rapid air.

[mustangmccance]

since it is difficult to search this site I started a new thread. apologies to those people who get tired of answering the same question over and over.

When I posted about my new air compressor setup that I was so proud of I received a very polite but rather deflating response. My dad who helped me had used pvc in his shop for years and thought it worked fine so that is what we used to run the air lines. as I mentioned the response I received indicated what a poor choice this was. I was watching 2 guys garage tonight and they demonstrated a product called rapid air which is much cheaper than the other products I had been looking into and it is designed for compressed air. anyone with any experience with this product.

http://www.rapidairproducts.com/

 

[nate379]

Interesting. Wonder if other colors can be bought instead of blue?

 

[1320stang]

You might also look into Shark Bite fittings, they can be purchased at Ace Hardware, Home Depot and Lowes around here and I've contacted the company and they said they'd be okay with the 175 psi compressor I have.

I've been in a shop when a 2" PVC line blew and it scared the he!! out of me. A 6" long shard about 1"-1.5" wide in the middle, both ends shaped like daggers, shot 60' across the shop past me and my buddy and embedded itself in the insulation on the opposite wall. That experience is enough for me to shun PVC in airline use and to tell others not to.

 

[Matt M PA]

I installed Rapid Air in my new garage.

Without getting into too much detail...I liked the whole system from the manifolds to the ease of installation.

I did used a piece of higher pressue hose between the compressor and initial manifold where the regulator/trap is located. The output of the compressor was a bit higher than the Rapid Air hosing should accept.

My walls were already in, so I surface mounted the hose along the wall lower so it runs behind the benches, etc on the back wall. I placed ball valves at each item, like hose reels, lift, or blast cabinet.

I needed to run air to the second floor so I ran it up the up, then secluded it inside some surface mount wiring trough.

Mine's been in about 9 months and I am very pleased with this system. FWIW My compressor is a 5HP Two Stage, 80 gallon. The biggest air user is the blast cabinet and it's on the second floor at the oppostie side of the garage...no pressure problems.

 

[mustangmccance]

well matt I am taking you at your word. this looks to me like what I need to make my system safe but not break the bank so I ordered all the lines and fittings today. I will get some pictures once I get it up and running. thanks for the responses.

 

[recklessnova]

I used the harbor freight knock off, if you look at milton they sell the same fittings and hose also http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Home/Home;jsessionid=5e307c083e7b4363e4b77f615e6f5a6a7641 sells the fittings for way cheaper then you can get them in the rapid air brand Im sure its the same stuff

I like blocks and the price but the hose should be left in the sun for a few hours before install as its memory of being coiled was a problem, if the hose is not going into the fittings straight on it will leak. they are vey simmilar to the sharke bite fittings problem with them is the hose id and od is wrong for the 1/2 in fittings
Hope this helps
Josh

 

[Matt M PA]

mustangmcmance...I bought the "kit" and a couple extra fittings.

Good luck with your set-up...I've been well pleased with mine.It's a shame you're not local or you could come see mine.

 

[Steevo]

I like the idea of the tubing inside the wall, as long as it is dependable and lasts 20+ years. I would hate to install this and have to rip out sheetrock to fix a bad fitting.

I was thinking about running copper lines inside my walls, because I hate surface-mounted piping, but was wondering about how to have the air fittings appear on the walls. I considered using electrical boxes and mounting the air fitting in a knockout, soldering the pipe elbow inside and the riser up through another knockout and mounting the box backwards so that the fitting side was exposed through the sheetrock.

I kind of like the angled-down manifolds that this rapid-air setup has.
Does anyone have any other ideas for how to plumb "lifetime" airlines inside walls and bring the ends out of the wall where needed? Are there plumbing boxes that mount an angled pipe fitting in a wall?

 

[StanBo]

Interesting. Wonder if other colors can be bought instead of blue?

Good question and I like the information on here.


I also think these would be a little easier to run rather then sweating 90s on turns when you could just hug corners.

 

[boiler7904]

Industry standard is for compressed air piping to be blue so that's why systems like this are blue but I have seen one that was available in gray.

 

[StanBo]

Thanks. I am going to IR soon to see if I can work something out with them. Then the fun will begin.

 

[nate379]

Grey wouldn't be bad. Just don't want my garage to look like smurf worms are all over the walls.

Ever industrial place I have worked the air lines were black pipe, copper or stainless. Have seen pex done in blue and red for hot and cold water though.

Industry standard is for compressed air piping to be blue so that's why systems like this are blue but I have seen one that was available in gray.

 

[mustangmccance]

I used the harbor freight knock off, if you look at milton they sell the same fittings and hose also http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Home/Home;jsessionid=5e307c083e7b4363e4b77f615e6f5a6a7641 sells the fittings for way cheaper then you can get them in the rapid air brand Im sure its the same stuff

I like blocks and the price but the hose should be left in the sun for a few hours before install as its memory of being coiled was a problem, if the hose is not going into the fittings straight on it will leak. they are vey simmilar to the sharke bite fittings problem with them is the hose id and od is wrong for the 1/2 in fittings
Hope this helps
Josh

thanks for the tip. I will do that.

