![]() |
The water problem with a buried air line is likely just because the ground is typically cooler than the air. You could do the coil of air line in a chilled bucket trick, in the shed, or plumb a small (1/4" or so) additional line from the low point of the buried line to a quick drain in the garage. If it's plumbed to the bottom of a T at the low point, pressure will clear any condensation.
BTW, those oil-less compressors are louder, but if there are budget or space constraints (need to move it between work sessions, etc) it shouldn't stop anyone from using one. I did probably 95%+ of the air tool work on my -7 using one that sat just outside my work room. I doubt I could have tolerated it in the same work space, but just outside the door worked out fine for me. As others have said, the big limits are grinders, etc, & spray guns. But I don't recall any real limitations when using the rivet gun, air drill, etc. These days, most grinding/rotary cutting duties can be handled by cheap Harbor Freight electric tools, or Dremel style tools for small stuff. FWIW, Charlie |
The PVC doesn't have to run the air directly, just use a larger diameter as a conduit and fish the actual air line through it underground. The PVC would just keep the air line protected and out of sight.
|
Quote:
|
Use 3/4 pex
I have almost 100 ft of 3/4 pex running from my upper garage to lower shop at the opposite end of the house. It's cheap and has held great for over 5 years now. I put a water trap mid span and a filter/regulator setup at the shop side.
|
Underground lines, in my experience, has caused a lot of condensation. Make sure the pie runs downhill and put a t on the low end with a pipe going down to catch the water and then run it up to a valve which will allow you to drain it.
|
As others have pointed out, a buried line will allow condensation when the soil temperature is below the dew point of the compressed air. This will be especially noticeable in the summer.
This is not necessarily a bad thing. You could build a moisture trap in a small pit just before the air line comes back up out of the ground. Slope the line toward the trap and put a drain fitting at the trap bottom. Then run a flex hose up out of the ground to a blowdown valve (preferably a solenoid valve on a timer) to purge the trap periodically. This will actually help get you drier air at your tools. Also as Scott said, NEVER use PVC for air. Other polymer pipes can be fine but PVC and CPVC will shatter into small shrapnel if the line bursts. Most of my air line is black iron pipe but I used some plastic (polyethylene) tubing and press-to-fit connectors for some of the branch runs. The PE tubing is actaully a great solution and if I had to do it over again I would probably use it or PEX instead of the black iron. |
Scoot,
I've run schedule 40 pvc for shop air since 1984; no problems. |
Thinking about those cold winters, a 20 foot pipe run underground and resulting condensation to deal with, you might consider just insulating the ceiling and wall really well in the garage to help keep down the noise. Get as quiet of a compressor as you can. Maybe stick it in the basement or tuck it into a corner of the garage.
It might take some space but it would eliminate a lot of the other hassles you'd have. Plus you won't have to worry about snow removal to get to the shed, just to turn it on or lying on the cold floor in an unheated shed to reach underneath the compressor to drain the tank. Of course as I get older, I'm less tolerant of cold and winter... Bob |
I have a belt driven compressor in the aircraft factory aka garage. Not too bad. If I could put it outside I would though. I fear outside even under a mini compressor shed, it would deteriorate quicker. I've had this compressor for about ten years now. It never runs with the pneumatic squeezer, runs often with the air drill, and the grinder...yeah...constant.
If I had a shed nearby, I would put in there for sure. |
+1
Quote:
|
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:58 PM. |