Air lines in a 24x40 garage

[skipnay]

Guys I'm tired of going back to the corner for air. I'm also tired of the air line hose on the ground when I'm 10's from the wall and there is 20 feet or better of hose on the ground. So anyway what do you recommend? I thought about the blue stuff that is aluminum. The ones you see on horsepower tv and those other shows on sunday.

Right now I only have a 30 gallon 110 volt craftsman but whenever it decides to go or I'm not getting enough air I will get a bigger air compressor like an Ingersol Rand deal or something like it that is 220. I will then probably build a separate room on the outside of the garage for it.

 

[Cyberbear]

From your description it looks like running some air line piping and mounting hose reels where needed is in your future. You also will probably wish to upgrade the a/c at some point. Quality components and proper installation is your best investment.

 

[94EG8]

I thought about the blue stuff that is aluminum. The ones you see on horsepower tv and those other shows on sunday.

I have Topring Quick Line which is a variant of the blue aluminum stuff. It's by far the nicest to put together. It uses a push fittings much the same as pex quick connect fittings (actually you can use pex fittings with the stuff I have, they fit) The only real drawback is it's super expensive. But as I said it goes together very easily, it's light, can be installed by one person, it's easy to reconfigure and you'll never have to deal with rust in the lines.

 

[sberry]

A simple piece of 1/2 pipe or 2 and a hose reel.

 

[Buckgnarly]

I went with copper, no rust and it gave me a good chance to practice sweating pipes.

 

[matt_i]

If you sweat copper, I recommend using Sta Brite #8 solder and Sta Clean flux. The solder is safe for potable water and has a much higher tensile strength than the big box "lead free" stuff. Most importantly, it won't creep under load...which there are higher static loads in a 175psi airline than a 50psi waterline. Not trying to make the statement that "big box lead free" is a dangerous product. Just pointing out there's a better option from an engineering standpoint.

 

[sberry]

What looks good today doesn't often look so great in hindsight. This is why I suggest a couple pieces of black pipe for a simple manifold. My first air designs were crude and were not always located right which is more important then "more" with air. With simple screwed a guy can shut off the valve and make a change.

 

[skipnay]

I have Topring Quick Line which is a variant of the blue aluminum stuff. It's by far the nicest to put together. It uses a push fittings much the same as pex quick connect fittings (actually you can use pex fittings with the stuff I have, they fit) The only real drawback is it's super expensive. But as I said it goes together very easily, it's light, can be installed by one person, it's easy to reconfigure and you'll never have to deal with rust in the lines.

Good place to get this stuff from?

 

[willymakeit]

I ran 3/4'' in complete circle around shop with 1/2'' drops, all black iron. 3o gal. compressor but bigger coming. If and when I move it all goes with me.

 

[nadogail]

I chose the cheap and fast options; I ran a 3/8", 50 foot hose through the ceiling joists.
It is off the floor and in a corner away from the compressor.

 

[skipnay]

Bringing this back up since I'm going to be getting an air compressor any day now.

 

[PhantomEB]

Going with 3/4" complete perimeter around my shop with drops in each corner and at the cooling loop, quick disconnects every 4-8 feet and one run up to central of the ceiling. There will be just like my electrical. I hate long lengths of hose or cords. Hose reels next to the compressor and another in the other corner where I plan most of my work space. These be on quick disconnects so I can move to a corner by the big door if I need to fill something up outside. Pressure gauges in every corner as well on the regulator. Set it up for no guess work after!

 

[RickP]

Bringing this back up since I'm going to be getting an air compressor any day now.

Lots of options to choose from - do you want fast+expensive or slow+cheap? I've done both, fast tubing and slow black iron, and they each have their pros and cons. Copper is somewhere in the middle - not cheap, but a lot slower than tubing.

The tubing kits are quick and easy to install, but the fixtures are ridiculously expensive. So if you're pressed for time and still want to keep the cost down, installing only 1 or 2 drops might be the way to go.

A full black iron install will take some serious time, but fittings are cheap and (relatively) easy to reconfigure later if you want to add a drop or decide to change something around. The pipe will take a beating if that's a concern for you, and the volume of high pressure air in the pipe loop will really add to your air storage, especially if you have a small tank.

Copper is a little pricey, but it'll give you a pretty good system without as much work required compared to threading all the joints. Sweating the joints is good practice - especially if you have future plumbing repairs to do. Copper is a lot harder to reconfigure later compared to the tubing kits though, for only mediocre cost savings over the tubing.

 

[skipnay]

What I want is longevity even though I might change it in a year or two then again I may not. So I want something in regards that I probably won't change and need it to last. If it takes me 3 weeks to do it so be it. The reason I say it might change I might add on a garage beside my garage. It may be 10 years it may be 2 years.

 

[matt_i]

The easiest way to build in future flexibility Is to add a lot of tees on your header. Whether plugged in a threaded black pipe system or a short ******, then capped on a copper system, you would rarely have to change the header.

Just add or reroute the drops as needed.

 

[JACDes]

hmmm 24x40...

A 3/8 hose reel mounted on the wall or ceiling in the middle bay and plumbed to the compressor with 1/2 or 3/4 hard line

You would only need 40' of hose to reach any corner the garage and have over 10' of reach out of the garage. When you are done it retracts out of the way.

if you locate the reel in the right spot 1 hose is all you need; unless you are pro with multiple service bays or need to run more than 1 air tool at time..

 

[JACDes]

some guys treat air like it were duplex outlets... and go way overboard for a hobby space.

 

[kbs2244]

I would go with 1 inch for the main line and 1/2 for the drops.
40 feet will give you a lot of friction.
Don't forget your drip legs.