Air Hose Sizes?

[Garage_Guy]

Hi, well now that I have a better compressor I am already finding myself using
it more frequently. I currently just have a 3/8" 25ft rubber Craftsman air hose and
am just wrapping the hose around the tank. This is becoming a pain in the ****
to keep wrapping, and unwrapping each time I want to use it. I was looking
around for a portable style air hose reel and came across a nice one with a 100ft
hose at Northern for 79.99. The only thing is the hose size is 5/16" rather than 3/8". I know this is only a 1/16" difference but will it really make a difference? Thanks guys, appreciate the help!

 

[OI812]

It all depends what you are running. For the most part I don't believe you would notice a difference. It will probably come down to how many cubic feet a minute (CFM) a device requires to run properly.

 

[bmwpower]

100 ft???

Geez, pretty long. For most things, you will not notice a difference due to the diameter unless you have some pretty demanding tools.

 

[Garage_Guy]

Thanks for the replies. I will mainly just be running impact wrenches, racthcets,
cut-off wheel, die grinder, etc. I will also probably use a sprayer every once in
a while too. Again, thanks guys.

 

[Wile1Coyote]

Might want to check ebay. I picked up some cool yellow plastic air hose reels that are retractable on there last year for $40. Brand new.

 

[jstbecauz]

Stick with the 3/8" hose

 

[GearHead_1]

I prefer 3/8" hose but have never had a need for anything longer than 50 ft.

 

[bmwpower]

Technically, how do you determine the CFM through a certain size hose? Without this we're really just guessing. CFM values can be obtained for the tools, but how about the hose?

 

[Muffduster]

I have 100’ of 3/8 hose with 3/8 HVLP fittings in my shop. I’m about to switch it out with 50’ and see if that helps my air tools run a little better.

 

[sberry]

It will help a lot to shorten it, even more than fussing with fittings by a loooong shot. The little bit of hose size will make a difference especially at 100 ft with a demanding tool which would or could be impact.
A 25 ft hose bypass a 50 reel will give a lotta extra hit. Shorten it to 15 ft gives another boost.
A lot of setups can get by with 1 reel, even 100 ft if not using heavy impacting but my fave is 50 ft on a manual 100 reel. If a guy has 2 stage air it is for making up the headroom for loss, turn it up if you have to but it's not a problem to lose some down a lot oftools, irrelevent if it's suffecient.
The safe speed is 75 or 55,,, yes the car will do 100 but doesn't mean it's ran wide open.
Like electric,, more load longer duration can be a factor. Losses acceptable at 85% load etc. Unlike electric can turn the pressure up a bit but I still got to throtitle my tools.
If I had to have 100 would have it but would consider a second positioned reel.
I have a longer one out my front apron. It was outside a long time, I finally said duh and move it but started as 100 ft and was tight on the reel, as it got older I chopped pieces off and it's 75 ft maybe now but blow up 24/7 for so many years could probably roll a 1/2 marble down the old 3/8 hose. It really flies. Probably 2x a new hose,, ha, I did install a valve ahead of it finally but it's HF rubber well abused, still tight.

 

[u2slow]

It took 1/2" hose and 3/8" fittings (no 1/4" anything) to make my 1/2" impact perform to its full potential. YMMV.

 

[Schurkey]

Hi, well now that I have a better compressor I am already finding myself using
it more frequently.

Entirely typical.

I currently just have a 3/8" 25ft rubber Craftsman air hose and
am just wrapping the hose around the tank. This is becoming a pain in the ****
to keep wrapping, and unwrapping each time I want to use it. I was looking
around for a portable style air hose reel and came across a nice one with a 100ft
hose at Northern for 79.99. The only thing is the hose size is 5/16" rather than 3/8". I know this is only a 1/16" difference but will it really make a difference?

1. YES it will make a difference.
2. 5/16 hose? Junk. Non-standard sizing used to cut every last penny from the price.

I will mainly just be running impact wrenches, racthcets,
cut-off wheel, die grinder, etc. I will also probably use a sprayer every once in
a while too.

Stop looking at 3/8" hose. You need 1/2" hose. Or you need a permanent, metal manifold system with a shorter hose at the various outlets. I used 3/4 iron pipe at the old house. Chinese pipe has crappy factory threads, so you'll need lots of thread tape. "Pipe sealer" doesn't seem to be leak-free; I'm told that tape works better than chemical in this application.

My die grinders are the most air-hungry tools I own. Partly because of their actual rated consumption, partly because they're not used in short bursts like an impact wrench. They've got the trigger pulled for ten minutes at a time.

It took 1/2" hose and 3/8" fittings (no 1/4" anything) to make my 1/2" impact perform to its full potential. YMMV.

Yup, I believe it. Especially with a single-stage compressor.

I went with the "Milton V" or "European high-flow" couplers and plugs, but similar effect. And I regulate from 175 in the tank down to 135 psi in the hose, to assure I have at least 90 at the tool, with the tool running.

 

[vanapplebomb]

Always go with the shortest hose possible. Length makes a big difference. Also, using a shorter hose can afford you to drop a size down in diameter, which is much more confortable to work with. 1/2 and larger hoses start getting heavy and cumbersome in my opinion. Instead of a 1/2” diameter 50’ long hose, you could go to a 3/8” diameter 25’ long hose for a similar end result.