Yes, another air line question.

[jeepntxj]

I know, I know. Copper, galvanized pipe, black pipe, etc...

Would it be possible to use hydraulic hose as an airline? I have access to almost as much 3000 psi wire-braid hydraulic hose as I want, as well as fittings.

I know moisture could be a problem, but with a proper dryer setup, wouldn't it work?

No chance of a dangerous, catastrophic failure with hydraulic hose, either. I did a little reading, and the only reason I really found to not use it is that it is so expensive, but that's not an issue in this case.
Gettin' through the day with Tapatalk.

 

[Zrexxer]

When I worked in a tractor shop we used hydraulic hose for air hose, since we had a ton of it on hand and we had a hydraulic crimp machine and fitting assortment in the shop. It was tough as nails even with being run over by heavy equipment regularly, but it was heavy as hell to drag around. I don't know why you couldn't use it for a semi-permanent installation, except that as you say it wouldn't provide much cooling.

We eventually quit using it when the general manager found out what we were doing with all that expensive hydraulic hose...

 

[mikeyr]

Like you said, moisture will be the only problem. I am not sure you could avoid water in your lines without a large expense in filters as there will be a lot of water.

 

[dmw56]

If it's free I'd use it. What's 120psi compared to 3000psi. Just set it up so you can drain the water in several places and remember to do so.

 

[Deltarat]

You could do a couple of runs up and down at the compressor with steel pipe to remove the water and use the hose for the rest. I used old hyd hoses in my old shop that had failed on equipment with 2500#. I would cut out the bad and use the rest. I just used regular hose couplers and hose clamps since the pressure would be less than 200#. It was free and I had plenty of it.
It will out last you with those low pressures.

 

[boarderline]

I've gotta compressor that I pieced together, 120 gallon tank 5 horse motor and a big assed twin cylinder compressor I got some where. The first time I set it all up, I went toe the auto parts store and had a hydrolic line made up for the tank to compressor. It worked pretty good until I sandblasted about an hour and the compressor was running solid. I looked at the compressor and that line was swelled up about 3 or 4 times its original size and the damned thing blew out while I was looking at it. nearly burnt the place down. there were sparks coming from that hot rubber line and all that air rushing out of the tank, it was pretty scarey for a while. Like a dumb *** I had another line made up and put it back in there and it did the same thing. I plumbed it in SOLID with galvanized pipe and it's been there for probably 15 years and it's not given me any more problems whatsoever. Do not use a hydrolic line for anything but hydrolics.

DONT know if i would after reading this mind you he said he was using it alot and for long periods

 

[PurdueSD]

I also agree, rapid cooling of the hot compressed air is what settles out condensate. This is why black iron and copper are both good choices. It won't just be a matter of making sure you drain the system often. You will have wet air getting to your tools because it hasn't had the opportunity to settle out. (like humidity) You will spend more on a dryer setup than it would cost to plumb the system in black pipe. I have a blast cabinet that i run for extended times with absolutely zero moisture issues. Its all about design, i have no refrigerator dryers or decedent filters. I took the overkill/ over-think it approach and it has worked flawlessly so far. TP tools has some really good info on their website. I probably have less 250 bucks total in my line/ regulator set up. There are more details in my build thread if you are interested.

That being said, I did in fact use a 2' section between my tank and start of my hard lines. It was way cheaper than one of those stainless braided flex lines. It's worked great for 3 years now!

 

[Strouty]

What about plastic air brake line?

 

[lametec]

DONT know if i would after reading this mind you he said he was using it alot and for long periods

He used it between the pump and tank. That's some serious heat. Nowhere near as hot coming out of the tank.

 

[lametec]

That being said, I did in fact use a 2' section between my tank and start of my hard lines. It was way cheaper than one of those stainless braided flex lines. It's worked great for 3 years now!

Why not put a 90° elbow coming out of the compressor pointing towards the wall? You'd get rid of the s shape of the hose, and it wouldn't stick out as far. Just an idea.

 

[StingRay]

My compressor is attached to the rest of my plumbing by a short length of hydraulic hose. It should work fine. It'll be hell to get into a nice straight run. That stuff is stiff.

 

[Falcon67]

I use hydro hose for the jump from the compressor to that wall. I think it'll be fine, you should just filter/separate the hell out of it before you use the air.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

Why not put a 90° elbow coming out of the compressor pointing towards the wall? You'd get rid of the s shape of the hose, and it wouldn't stick out as far. Just an idea.

Why not just turn the compressor 90°?

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

Our shop is setup with 3/8 couplings all over the place, so use a chunk of hydrualic hose setup to feed the 1" impact gun that requires all 1/2" line / couplings to flow enough - been doing it that way for years and that chunk of hydraulic hose is the only piece I've never replaced.....if the stuff is cheap / free - use it!

 

[lametec]

Why not just turn the compressor 90°?

Cause pressure switch and ball valve will be towards the wall.

 

[PurdueSD]

Why not put a 90° elbow coming out of the compressor pointing towards the wall? You'd get rid of the s shape of the hose, and it wouldn't stick out as far. Just an idea.

Why not just turn the compressor 90°?

Cause pressure switch and ball valve will be towards the wall.

Simple answer... compressor is under the stairs and out of the way so it doesnt even matter!

 

[Spareparts]

DOT plastic air lines works fine except fot between the compressor and the shop air lines, the heat will soften it and burst. The down side is cost of fittings, the air line itself isn't to bad.

 

[KrisKustomPaint]

i was just kidding around I see no problem with an S shaped hose.

 

[ibedayank]

whats the hose rated for temp wise?

 

[OccupantRJ]

He used it between the pump and tank. That's some serious heat. Nowhere near as hot coming out of the tank.

I've got two 100 cfm compressors at work with remote tanks, that use a large hydraulic hose a foot long to connect the compressors to the piping. The hoses will last about 5 years before they start to get crumbly on the outer covering. Never had any other problems. these units are run 40 hours a week.