What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Air Compressor Set Up Question

C

campi

Well Known Member
I'm slowly setting up my garage shop. I finally bought a compressor today - went with a 25 gallon Craftsman Professional, which is oil lubricated, so hopefully it will be quiet enough. They had a nice sale going on.

Question: What accessories should I get? For example, should I buy an air line filter and regulator? Sears has a combo unit, but it is $50 dollars. Also, what other things will I need? Obviously I need an air hose, but what about couplings, quick connect fittings, etc. Sears also has a 16 item Pro Accessory Kit (Sears item# 00916199000 Mfr. model# 16199), maybe I should just get that?

As you can tell, I'm fairly inexperienced with these kind of tools, so I need all the help I can get.

Thanks,

Fernando
 
Fernando,

I bought a compressor much like yours, works great. The air line regulator and filter is a good idea - you can put the regulator/filter near your workbench and run a line from the compressor to it. Makes it easy and convenient to dial in the right pressure for your air tools. I wouldn't bother with an inline oiler, especially if you intend to use your compressor for spraying primer/paint.

I never bought one of those combo kits from Sears, just bought lots of 1/4" male and female coupling fittings for air tools and for making air lines - just get some 1/4" ID braided PVC hose (the clear stuff with white braids) from Home Depot/Lowes. An air chuck for blowing dust/shavings off the workbench or the airplane is helpful too.

Hope this helps,

Dave
 
Last edited:
I would get some good rubber hoses and a hose reel. You will need a bunch of male couplers but I would wait to see what tools you get before you get too many. The quick connect female couplers are nice. You can get the accessories individually at Home Depot. The compressor has a requlator on it. If it is close by you won't need another one. I would get a splitter so one could drill and a helper could be using another tool. I have a hose on either side of the shop. I am sure you will get many responses.
 


You may want to try an arrangement such as this: On the left is a moisture separator, then a pressure regulator, and finally an automatic oiler which is probably not really necessary. There are a couple of tap-offs after the regulator for un-oiled air, and another line after the oiler for tools that require oil such as the drills. If you go this way you will need separate air hoses so as not to get oil in or on stuff where you don't want it. I used 3/8" i.d. poly tubing for much of the stationary air lines, although copper tubing is preferable.
You'll like that compressor; It's the one I have.
 
Last edited:
Make sure that you get the very flexible quick-disconnect air hose kit from Cleaveland Tools to use for powering your air tools. It has miniature couplings for the quick-disconnects. Really nice to use.
 
Fernando-

Be sure to check out Ebay. I bought a Wilkerson filter/regulator for next to nothing, and its quality is way superior to anything from Sears. Parker is another good brand to look for on Ebay. I see that you're in DC. I live in MD, NW of Baltimore. If you have any interest in checking out my shop setup or project let me know!
 
There are 2 commonly used kinds of couplers, the automotive style and the industrial style. On the male coupler on the automotive style the sides are parallel for maybe 1/8", while on the industrial style there is just a ridge. Get the industrial style: They connect and disconnect a little more easily, but more importantly that's what almost all the RV builders use, so if you borrow or loan a tool, no one will have to switch couplers.

Also, DO NOT get the blue plastic hose. It is not very flexible. Get the black rubber hose at Harbor Freight; it will lie flat on the floor and not have loops sticking up waiting to trip you, falling against your wings, knocking the the wing stand over with both newly finished wings on it, right up against your wife's brand new car, giving her still another reason to argue against you building an airplane. You will have a knock down, drag out fight, the cops will come, you'll be arrested, then get divorced, lose the house, never see your kids again after she decides to move across the country to live with her new boyfriend. All because you bought the wrong hose.

Richard Scott
RV-9A Fusleage
 
I added a shut-off valve at the tank connector. I can close the valve, come back days later and the tank if fully charged.
 
Compressor Safety

Just a safety note:

Compressors should be drained frequently (most compressor instructions call for daily draining).

Moisture condenses in the tank as the air is compressed and the tank will corrode from the inside out if not properly maintained. Most of us don't check air tanks the way we would if it was SCUBA gear, so a weakened tank is rarely detected. Doesn't mean they fail frequently, but I've seen the aftermath of one compressor tank blowing up and don't want to see another (soldier next to it was killed). Be safe out there!

Regular draining also removes much of the moisture that would otherwise be in your hoses/lines. Less for the filter to collect, etc. and better for your tools.

