Tell me about your shop

[Spork]

I have a Cox hose/cord combination reel. It's a really great addition to my small shop.


As for lines that are plumbed through the shop, I used RapidAir. Great kits, easy to use.

I also made a galv pipe desiccant air line dryer and a manifold before it to remove excess water before the dryer. I have checked my endline filters over the years and never have even one flake of galv or rust.

Also, if you keep them in use, you're far less likely to have issues.

I put a manifold and a few new drops in a pal's shop where he's had 3/4" piping for 40+ years... other than one leaky joint, it was in good shape inside and out. Hot air helps, I'm sure, especially if you drain the lines correctly and pull the heat out early on in the run (like near the compressor).

Sorry you sucked me down a rabbit hole, what size tubing did you go with? From what I'm reading it's similar to gas line for flexibility going around corners, and looks pretty easy to put in. Amazon popped up https://www.amazon.com/air-compressor-piping/s?k=air+compressor+piping with multiple vendors but all look similar in concept. It almost looks like PEX for installation.

 

[BCGPER]

Use 1/2” copper with soldered joints, and you’ll never have an issue. I won’t use anything else, it’s a fail proof lifetime way of doing things, and I hate doing things like that twice.

 

[Tonkaman]

Definitely do not use PVC! It can explode easily even at low pressure. The pieces become shrapnel and could even kill you. Seriously.

 

[mbryson]

Use 1/2” copper with soldered joints, and you’ll never have an issue. I won’t use anything else, it’s a fail proof lifetime way of doing things, and I hate doing things like that twice.

why 1/2”? I was thinking I’d go 1”?

 

[YROC FAB.]

Working in the trucking industry i use nylon DOT air lines. super tough and super simple to deal with. They have compression style fittings and push lock style in every elbow and pipe thread size available. It pretty much the same a pex.

 

[BCGPER]

Cost, plain and simple. Think about it. How big is the opening on your quick connects? 1/2” will flow way more than your compressor is capable of.

I like copper because it’s corrosion resistant, and is for the most part self supporting so you don’t have plastic hoses drooping all over. I prefer soldered joints because I’ve never seen a mechanical joint that didn’t eventually leak. I’ve never had a soldered joint leak, except from physical damage.

why 1/2”? I was thinking I’d go 1”?

 

[4x4_Welder]

Cost, plain and simple. Think about it. How big is the opening on your quick connects? 1/2” will flow way more than your compressor is capable of.

I like copper because it’s corrosion resistant, and is for the most part self supporting so you don’t have plastic hoses drooping all over. I prefer soldered joints because I’ve never seen a mechanical joint that didn’t eventually leak. I’ve never had a soldered joint leak, except from physical damage.

A larger size does effectively increase your air storage capacity though.

 

[YROC FAB.]

A larger size does effectively increase your air storage capacity though.

I would have to say its pretty insignificant. 1/2" 100' air line is barely more than a gallon of extra air volume. I guess you could call it effective if you have one of them 1/2 gallon pancake air compressors. 🤷‍♂️

Consider a back feed tank if you have a long run and or smaller air line. My shop is 40 feet at the longest. i have the air compressor outside one end and a back up smaller air compressor in the shop on top shelf plumbed in and then a small 15 gallon tank all the way at the far end of my shop. All the extra tanks make up for the smaller air line size and long run size.

 

[zmotorsports]

I used 3/4" copper mains with 1/2" copper drops in my last shop. It worked well for the 25+ years I was in that shop. I started with just a main from the compressor around the workbenches and then added to the system over the years as tools moved around the shop and equipment was added. We have also used copper in all of our shops at work and most have been in service since mid-80's with no issues.

Personally I wouldn't run black pipe after what we have to deal with in our fire suppression systems and moisture as they eventually rot through.

In my new shop I was going to go with copper again but I knew ahead of time where I wanted everything and I wanted a lot more drops than in my previous shop, plus this is 3x the size and when I started putting a pencil to it I found it was adding up quickly. For the cost I just went ahead and went with the Aircom system, which is identical to the RapidAir but I went with the 1" (25mm) aluminum tubing in sticks vs. the rolls. I highly recommend either the RapidAir system or the Aircom system. No having to deal with sweating in fittings and messing with painted walls if you decide to alter something or add something later.

I used 3 kits and this was all that I had remaining.

It is nice to work with. Cut & debur then insert into the compression style unions or "T's". I ended up with 9 drops in the shop, 7 of those with dual manifolds and 2 of those drops are my air hose reels. In the RV bay I have 2 drops as well.

Mike

 

[mbryson]

This seems like a good start? $379 after I added it to the cart.

Aircom Pro Kit 1

Aircom Pro Kit 1 Aircom PRO KIT 1 with a 3/4” diameter and 100 ft (15 stick x 6.5 ft) of aluminum pipe allows you to create your own compressed air system in an easy, smart and quick way.

flequipment.com

RapidAir seems like a more comprehensive kit (through their configuration tool) and will customize your kit a little. Kind of a difficult choice as @zmotorsports indicates.

Air Compression Piping Product Configurator | RapidAir Products

Customize your air compression piping system effortlessly with our product configurator. Design a reliable and efficient compressed air system tailored to your specific needs.

www.rapidairproducts.com

(excuse me for using this thread as a "notepad" for my shopping )

 

[zmotorsports]

Just FYI, I found my kits a little cheaper on ebay but cannot remember the seller's name and my purchase history is not showing back that far.

It may be worth checking.

I don't think you'll be disappointed though.

Mike

 

[Mouse]

Does anyone have a software recommendation for designing a shop within the parameters of a yard? Our house it at the end of a culdesac and the yard is pie-shaped, there are also easements on the property border. So, to maximize the shop footprint, I think I need help designing it with software (vs me drawing poorly by hand)

 

[zmotorsports]

Does anyone have a software recommendation for designing a shop within the parameters of a yard? Our house it at the end of a culdesac and the yard is pie-shaped, there are also easements on the property border. So, to maximize the shop footprint, I think I need help designing it with software (vs me drawing poorly by hand)

No software here but when we were looking at a house early on in our house hunting phase, we found one similar to what you have which was a pie shaped back yard. This one was where two different sub-divisions come together. Although I didn't care for the layout or the neighborhood the house was nice and I figured I could deal with the layout of the shop in the yard.

I went old school and drew out the lot on graph paper to scale, drew in the location of the house on the lot, existing driveway then cut the shop to size on a separate piece which allowed me to play with location as well as overall shape of the detached garage and how the driveway back to the detached shop would be to best fit the lot as well as still trying to keep it aesthetically appealing. In the end we decided not to move forward with that particular house but I think the process was helpful to establish what the end result would look like.

 

[mbryson]

No software here but when we were looking at a house early on in our house hunting phase, we found one similar to what you have which was a pie shaped back yard. This one was where two different sub-divisions come together. Although I didn't care for the layout or the neighborhood the house was nice and I figured I could deal with the layout of the shop in the yard.

I went old school and drew out the lot on graph paper to scale, drew in the location of the house on the lot, existing driveway then cut the shop to size on a separate piece which allowed me to play with location as well as overall shape of the detached garage and how the driveway back to the detached shop would be to best fit the lot as well as still trying to keep it aesthetically appealing. In the end we decided not to move forward with that particular house but I think the process was helpful to establish what the end result would look like.

I did the same for putting our house on the lot. I didn't find anything easy to use where I could lay out my lot and move stuff around easily. I went to a gridline paper model.