Into the storm!!! Copper is NOT for air lines! DON'T DO IT!!! My
insurance inspector, fire inspector, and building inspector all go into
siezures at the mention of copper air lines. It's illegal here, probably
for a reason. If you're going to use copper, why not PVC? 1"??? What are
you're needs for that much air? Please use black pipe, PLEASE!!!
Elaborate, please?
Here, where?
Into the storm indeed!
Jim
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please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
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Yes, I knew this thread would arrive here sooner or later.
I "plummed" my shop with 1/2" air hose. It may be a crime or a sin,
but it seems to me that's what the stuff is made for. Cheapest/quickest
solution I could find. Has been working great for 10 years now. It still
looks like new, but if it were to fray, bulge, or rot, I could re-do the
whole system in half a day.
Why would you do anything else?
Chuckle..in California, its not only legal, but recommended.
However..I still install black pipe in customers sites, even though
its more expensive.
Gunner
That rifle hanging on the wall of the working-class flat or labourer's
cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays
there.
- George Orwell
I have been considering this. Right now I have 1" PVC. I knew, when
putting it up, that it would need to be replaced. I needed air in a
hurry and the PVC was fastest. I worked in a shop where the PVC blew
up on a regular basis. But if I use air hose it will need to be at
least 1". Any smaller entrains too much moisture.
ERS
Evidently the anti-copper poster was way too far into the trade union
dogma, and too lightly into practical experience in an industrial or
shop environment.
Copper is easy to install with soldered fittings, even in complex
installations, and can withstand moderately high air pressures without
the risk of fragmentation posed by alternative materials. I've
personally had PVC dryer assemblies burst (explode), and it was a a
very loud noise and a very ugly scene. Fortunately no one was in the
area at the time, because the fragmentation damage to the area was
extensive (this was on a system involving only 90 PSI air supply).
To this I will only add, never use PVC or black iron pipe, becuase
both can fragmentate under pressure excursions (which do happen from
time-time-to time). By contrast, copper will generally just burst a
seam (although in over 30 years I've never seen this happen with
compressed air). Black iron pipe is primarily sold ONLY for low
pressure gas lines.)
If you're dealing with very high pressures, say between 400 and 6,000
psi, seamless stainless steel tubing is the only reliable choice, but
generally with air lines, most of us are not dealing with those kinds
of pressures.
Harry C.
Copper joined with Sil-Phos seems to be fairly standard with A/C piping (at
least, here on the eastern side of the pond :-). A/C duty is more severe than
compressed air duty. I can't see why Tom would be so upset about copper for
home workshop use.
I will be plumbing in the new workshop about September, and have no particular
bias towards iron or copper (or Admiralty brass for that matter), so please
help me make up my mind folks.
Mark Rand
RTFM
FWIW at my plant the standard for nearly all the process gasses
(and this includes 120 psi compressed air) is copper joined with
sil-phos.
The only ones not done that way are clean boil-off nitrogen,
which is run in specially de-greased seamless stainless steel
tubing.
Jim
==================================================
please reply to:
JRR(zero) at yktvmv (dot) vnet (dot) ibm (dot) com
==================================================
I think of all the black pipe I have had to run over the years and all the
cutting, threading, lifting, screwing and wrenching I have had to do any
along comes ...copper? Why shouldn't EVERYONE have to suffer the
back-breaking work that I have had to do? Why should THEY get away with an
easy job? (ok, I have copper at home) But I stick to my guns about NO PVC!
Yup. Same experience here. My 1/2" copper air lines have been in
service for close to 10 years and have never had a problem or failure.
As long as you use a loop of rubber tubing between the compressor and
copper lines to absorb vibration, a copper air line system will probably
outlive your need for it.
Tim
All I know is that my 20 hp Quincy compressor states in the manual to NEVER
use soldered fittings on copper pipe used for compressed air.. ONLY flared
or compression fittings for copper pipe BTW they plumb the whole machine
with compression fittings and copper pipe. I would also like to hear about
the exploding black iron pipe??
William...
Aahh. I can live with that reasoning! Would copper be all right if I tie
bricks to the pipe while fitting it to make it heavy and make the brackets out
of hand carved phosphor bronze blocks
Regards
Mark Rand
RTFM
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