Pressure relief in compressed air piping

[jimkaniki]

I am installing a black iron compressed air system in my garage. I intend to mimic the system shown on the TP Tools website - https://cached.tptools.com/Images/airline-piping-diagram.pdf

I notice that their system has a pressure relief valve in the piping system. Do I need that? I have a new Husky compressor with a built-in pressure relief valve.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I would not think so, no. The only source of compressed air INTO the system is the air compressor, which has a pressure relief valve to prevent overpressurization into the tank, and the tank feeds the air lines, so there's no way that air pressure higher than the pressure relief valve can enter the lines and stay there.

If your lines are in the attic and you have a valve to close the air lines off from the compressor, then you would have a sealed pressure vessel without a vent and heat from the sun (heating the attic) in the summer could cause the pressure to get high enough to split a line, but I doubt that's a possibility.

Do other shop air system designs have a pressure relief valve after the air compressor's tank in the line system?

 

[jimkaniki]

Good point on the sealed pressure vessel issue. I will avoid doing anything like that.

 

[mnoeltne]

Personally, I would install one. They are fairly cheap, and installing the second one gives you redundancy in case the one on the compressor would fail.

If they were a really expensive item then I wouldn't bother, but just skimming over the ones on sale at Grainger, most were under $10. Cheap insurance.

 

[pop pop]

One more item not needed to fail.

 

[Falcon67]

Yes, do it. Backup in case something goes wrong with the tank control.

Mine is right there on tbe left, 175 psi unit

 

[southalabama]

Falcon, tell me about the air filter setup.

That 3/4 pipe??

 

[ishiboo]

One more item not needed to fail.

A 175 or 200psi pressure relief is less than $10, made in USA. Why wouldn't you?

If you are concerned with "one more thing going wrong", realize they are fairly easy to override... or spend $1 for a plug and put it in a ziplock bag on the relief just in case.

If you were worried about an item failing, I would worry about overpressure potential, versus not having air for a minute or two!

 

[sberry]

I have installed a dozen systems and never added a relief and never seen one n a simple system. Do yourself a favor and forget that TP system. It is designed for a plant and not so much for a small garage, way to complicated, way too many fittings for something that really isn't going to work well anyway as its not for home garaged but for plants with engineered systems most or many with air beyond and continuous loops.
There are some nice ones on this forum, the best should be in a collection but they are not. My own is too big and spread out to picture well but in this one there isn't even a drip in the drop, shoots right in to the filter.
Not every idea someone comes up with or sees in their workplace or on the net is applicable or worthwhile.

 

[Firebrick43]

I wouldn't put an extra one on, and don't buy a pipe plug as ishiboo stated.
Buy a spare relief valve instead.

I have seen plenty fail at work but always fail open. Seen plenty of picks however of pressure relief valves that fail, no spare available so they pipe plug it, then forget about it. Now something goes wrong and the pressure vessel became a bomb, doing horrific damage and dealing out death to those around.