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Would this work for air line?

nate379

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I have a run of about 90ft from my garage to the shed where the compressor will be.

Rubber air line is going to be around $3 foot. This stuff is $1.06/ft and shipping is going to be about $40.

McMaster

50375K59

1" ID, 1 1 / 4 OD, 1 / 8 wall, max psi 152 @70*

• Wall Hardness: Hard (Shore D: 65)
• Use compression fittings (see pgs. 145-159)
• Tensile Strength: 3900 psi
• Flexible
Temperature Range: –100° to +180° F
Even though no extra reinforcement has been added, this highdensity
polyethylene (HDPE) tubing can withstand high pressures as
well as vacuum up to 29.9 Hg @ 73° F. This tubing is made without
a plasticizer that can contaminate fluid passing through, so it won’t
impart tastes or odors. Use with water, air, food and beverage, and
ethylene glycol. Material is FDA CFR21 177.1520 compliant. It can
be sterilized with gas and chemicals.
To Order : Please specify length from the available lengths listed.
 
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Torque1st

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Alaska ends up with some strange material costs due to location.

The newer yellow HDPE pipe is listed for fuel gas use at ~125PSI. The applications and pressure ratings for HDPE pipe are for cold water or liquids.

Since this line is underground it is probably safe so all you can do is try it. I would use galvanized steel riser pipe for the ends where it comes out of the ground. HDPE does not shatter like PVC. If it does not work you can say you tried. If you can, use a smaller diameter like 3/4".

PEX is a cross linked PE pipe but it has different propereties.
 
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Scramblur

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Do a search on pex-al-pex. $.50 per foot and 200 PSI @ 75 degrees. It's a layer of pex. a layer of aluminum and a layer of pex.
 

PaulR

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Do a search on pex-al-pex. $.50 per foot and 200 PSI @ 75 degrees. It's a layer of pex. a layer of aluminum and a layer of pex.

hmmmm. nice.
you seem to know all the cool stuff scramblur. First psx 700, now this.
 
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nate379

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I don't believe I asked anything about black pipe, and I'm sorry but for the "know it alls" 1" pipe is about $30 a 10ft stick. That ends up being the same cost as rubber line.

Not to mention I'd like to know how I would snake black pipe through a 2" conduit run. :bounce:


Scramblur what is the item number for the pex-al-pex? I am not finding it, just regular pex at $1.66/ft
 

Scramblur

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pexsupply.com - mp814 - $140 for 300'. I used this in the walls of my shop to plumb compressed air. Manufacturer says direct bury is fine.

I assume 1/2" is ok, but you may have wanted 1" for some reason, if so the price goes up.
 
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nate379

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MP844 is what I would need (1")

That stuff is $1.50 foot, so not too bad, but I only need ~100ft, so wasting about $300 to buy a roll. Going to see if I can get it local though.
 
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Scramblur

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Good luck. Do you find that pressure drops over distance? I need to run about the same distance you're going back to my garage from the woodshop and I was going to use 1/2".
 

scooby074

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interesting, but id be concerned with the 152psi at 70 rating.

if burried, id say go for it, but have metal risers, plus a bit of distance from the tank to the pipe to allow the air to cool before entering the line
 

BOONEY7750

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Not to highjack, I am in a similar distance situation, Is there a worry about pressure drop and water build up on a 100ft run underground?
 

1320stang

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Bury some big PVC instead, as long as it's not above ground and it's sloped for a drain, you should be gold.
 

metal1313

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you may be able to find a local supplier that sells the pex-al-pex in smaller legnths... or find some people who need some as well. i plan to use it to run an airline from my shop to my house, and out to the front of the house. about 80ft but the plumbing co i used to work at uses it, and my boss said he'd sell me what i need and let me borrow a crimper for a few days
 
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RonM3

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I just built my shop 30x50. The building is complete and we are using it but now I am working on the Benches, airlines, Lift etc...

I have to ask about this pex-el-pex.

First since my maximum run would be 50 feet is 1/2 '' line large enough?

Do you have to buy any special tools to install it?

Is there any way to do drops? I want to have quick connects along the walls.

Nice Forum by the way.:thumbup:

I found it a couple of days ago and have been reading ever since.
 

