New compressor, planning air lines now

[Bearing Burner]

If you use plastic,CPVC is better but nomater which you use,use ONLY Sch 80.

[MEDDLER1]

Originally Posted by bohica2xo

Plastic can and does fail explosively. I have seen it in person, and the shards could have been lethal. 30hp screw compressor, big shop. I asked about the lines the day I was hired, and got the same old "been there for years, just fine" answer.
One morning at 0600 I walked in the back door, stabbed the compressor start switch & walked the length of the building to make coffee in the office. A minute later I though a grenade had gone off in the shop. A PVC line had shattered mid-span. Not a fitting, just a 4 foot length of pipe missing. Lucky it was in the area that went over the pallet racks, and nobody was in the shop yet.

Pieces of that pipe had sliced through gaylords, and were stuck in oak pallets. if you had been within six feet of that you would have needed stitches. It takes an effort with a good utility knife to slice open a gaylord.

A look at the pipe showed discoloration on the inside of the pipe, penetrating about .020 into the surface. Pieces of that pipe still felt "flexible". Our engineering department believed at the time it was the synthetic compressor oil from the screw compressor that was carried past the oil seperator as vapor that had discolored the pipe.

There is a lot of stored energy in compressed air or gasses. It is not the same as a hydraulic system.

PVC pipe is not allowed in a commercial operation. OSHA says no, and they have anecdotal evidence to back up that finding, have a read:

http://www.osha.gov/dts/hib/hib_data/hib19880520.html

Copper is the way to go. Vertical drops with a drain near the floor on each drop. That gives you a good 3 feet below the coupler for crud to build up in. Drain the drops once a month, or more often if you have a lot of moisture.

B.

This is what I am talking about!!! All of this is absolutely true!!!! Thank you for posting!!

[MEDDLER1]

Originally Posted by swissmike

After all we're in Florida! The compressor was in the not airconditioned part of the steel building that the shop was located at. We are now in a new facility and have a professional screw type compressor with a dryer and filter (medical equipment manufactruing facility).

We use Transair epoxy coated aluminum tubing for the air system that are connected by push-to connectors and fittings. No soldering, gluing, threading necessary. Very neat!

http://www.transairaluminumpipe.com/...FQODnQodDw05Cg

I have installed alot of this piping and would choose copper over it any day

[STURGIS39]

Be sure to label the lines "compressed air". I would go with copper and the biggest I can afford.

[swissmike]

Originally Posted by MEDDLER1

I have installed alot of this piping and would choose copper over it any day

What's not to like? It's been totally reliable and maintenance free for 7 years now and should beat copper from a cost and installation standpoint any day. Just curious to hear an expert opinion.

[MEDDLER1]

Originally Posted by swissmike

what's not to like? It's been totally reliable and maintenance free for 7 years now and should beat copper from a cost and installation standpoint any day. Just curious to hear an expert opinion.

pm sent:d

[oldwood]

Quincy air copmressor company sells a aluminum pipe it guarantees for 10yrs. They sell it with their compressors. I don't know how to insert info off of their sites. But that is the info when I almost bought a "Quincy". I went with a Saylor Beall.

[RICH B]

That's outstanding, a 10 year warranty!
Over 40 years ago I added a couple hundred feet of additional black pipe to an at the time 25+ year old black pipe system at my old job and plumbed my current home garage with black pipe 25 years ago, both systems still going strong with no problems.

[bohica2xo]

Meddler:

It was not even very satisfying saying "I told you so". I was just glad it let go when & where it did. To the owner's credit, he called in the local fire sprinkler company & had it replaced with steel & Victaulic couplings. Since it was a 2" line that was what they thought was best.

The other thing to watch out for are big air hoses. There is a reason that they make pressure relieving couplers and the like.

About 10 years after the exploding PVC pipe, I was working for a big electrical contractor. They had 4 towable compressors in the 130 CFM range. A stack of hoses was sitting on a pallet waiting to go to a job site. I looked and saw that there were no safety pins for the jaw couplings. Raised a stink, and made sure the jobsite got safety pins & instructions.

2 weeks later a VP is standing in front of me trying to ask an intelligent question about "hose pins" while obviously sweating bullets. I explained how they were to be used, showed him the letter that went to the jobsite manager with the pins, etc. He looked very constipated...

Seems that they had to move the compressor on a jobsite because someone complained about the noise - hence the need for an additional 250 feet of 1" ID air hose. Now the hose was laid across a paved area. A professor (probably the guy that complained) managed to lock his front wheels as he crossed the hose (no doubt trying to destroy the hose) and the hose rolled & twisted.

The un-pinned jaw coupling came apart. The two pound cast iron coupling was flailing around on the end of a 150 psi air line. It took out the windshield, the door glass, a fender, the door, and the hood. On a 450 SEL Mercedes. lucky it was the passenger side, with no injuries.

The VP had a memo complaining about me, holding up a tool delivery for "some useless pins".

B,

[MEDDLER1]

Originally Posted by bohica2xo

Meddler:

It was not even very satisfying saying "I told you so". I was just glad it let go when & where it did. To the owner's credit, he called in the local fire sprinkler company & had it replaced with steel & Victaulic couplings. Since it was a 2" line that was what they thought was best.

The other thing to watch out for are big air hoses. There is a reason that they make pressure relieving couplers and the like.

About 10 years after the exploding PVC pipe, I was working for a big electrical contractor. They had 4 towable compressors in the 130 CFM range. A stack of hoses was sitting on a pallet waiting to go to a job site. I looked and saw that there were no safety pins for the jaw couplings. Raised a stink, and made sure the jobsite got safety pins & instructions.

2 weeks later a VP is standing in front of me trying to ask an intelligent question about "hose pins" while obviously sweating bullets. I explained how they were to be used, showed him the letter that went to the jobsite manager with the pins, etc. He looked very constipated...

Seems that they had to move the compressor on a jobsite because someone complained about the noise - hence the need for an additional 250 feet of 1" ID air hose. Now the hose was laid across a paved area. A professor (probably the guy that complained) managed to lock his front wheels as he crossed the hose (no doubt trying to destroy the hose) and the hose rolled & twisted.

The un-pinned jaw coupling came apart. The two pound cast iron coupling was flailing around on the end of a 150 psi air line. It took out the windshield, the door glass, a fender, the door, and the hood. On a 450 SEL Mercedes. lucky it was the passenger side, with no injuries.

The VP had a memo complaining about me, holding up a tool delivery for "some useless pins".

B,

WOW that is crazy! I have been lucky with those hoses VERY lucky there has been times where I have had to do the same thing just to get a customer running and then go get the pins for the dixon fittings. I always worry that it will happen. There is a dealer ship I service that I have no choice but to run 200 feet of hose across the shop to do maintenance on his machine, I always have him sign paperwork first stating if a hose should come apart I am not liable. Hopefully he soon will allow me to run a hard line out to the bay door to avoid this. Good to hear no body got hurt!!