Shops setup for air!!!!!

Propably 25 ft before the first one and the second one is near the end. I can paint with my system with zero moisture,.

crash said:

Propably 25 ft before the first one and the second one is near the end. I can paint with my system with zero moisture,.

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Does the second one grab much moisture, or does the first one do most of the work?

The first one grabs most of it and the second one does grab a lil bit... Mostly when I forget to drain the first one,lol..

Do a google search for shop air systems using PVC and I'm sure you will find lots of horror stories and near deaths. Hot Rod magazine had to do a major retraction on a story they ran on building a shop air system with PVC due to all the problems. Plastic does not age well and with 100 or more psi running through the lines, even a scratch with a screw driver with the system under pressure can cause the lines to shatter. If you can't afford copper, run black pipe. Or, do what I'm doing and piece meal it as you go to save on the big cost bite all at once.
Another benefit to using copper is that the fittings work much better with them than PVC. PVC threads get easily stressed and are not built to take the constant working that air systems have. Pulling a hose and bending the coupler fitting just a little can stress the PVC connection and cause leaks. Even initial connections take some learning to get them just right so they don't leak, and you don't over tighten them.
I have heard that PVC is against the law in OSHA eyes. But I've also heard OSHA does not recommend using PVC over 30psi, which IMO makes it pointless anyway. You might get away with 50-60 psi, but over that is just playing Russian Roulette, over and over. Eventually you'll find the right chamber with the bullet. Once the PVC becomes brittle, it can cause shrapnel type projectiles in high pressure failures. Cases have been documented of shrapnel penetrating drywall 30' away
Finally, PVC manufacturers do not recommend their product for compressed gasses.

crash said:

Alot of the main stream shops that are newer are running pvc and if I was to do it again I would have gone this route. I think the main thing with this material is to fully secure it to kep it from slapping from the air rush to keep it from cracking...

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Last I heard plastic was not a code acceptable way to plumb air. Has the code changed lately? ( nevermind saw post above) That would make it alot easier to plumb, before it had to be done in copper or iron.

Oh and my air setup?

16cfm@90psi 60gal. (I don't know hp, just flow) with a 3 outlet damn deal on it and add in regs and separators for when I paint. But, its just a temp setup in the garage until the shop is done in the back yard then there will be hard line plumbed with outlets about every 6ft so all you have to do is reach out your hand and you will find an air outlet!

how about CPVC as apposed to PVC. Is is safer, dealier, same???

I was about to run PVC, when I talked to my brother who sells actuated valve systems. He asked if I enjoyed picking plastic out of my body. As stated above, PVC becomes brittle over time, and also it doesn't deal well with even MINOR dings.

I just finished bolting down my compressor last night. One thing that really helps the sound level is mufflers on the intakes. I have those and I also put some 1/2", high density rubber pads under each of the feet.

I am still finalizing my plans for air distribution. I definitely am going to mount a hose reel on the ceiling. My shop area is the one-car area of a three-car garage, so I don't need I a lot of hose length, (well, I do, but that's between my wife and I). I don't intend to do any painting, but I do some stone sculpture and those air hammers are pretty sensitive to moisture.

I built mine out of PVC, sched 40 PVC is rated to 480psi, and I didnt have any problems for the 2 years i've used it. I've moved shops now, and have to replumb, and i'll probly use it again.


Hey Crash, what are the specs on your air cylinder for your bender??? The manual bender is getting old....

My shop air was not set op by me. The owner previous to the one I bought my house from painted cars in the shop but when he moved, he took the compressor from him. Long story short, one of my neibors still talked to the guy and I ended up buying the compressor off him for $200:clappy: He had built this little room (closet?) for the compressor with a sound proof glass door and lots of insulation. You can barley hear it running. Originaly the air was plumbed with PVC but it is old and cracked so I just have a line sticking out of a hole in the compressor room.

I like the setup we have here at work. There is a not so little room built off the silo that has 2 large and one extreemly large compressor. I think with all 3 going it delivers about 1 gazillion CFM at 175 PSI. The big compressor is powred by a 50hp motor and the compressor itself is about 4 feet tall. No air tank, it is bolted to the floor. It's also water cooled:clappy: All that air is plumbed to the 2 shops, the paint booth and the garage with 1.5" galvanized pipe. 100 yards awat from the shop there is a shiping container that has been converted in to a sand blast booth, it is fed by a 3" galv line. That's what I call air power!

:masturbanana[1]: : well i have a i think its a 80 gal tank matco/ingersol 14.9 cfm at 175 psi and the garage is completly plumed in copper and the compressure is out back of the shop and you rally cant here the thing come on the line goes up yhe wall on the out side comes in at the celin comes in about 12 feet and tees of and on the right it goes to the wall and i have a drop it goes to the big door in the front and drops there on the left side it goes down the wall and one drop in the midle of the wall to my two benches and then goes to the big door and drops there too and i have two drops on both sides of my 9000 hoist my shop seems too work ok

I have the same compressor Crash has. I am running a water trap & 1 airline off of it for now. Sitting in the garage, fairly loud. No money for more at this point.

Crash saw mine on it's way to the building site. Gas powered (Wisconsin) Devilbiss with 80? gallon tank

Since this thread was bumped and all... :fawkdancesmiley:

I remodeled my two-car garage a little over a year ago. Plumbed it up for air while it was down to the studs. Used 1/2 copper sweated. Basically it makes a big "U" shape starting in one back corner and ending in the other back corner with a drain. There are six outlets along the way. It's slopped down throughout the line as well. It's definitely been a great addition to my garage.

...and no making fun of my huge compressor!! :redneck:


Mocked into place.


Said huge compressor. :kissmyass:


Fittings.


I recently added this hose reel on the garage door side. Very nice.

Only picture I've got, when I was hooking it up.


80 gal. 220v 5 horse twin jug something or other, 18cfm @150 psi, out back in it's own shed, ran gas pipe up at an angle to the back corner of the shop, cheap air dryer/regulator just inside, then teed and ran down the back wall and one side with gas pipe, 3 outlets per wall. It runs everything from the plasma to air hammers to paint guns.

bought a 60 gallon 5hp 3 cylinder Puma back in '97-98 for almost $900. On phone guy told me it was two stage, got to tool town found out it wasn't. Bought it anyways and haven't regretted it. ran it hard all this time and only changed oil handful of times and put automotive aircleaners in it once, original belt. Put behind garage in corner where eaves meet and decided not to enclose it(i run it till 3am sometimes and neighbors have never complained). I tried airtraps and din't like em. looked around and finally went back to tooltown and got airfilter that takes singleply TP or double if patient to get it installed. Works awesome especially since only hard line i have goes to air over hydraulic single post car lift in backyard. Rest is ran with airhose.

I highly recommend the TP filter, expensive(was around $60 decade ago), but after that TP is pretty cheap.:awesomework:

we have a 15hp compressor putting out ~50cfm at 150psi hooked to a 150gallon tank, copper lines running to 4 cnc machines with water traps on each, 1 media blaster, and to 16 air guns :fawkdancesmiley:

:redneck: I have a 80-100 gallon three phase, two piston Speedaire with something rediculous for an output (like 2" ID). Course, I don't get three phase at the house, so I need to convert it to single phase and get a new motor.

I hope I can make it all work.

Nice work on the pipe .:awesomework:

pex pipe with 6 drops in the garage

Bump,
Has anyone here had experience with PVC pipe failing and exploding? Digging around the internet you can find plenty of folks that say not to use it for compressed air, but examples of it failing seem to be joints not secured properly or the pipe being struck by something. There's 1/2" pvc sold at Lowes that's rated at 600psi.