This is so much solid gold! I mentioned earlier that I learned in this thread that the actual consumption of an individual tool was not what was on the box. Seeing it demonstrated so clearly like that really drives the point home! Instantaneous consumption is NOT an advertised spec just about anywhere. I wonder why?
@GeoBruin , you have a handful of Stedlins and now a Prevost. What do you think of the two of them in comparison?
Hey, sorry for the late follow up.
That's a tough one, especially since my tests primarily featured Stedlin full flow plugs which are apparently not sold anymore. So the options for a Stedlin Quick Change Coupler are the Stedlin quiet plugs, standard industrial plus, or "modified" industrial plugs.
I will say that I had been taking for granted how easily the Stedlin coupler/plugs connect and disconnect. It's so easy it's almost funny. After plugging and unplugging the standard plugs and especially the high flow plugs for this test, I don't know that I would want to go back just because it seems like a step backward in that regard.
Also, the Prevost coupler is much bigger and heavier heavier than the Stedlin. I'm talking over 50% longer, 30% wider, and 4 times the weight (see image below). It feels like I'm holding a medieval weapon when it's dangling from the end of the hose. That said, it's obviously built like a tank and the aluminum Stedlin is already showing some wear. I'm just a guy in his garage, not some auto shop where it's getting dropped on concrete many times a day, but I could see the Stedlin getting pretty chewed up over time.
As for flow, I think we showed that at
reasonable flow rates, the difference between the Stedlin Coupler with a full flow plug and the Prevost with the high flow plug is probably minimial. I think the Stedlin coupler/plug gets me about where I need to be for nearly all my tools. I've done less formal versions of these tests before as I was setting up my rapidair system just to see where I was at and even at the end of my hose reel, I'm not experiencing so much drop I can't compensate for it by cranking the pressure at the reg. I also keep a shorter 1/2" hose on hand so I can bypass the 50' 3/8 hose I usually use if I feel like I need the headroom. That hose certainly accounts for waaay more pressure drop than whatever's on the end of it. I'm also not running a big 3/4 impact or some other such tools that probably deserves 3/8" fittings anyway.
Paying 3 bucks and change for a box of 10 V-style plugs certainly makes the High Flow ecosystem seem like there's a low barrier to entry. Looking back at my amazon history, it seems I paid anywhere between $8 and $10
per plug for the Stedlins, so that would add up quickly if you have lots of tools. That said, we've shown you can get
almost the same performance with modified industrial plugs, so if you're willing to put in the "work", you could neutralize that side of the cost equation. I have not experimented with the connect/disconnect force using the Stedlin Coupler and generic industrial plugs (I'm 100% certain he has), but I suspect it's somewhere in between a Stedlin Coupler with a Stedlin Plug, and a standard coupler with a standard plug.
Anyway, that's a lot of "opinions" but I suppose I'm owed a few after trying to post some hard evidence. Now that I own a Prevost coupler and a bunch of plugs, I'm going to swap over my main hose reel for a while and see what my longer term impressions are. The one issue I've had with the Prevost coupler already is that at one point, I somehow managed to not fully insert a tool into the coupler to the point it locked, but it still started flowing. I mashed that button for all it was worth but it wouldn't budge and, being all the way across the shop from the shut off valve, I ended up just shoving the tool back in (against the force of all that air, which was no easy feat) until it seated and sealed. It was a little scary, but I haven't been able to repeat it, so I'll chock it up to a fluke for now.
Hope this helps!
