Shop air compressor lines

[bcstingray]

I,m going to install air compressor lines in my building. Has anyone used the thick wall PVC pipes for this, or what type of piping should I use?

[VileZambonie]

I did my whole shop in copper. I love it and it's very easy to add or tie into the system for additional drops. Personally I would never use PVC. I don't trust it, I've seen pvc crack, explode with shrapnel, become brittle, joints separate etc. Copper has been around forever and will last forever.

[1967KaiserM715]

Agreed, copper is best for air lines, use soft lines when going around sharp angles(more then 90 degrees) to avoid stressing the lines


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[Irish_Alley]

this is the stuff we have in the shop. wasnt too bad to install and its only been a few years so i cant say how it will last but we havnt had a issue but theres only a 1 year warranty on it. i would think it should come with a 10 year or something

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200484023_200484023?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Air%20Tools%20%2B%20Compressors%20%3E%20Air%20Compressor%20Piping%20Accessories&utm_campaign=RapidAir&utm_content=20923&gclid=CjwKEAjw2PK7BRDPz5nDh9GjoGcSJAAybcS37Uvk-5s9QpobMPs41npti9YCrUyisfR9Vb_8dnHwLhoCOcPw_wcB

[Blazin]

Buddy of mine did his shop in PVC, 6 years ago. He hasn't had any problems.
The shop I am in was done in copper when it was built in 01, its strong, holds up great. Only problem is the no mind that put it in pitched it to drain, but he did all the drops with the T pointing down. So the only thing you drain if you do is the last run before the end drop. The T should have been pointing toward the ceiling, then use two street 90s, and two 45s to run the drop down against the wall. Its on my list of changes to do one of these days in my spare time!

[winky]

I agree with staying from pvc as well. Ive personally seen a ton of problems with it, vibration causing it to break, cracks, and as stated earlier ive seen it explode and send shrapnel into the shop.... A few months back a guy i know had an 8 ft section in his shop bust over night so he replaced that section, about 2 hours later another section busted. I believe he replaced 3-4 sections before deciding to do something else.

[werewolfx13]

Late response, probably already have something figured out, but +1 on staying away from pvc. VERY violent when it fails. Saw a tire mounted on a steel rim clip a drop at a tire shop in Branson West and blow shards of pvc through *both* sides of the tire sidewall and embed them most of the way through sheetrock on the opposite shop wall almost 40 feet away.

If you want a cheaper option, Pex doesn't fail in a violent manner as long as its well secured to the wall, its dirt cheap, and has served me well where I've used it for air lines. Copper or Black iron are also good options, but are more expensive to set up. Steer clear of Galvanized, as the galvanization may become dislodged and plug the system downstream. Drops in the garage I'm remodeling will be black iron, overheads will be pex, and the buried feed line from the adjacent structure will be pex.