When a 6 hour project turns into OMFG what have I done?!

pescadoman

pescadoman

Randy
Silver Member
Decided to put rigid pipe up in shop.. Simple right??? My compressor pumps a ton of air so I'm using(god help me I'm not done yet) 3/4 copper. Shouldn't cost alot or take much money right? Pipe is about 1.50 a foot and I figure about 60 feet. Then came..

Couplers 10-14 a piece. One for each drop, plus one on each side of filters and air driyer.
90's and 45's 1.00 each or so.. I've lost count.
Adapters. 4-6.00 each. I've lost count.
Hoses. 90.00
Torch, solder, flux. 50.00
Filters.. 600.00 plus
Lil fricken thingy to keep me from setting shop on fire while I braze next to a wall. 15.00
Then deciding(several times) how to run the pipe.
Measure, cut, debur, clean, flux, assemble.

I'm about 20 hours into it and have used a full tank of gas running back and forth to Home Depot....

I honestly thought I'd save a good amount of money by using copper instead of aluminum.

In hindsight, I'd just spend the money and get the aluminum kit....
 
In my machine shop I run over 90 pounds of pressure on my compressor output and have it all running through PVC. I was leery of it, but my machinist friend told me it was the way to go and it has worked for a few years with no problems. I have the quick connects running down the wall in several locations. My large CNC mill will not run without air hooked to it.
 
cueman said:
In my machine shop I run over 90 pounds of pressure on my compressor output and have it all running through PVC. I was leery of it, but my machinist friend told me it was the way to go and it has worked for a few years with no problems. I have the quick connects running down the wall in several locations. My large CNC mill will not run without air hooked to it.
Click to expand...

After hearing stories of PVC exploding I decided to go with copper. PVC would have been sooooo much easier and CHEAPER. Did you run SCH80 or 40?
 
Randy,

I have always found when sweating copper joints that MAP gas makes the job so much easier than using propane. Big difference with more heat.

If you are using PVC you can also use schedule 120.

Good luck with you piping upgrade.

Rick
 
scdiveteam said:
Randy,

I have always found when sweating copper joints that MAP gas makes the job so much easier than using propane. Big difference with more heat.

If you are using PVC you can also use schedule 120.

Good luck with you piping upgrade.

Rick
Click to expand...

I use MAP. After hearing the stories, I decided not to use plastic.
 
We had pvc in the old car audio shop that worked at. I was there for 5 years and it had already been there for 10. We had an occasional blowout but nothing scary like I have read about. More at the joints. I just redid my shop in black iron and have a buddy that redid his using some sort of pex type system that he saw at the big woodworking show in Atlanta. It is really nice but I think was pretty expensive. Maybe rapid air?
 
pescadoman said:
I looked at this stuff and it's nice, but I have lots of twists, turns, bushings, couplings. It's nice to go to Ferguson or Home Depot when I needed something.
Click to expand...

The elbows can get pricey but it bends with a conduit bender, or even by hand, 90 deg, just as conduit would so not a very sharp bend.
 
pescadoman said:
After hearing stories of PVC exploding I decided to go with copper. PVC would have been sooooo much easier and CHEAPER. Did you run SCH80 or 40?
Click to expand...

Thick wall 3/4" pipe. Can't remember the schedule number. Water pressure gets up pretty high so air is no different. Or so I was told. It was pointed pout to me that the plastic hoses we are using on the compressors are weaker than the PVC and he was right so far. It worked in his shop so I let him install it at my shop.
 
When you stick a water balloon with a pin, you get a leak. When you stick an air-filled balloon with a pin, you get an explosion.

Water is not compressible. Air is. Big difference.

Think of your pipes as balloons.

I worry about all that energy just waiting to be released.

I've seen a few auto shops, where compressed air is the prime mover, plumbed up with PVC pipe. It's used all day, every day. 90 PSI is pretty normal.

Some mechanics, when faced with a really tight fastener, will turn the compressor regulator up, WAY up, to give their impact gun a little extra oomph....while I go hide in the restroom.

I've never seen a pipe fail while this was going on but when the decision comes up for me, I'll use metal. I'll guess that at "normal" pressures PVC would be OK but I'll never do it.

Robin Snyder
 
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I simply figured it will be there at least the next 30 years, so any cost difference is negligible vs any safety isssue
 
I used PVC in my old shop. In 15 years I had one joint break. Nothing catastrophic, just a little scary. That was with 180 psi line pressure. I used steel in my new shop. Metal allows the air to cool quicker. Which let's water vapor condense and your driers work better. My plan was to run lines down two walls of my shop. That would be about 100' of line. Only taken me twenty years to get half of it done.

Larry
 
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