[Spridgets] Plumbing a shop for air

mike rambour mikey at b2systems.com
Tue Mar 31 17:37:10 MST 2009


 Ok, I will be the one to disagree !!!

 PVC air pipe is DANGEROUS !!!

 It gets brittle and when it lets go you will have lots of shrapnel
coming at you.  The fire issue has already been brought up and its also
correct but I figure by the time the fire gets to the lines you have
bigger problems anyway.

 I once saw a shop done with PVC airlines and thought it was the
greatest thing I ever saw, went home and planned on doing the same
thing, then I researched it and it is dangerous.   Yes, I agree some
people have had PVC air lines for years and years with no issues but it
gets brittle with age and is not really designed for the hammering that
happens when you use a air tool on/off.  When it lets go it will be a
catastrophic failure and I hope you are not in the shop or in the way of
the shrapnel that will be flying.

 At the very least if you are going to use it make sure its out of the
way so you don't accidentally smack it with something while moving stuff
around the garage since when its under pressure it is more likely to
break when you hit it.

 There are other issues too, it does not get rid of moisture in the
lines as well as a properly designed air system since it does not cool
the air as quickly.

 I have to agree it is easy to work with, I went with copper pipe for
the same reason that its easy to work with, yeah not cheap but its a
once in a lifetime investment in my shop, I silver soldered the
connections near the compressor and plain soldered the rest (compressor
can get hot and I figured the heat might weaken the solder, doubt it but
it was easy...)

 Yes, there are people out there who have had PVC air lines for decades
and have had no issues, some people also drive their Spridget their
whole life for many hundreds of thousands of miles with no breakdowns,
others don't.

	mike

On Tue, 2009-03-31 at 15:01 -0700, Bill L wrote:
> Hello William,
> 
>      My father-in-law did his shop with PVC pipe. He used appropriate
>      drainage points to let out the inevitable moisture collection. He
>      put in quick disconnects every 20' or so. He figured if he ever needs
>      to add in another tap its easier to cut and glue than to saw and
>      thread and union back together. No rust EVER. So..
> 
>      Easier, Cheaper, Faster.... NO down side!
> 
>      Someone will disagree. It's the nature of the list.


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