really don't notice any noise difference pluming the inlet to draw from the crawl. But I'm sure it will help keep some water out of the lines in the summertime.

 

[Gannz]

On the inlet! Not on the pressure side. The pressure side it would help at very high volumes but not as noticeable as the inlet. Since the inlet is very low pressure restrictions, friction, and sharp turns are very noticeable to performance. Since you are using PVC with no pressure conduit will work for its long curves. Most installs don't use long intake piping, actually none at all

OK. Gotcha. I was going to go with PVC electrical conduit but I noticed those long curve elbows looked pinched and more restrictive than the short plumbing PVC. I did go with 1.5" PVC though. It has three elbows and the total run is only about seven feet. Think that's OK?

 

[Gannz]

Took it off the dolly and it vibrates the same. Maybe a little less. But now the concrete floor vibrates also. Lol. It's sitting on 2 2x6x24 and I tripled some 1/8 vinyl runner.

Too much contact area? Take it off the skid and set it on 4 hockey pucks & bolt it to the floor?

 

[sberry]

I ran a 26 gallon oil less for 15 years but it was pretty much just for nail guns and the occasional small sandblasting jobs. Most of those years it ran without any kind of filter and I drained the tank maybe once a year. LOL Just want to try and do it "right" this time around since I plan on doing more with this compressor. But, I also don't want to overkill it.

More doesn't necessarily make it right. Don't panic if it isn't perfect and you can move it again. Its still a 1 user system. While the purpose may be different the pressures and the demands are pretty much the same for all this stuff and a guy can turn a reg a pinch for special occasions.
I sandblast and paint and do not have a dryer, see if you actually need it. With your bigger comp you may not. That is a pretty nice comp compared to the old one. It wont have to work hard.