Air Compressor Supply Hose

[seagull369]

I need to replace a rubber supply hose or whatever it's called which goes from the compressor head to the tank on my pancake air compressor. It's 1/4" ID. I'd rather use something like soft copper or brake line there considering the heat that's present, but there are no fittings on the head end to make that happen, easily anyway. Anyone know what might be a good choice of hose that can take the punishment?

The compressor cuts out at 150psi, by the way.

 

[M.Bryant]

I just used a piece of the black 1/4" ABS water supply line to fix one today. Had no problems with leaks or heat after several consecutive on/off cycles. Just be sure to use the little metal inserts so the line don't collapse when tightening the nut.

 

[bob15]

What make and model compressor?

A picture of what you want to replace would be helpful.

 

[seagull369]

Thanks for the reply. There's no compression ferrules, nuts etc. used on this one, just hose barbs on either end.

I did try to use PEX line on a compressor several years back, fit perfectly and worked great until the compressor ran continuously for a while then POP!

 

[M.Bryant]

Sorry I guess I didn't read closely enough. Can you replace the hose barb fittings with compression fittings? Otherwise you might try 1/4" reinforced fuel line. It should stand up to heat well.

 

[seagull369]

What make and model compressor?

A picture of what you want to replace would be helpful.

I know the what the OEM replacement part # is and all that, but the hose itself just is not reliable. A lot of people complaining it blows out in a short amount of time.

I don't really have a picture. It's just the line that feeds compressed into the tank.

 

[seagull369]

Sorry I guess I didn't read closely enough. Can you replace the hose barb fittings with compression fittings? Otherwise you might try 1/4" reinforced fuel line. It should stand up to heat well.

I thought about doing that, but the line coming off the head is some thin aluminum tubing and I'm worried a compression fitting would end up crushing it. I wouldn't doubt it's some oddball metric size also, from the looks of it where a typically fitting wouldn't work.

I don't think regular (reinforced) fuel line could stand up to the demands pressure demands never mind the heat involved. Fuel injected hose maybe. .

I have seen some air compressors use a flexible braided hose similar in appearance to a toilet water supply line but not sure where to get those.

 

[M.Bryant]

A picture would help our imaginations...
Here is what I was thinking of. Withstands Operating Temperatures from -40 F to +350 F:
1500psi Stainless Steel Braided Oil/Fuel/Gas Line/Hose by Foot

 

[The Cobbler]

is it Campbell Hausfield pancake compressor by chance?
Neighbor had similar issue with his and I repaired it with hydraulic hose.
again, better responses can be had by giving more details, make, model, pictures....

 

[seagull369]

is it Campbell Hausfield pancake compressor by chance?

No, it's a Porter Cable model C2002. The hose is dirt cheap- only $5 shipped and you get 2 of them- but, like I said, I wanted something that would last a while longer.

Hydraulic hose is an idea, though I'm not sure how elastic it would be to expand itself over the barbs or if a regular hose clamp would be able to tighten it down well enough. After a consult with Sir. Google, looks like there are a number of types that offer high heat resistance (300 degrees F).

Thanks for the link on the fuel hose, Bryant. Based on the specs listed, that oughta be more than enough to suffice. It looks like you're not s'posed to use regular hose clamps with it, but I don't see how using something like a fuel injection clamp would cause any problems in my case.

 

[bob15]

For $3.50 a piece, why not just use the correct hose? How long does it last? Or is it failing in 2 weeks?

 

[Wrench97]

Parker push-lok hose works well on that type of service>

 

[The Cobbler]

yes, the hydraulic hose was tough to work with . I would have re plumbed it with copper but there's an odd end on the one end that would have taken a while to make up. and it was an odd size tube so flare/compression wouldnt fit

 

[seagull369]

Parker push-lok hose works well on that type of service

Thanks for the info on Push Lock. It looks like that hose might only be meant to be used with the company's special barbed fittings and not garden variety ones. I did email them, however, to double check on that.

 

[Wrench97]

Ive used that hose and simple hose clamps on standard barb fittings and never had one fail at less then 200 psi.

 

[seagull369]

Good to know and looks like it's pretty inexpensive too. Thanks again!