 

[urgti]

I was thinking about running copper lines inside my walls, because I hate surface-mounted piping, but was wondering about how to have the air fittings appear on the walls. I considered using electrical boxes and mounting the air fitting in a knockout, soldering the pipe elbow inside and the riser up through another knockout and mounting the box backwards so that the fitting side was exposed through the sheetrock.

I kind of like the angled-down manifolds that this rapid-air setup has.
Does anyone have any other ideas for how to plumb "lifetime" airlines inside walls and bring the ends out of the wall where needed? Are there plumbing boxes that mount an angled pipe fitting in a wall?

I want to run mine inside the walls also with the fitting countersunk somehow.
As for running the copper pipes would you drill all the studs before assembling the walls in order to keep them as straight as possible?

 

[timewarp]

I was thinking about running copper lines inside my walls, because I hate surface-mounted piping, but was wondering about how to have the air fittings appear on the walls. I considered using electrical boxes and mounting the air fitting in a knockout, soldering the pipe elbow inside and the riser up through another knockout and mounting the box backwards so that the fitting side was exposed through the sheetrock.

Are there plumbing boxes that mount an angled pipe fitting in a wall?

A friend of mine has plumbed a couple of garages with copper or iron depending on what the people wanted, to come out of the wall he used the chrome "washers" that you see in commercial applications for plumbing and then used chromed elbows with the couplers hanging down. Looks very nice.

 

[1320stang]

......he used the chrome "washers" that you see in commercial applications for plumbing.....

escutcheons

 

[Falcon67]

escutcheons

Gesundheit

 

[mustangmccance]

Gesundheit

 

[mustangmccance]

well I bought the rapid air setup, then I worried that the 3/8 inch tubing would restrict the air from my 2 air compressors too much so I decided to use some of the air net aluminum tubing from there site that adapts to the rapid air to use as a mainline especially to get it from the compressors to my blast cabinet. so I bought a bunch of that now too. so now I have way too much money invested in this system but at least when it is done it will be safe and work well.

 

[timewarp]

escutcheons

Thanks,
I couldn't think of what they were called when I was responding.

 

[Torque1st]

Air lines should be surface mounted to allow ambient air to cool the line. This allows the lines to perform their water removal function. Unfortunately plastic line does not work well for that function.

 

[shocksystems]

well I bought the rapid air setup, then I worried that the 3/8 inch tubing would restrict the air from my 2 air compressors too much so I decided to use some of the air net aluminum tubing from there site that adapts to the rapid air to use as a mainline especially to get it from the compressors to my blast cabinet. so I bought a bunch of that now too. so now I have way too much money invested in this system but at least when it is done it will be safe and work well.

Please post pictures of the installation when the time comes.

Cheers!

Jim

 

[mustangmccance]

okay well I finally finished updating my airlines and I am pretty happy with them. I have not used it much yet but I am sure it will work well. here are some pictures. I am also going to run a line to the new workbench and cabinets that I am building.

I am also going to enclose the air compressors in a ventilated closet once I get the walls for the bathroom framed. which will be one wall of the closet.

I think this is a definite improvement over my pvc setup. I feel good about it, I know my kids will be safer around it, and I appreciate the honest and helpful input I received to help me get to this point.

 

[Poncho Villa]

Great job! I've not built my garage yet and this is definitely the direction I'm going to go with my air. I was concerned that I'd have to lug air hose all over the place since I can't spend a fortune on steel or copper pipe. This looks like an awesome alternative. Thanks for sharing your find!

 

[Torque1st]

Steel or copper is cheap. Plastic **** just does not work well.

 

[mustangmccance]

I'll take faster and cheaper.

but it does seem to be working just fine so far.

 

[Torque1st]

I'll take faster and cheaper.

but it does seem to be working just fine so far.

The problem with plastic is that it does not help remove the moisture from the air. The plastic lines often do not have the right takeoff configuration for the point of use drops either. Water condensation then becomes a problem especially for high use applications.

 

[Dragster Racer]

Anyone else have trouble finding the 3/8" sharkbite fittings? Mennards and HD are a no-go for that size here.

 

[Dragster Racer]

I guess the Rapid Air aren't really the Sharkbite style. More of a push connect. In my case, push connect and leak. I have a couple that for the life of me I can't figure what the problem is. Sut straight. Tube doesn't seem to go very far in, but locks. Any experiences out there. I kind of wish I would have gone with the crimp connectors.

 

[recklessnova]

if they have a oring sometimes the oring gets a little nick in it if the tube is not cut and debured I would just call them id bet they will replace the messed up ones.
Josh