Scramblur

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Requires standard pex crimpers. I ran 1/2" drops home run to a closet where my IR compressor sits. I need to assemble a manifold out of iron pipe and mount it. I will also use npt connectors at the drop locations and assemble quick disconnects.
 
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nate379

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The reason I'm going with 1" is because I am pretty sure it's going to freeze in the winter. The 1" will allow some freeze room before it plugs, and worse case scenario will allow room for me to run a heat tape in the line.

I dug the trench last year and put in 1.5" conduit so I could snake the line. The idea being if I had trouble with it I could pull the line out instead of digging out the trench.

It's only buried 3ft though, and frost line here is 10ft.

I had a chart, can't seem to find, but for the length and my compressor CFM 3/4" was the size to go.

I have a 100ish ft length of 1/4" line I use for my spray gun. I needed to use my impact gun and I was too lazy to unhook it. Well the gun would barely work with the 1/4" line and 140psi air.
 
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Torque1st

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Put in a T at the low end of the line on the riser and connect a 1/4" pex line to the bottom of the T. Bring the 1/4" line back up into the shop. Put a ball valve on the end of the 1/4" line and blow the moisture out.
 
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nate379

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Ended up ordering a 100ft roll of 3/4" rubber airline at $1.12/ft from McMaster. The local rubber place couldn't do anything for under $2.50/ft.

I wanted to do 1", but I screwed up when I put in the conduit and used 1.5" instead of 2" (which I thought I had). OD of 1" hose is just under 1.5" so it would have been really tight. 3/4" hose will be fine for my compressor, I just hope it doesn't freeze up.
 
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Ligito

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I ran 3/4 black iron pipe overhead, in my garage, with 3 drops and 2 ball valves on each drop line, one before and after the connect, so I can drain each drop.

I also have a ball valve on my compressor, to drain the tank.

I use one regulator at my air lift drop and another one that I can plug into the other drops, if I need to pressure down.

I keep the regulator turned down, at the compressor, to 125 lbs, unless I need more.
Then, I can adjust at each drop when needed.

Make sure that you have a means to take care of condensation in your conduit and in your air lines.
 

Torque1st

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The end toward the shop is about 2 ft higher.
Hmmmmmm -So put the drain at the other end, whichever is lowest. Put a nice 6-12" long drip leg on the bottom of the T for a water reservoir.

A chart for line size re compressor size and distance is in that link I posted above (post #17).
 

Torque1st

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I keep the regulator turned down, at the compressor, to 125 lbs, unless I need more.
Lowering the air pressure down with a regulator wastes energy. It is better to adjust the pressure switch to limit max pressure if your pressure switch allows adjustment (the better ones are adjustable).
 

Strouty

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I have a run of about 90ft from my garage to the shed where the compressor will be.

Rubber air line is going to be around $3 foot. This stuff is $1.06/ft and shipping is going to be about $40.

Use with water, air, food and beverage, and
ethylene glycol. Material is FDA CFR21 177.1520 compliant. It can
be sterilized with gas and chemicals.
To Order : Please specify length from the available lengths listed.

Air is one of the uses, so why not. Would it be above ground or buried? UV may be a part of the equation. The rubber line could be put away easier if you are running above ground. Just my 2cents.
 

larry_g

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Hmmmmmm -So put the drain at the other end, whichever is lowest. Put a nice 6-12" long drip leg on the bottom of the T for a water reservoir.
QUOTE]

I would suggest that on the remote site you put a reserivor tank to damp some of the pressure changes due to line drop. I would also put a valve at the tank end of the line so that you could make sure that a blow back is done on the line if you do use torque1st's suggestion. To blow the line shut off the feed valve and open the drain valve.
lg
no neat sig line
 
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nate379

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I can't do a drop leg at this point because the conduit is already in the ground and part of it now has pavement over it. Not doing to dig it up.

Going to have a 10-20 gal tank in teh garage for a "reservoir" I didn't want the compressor in the garage for the noise and also garage is only 24x26 and I have the boiler/water heater and water softener already taking up a corner.

I haven't drained my little 30 gal compressor in over a year and I just checked now and it was almost empty. It spends it's time inside, outside, in the rain, in teh back of various trucks, etc.
 
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