Underground lines for compressor?

[tj2]

I recently ran 110V and 220V power out to a shed on the other side of my driveway. Now that I've filled in the trench, it occurred to me that it might be handy to have an air outlet out there. I don't have a "real" compressor yet, just a Craftsman oil-less, but I do plan on getting one in my garage in the not-too-distant future. So, while the dirt is still not too packed back in, I'm thinking about putting an air line in.

So, what does the collected wisdom of the forum think about running air lines underground? This would be a run of about 110 feet from the compressor to the outlets, and it would run under my dirt/gravel driveway. Is this too far? If not, what size/type of air line should I use? How deep? What kind of reinforcement where the line crosses the driveway? Is this a good idea at all?

 

[Weedwaka]

I think I would run a regular flexible airline inside a run of 2" plastic abs pipe. That way you could just connect it at the compressor when you need it and it will not be an issue to repair / replace anytime. .. just pull a new one through.

If you hardline an airline using copper etc it may fail and then you have to dig it up. Airlines always blow eventually.

 

[Falcon67]

I wouldn't. The thing will be a great air chiller and I would expect the line to fill with water pretty quick, especially from an oilless compressor. And no way to drain it. It would probably start to self drain after a while, into the tolls, etc on the far end.

 

[akdiesel]

I agree with Weedwaka. You might be able to get some hose from a local shop that has the 1/2" reinforced hose in the length you need. If you go the 3/8 you may have restriction issues in that length and even with the 1/2". You might have to go even larger.

 

[bradleys]

Put an air tank in your shed. Plumb your airline into it. That will give you a local supply for tools like an impact wrench which require a burst of air. It doesn't need to be a big tank. Even a five or eleven gallon portable tank will give you a lot more air than what will come through a hundred foot line. It will also help with any water that arrives (assuming you buy a tank with a drain.)

 

[Cryptic1911]

I'm about to do the same thing. My compressor is in my old garage that isn't attached to the house, and I need to get air into the new garage that is attached (about 15ft away from the old garage). I bought 1/2" goodyear pliovic hose that I am planning to run from the old garage, through the electrical conduit (2" underground) into the new garage.

Its not exactly optimal, but I don't want the compressor in my new garage since it takes up too much space. I'm expecting that I'll have to put in a few drop loops with drains at the bottom, but there isn't much else that I can do

 

[mad57]

I ran 3/4 galvinized pipe under ground only 10 inchs for about 35 ft have no problems.

 

[DIC]

I would just drag a air hose out to the shed for now when you need air. When you replace your compressor with a better one .... put that oiless unit out in the shed....

 

[GarageEnvy]

I had your exact setup until this last weekend. Craftsman oilless compressor and 95' run of 3/4" pipe (65' underground). Never had a problem. In fact I just cut the pipe out of the ground this last weekend for the new garage and was suprised that it didn't have any rust inside after being in the ground 9 years. I am in a dry climate in California and used it lightly for filling tires on kids bikes, a rare impact wrench and an air chisel now and then. It did accumulate some water over time and I was far from religious about draining the tank.

 

[dustym]

I used 1/2" copper and have a run of about 45'. I buried it underground at 18" with the electical conduit to my shop. I have a utuility box that I can access the line b4 it goes into the shop with a ball valve. I dont get that much more moisture in it than I would have. Using regular airline was just too much out of the question, That would have caused a lot more moisture.

 

[rwhite692]

When I built the new detached garage, while the trench was open, I ran an extra length of schedule 80 PVC in the trench (about 40 ft) just so that I could have compressed air back at the house garage, for inflating tires, pool toys, whatever....(compressor is located in the new detached garage)

Where the transitions go from underground to above ground I am all black iron pipe (above ground)... I regulate this leg of my system so it never sees more than about 75-80PSI.

The rest of my system lines (above ground) is all done in black iron pipe and is at 175PSI.

I would not use PVC above ground, but for the underground stretch, I'm not worried about it.

 

[SLOCOBRAR]

i.ve got 3/4 stainless tubing about 1 ft. deep between my 2 garages w. no problems even in the winter. i run the airjammer in the shed i,m not working in

 

[nate379]

I have a run out to my future shed for my air compressor. About 90ft and I buried it roughly 3 feet (put the conduit in the ground same time I put the wire down). I have some either 3/4" or 1" plastic airline tubing to run. Was around $80 for a 100ft roll. This compared to $250 for a rubber airline that size and length.

I may hook it to a 10 or 20 gal tank in the garage, but probably won't. I have worked in many places that were plumbed with 1/2" or 3/4" air line and never had a problem running fairly high CFM items several hundred feet from the compressor.

 

[pop pop]

Suggest you use the screwed galvanized, large enough to not have a pressure drop and end with a tank. You'll need to get rid of the condensate.

 

[venom50svt]

I agree with Falcon67 about the moisture...If you have it lower than the end where you will plug into it, the moisture will build from the condensation... You better have a separator for the water...