Regards,
Mike
 
Routing lines for painting

Has anyone ever heard that there should be a vertical run of pipe to allow the moisture to condense, fall down that same line to be drained? The supply line to your gun comes off the top of the vertical run.

I'm not sure if this is standard practice or just a story. What is the recommended routing from the compressor, thru the regulator and into the painting hose?
 
Here is my setup:

imp_pneu.gif


On the white panel there are two filter/regulator groups slightly different:

The first one is a 5micron filter, regulator and oiler used for rotary tools (drill, grinder, ecc)

The second one is for the paint gun and tools that don't need in-line oiling and is composed by a 5micron filter, 1micron filter and regulator. Before each filter there is a shut-off valve that, when closed, empty the line.

Down on the left there is a water eliminator. On the right, two groups of quick disconnect couplings for the two lines (oiled and non-oiled).
 
Last edited:
Size matters

To help my small 5 HP (20 gallon) home air compressor from cycling as frequently as it otherwise would, I added an additional tank which effectively increases its capacity by an additional 7 gallons.

 
Shop Setup

I have a dedicated shop; big 60 gal oil lubed compressor (230v) and black iron pipe for air lines.

The air line system starts with a short flex line (with shut off valve) to minimize vibration transfer to the pipe. The first vertical pipe goes all the way to the ceiling to help condense any moisture leaving the tank. The vertical also has a ball valve near the bottom to drain moisture.

Air runs horizontally near the ceiling to other areas of the shop, with 90 degree joints as needed. The horizontal pipes slope downward as they lead away from the tank (about 1" per 10') and are anchored to the joists with pipe hangers/metal strapping.

Vertical pipes connect to the horizontal pipes as needed to provide air access on the shop walls. These vertical pipes use "street L" connections to connect into the top of the horizontal pipe so that any condensed moisture in the horizontal pipe has a hard time getting into the vertical. Again, each vertical pipe has a ball valve at the bottom to drain any moisture in the system.

Filters and regulators (as shown in other posts here) are on both sides of the shop to minimize tripping on hoses. I don't use tool oilers-prefer to oil each tool before use.

By draining the tank daily and the vertical runs weekly, I haven't had visible moisture in the filter drain bowls during the first six months of use and get nice dry air to the tools and spray gun.

Regards,
Mike
 
Also, DO NOT get the blue plastic hose. It is not very flexible. Get the black rubber hose at Harbor Freight; it will lie flat on the floor and not have loops sticking up waiting to trip you, falling against your wings, knocking the the wing stand over with both newly finished wings on it, right up against your wife's brand new car, giving her still another reason to argue against you building an airplane. You will have a knock down, drag out fight, the cops will come, you'll be arrested, then get divorced, lose the house, never see your kids again after she decides to move across the country to live with her new boyfriend. All because you bought the wrong hose.

Richard Scott
RV-9A Fusleage[/QUOTE]

OK--now we know that side of the argument, you know the topic well, give us the negatives. How bad is the damage and do you lose the plane kit in the settlement?
 
Thanks

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Keep them coming! I am going to finish my second EAA workbench today, and later this week I will tackle the air compressor set up. I will also try to go and look at someone else's setup to get a better idea as to what I should do.

Fernando
 
My setup is very much like Transporter's. I get just a little water out of the tank, most comes out of the drain in the vertical line close to the tank. Drains below all other vertical runs rarely give more than a little fog.

Even though it rains all winter here in the Pacific Northwest, it is much more humid in D.C. as our cool air holds less moisture than the warm humid air you get. You need to be certain to provide for moisture removal. See Shape's diagram: http://www.sharpe1.com/sharpe/sharpe.nsf/Page/Air+Piping+Layout

Richard Scott
RV-9A fuselage
 
There are 2 commonly used kinds of couplers, the automotive style and the industrial style. On the male coupler on the automotive style the sides are parallel for maybe 1/8", while on the industrial style there is just a ridge. Get the industrial style: They connect and disconnect a little more easily, but more importantly that's what almost all the RV builders use, so if you borrow or loan a tool, no one will have to switch couplers.
Click to expand...
. . . meaning, the "T" Style.
Click to expand...
OK, as a shop n00b, the above is confusing, because looking at quick couplers online (e.g. M coupler and T coupler), it looks like the "M" style has the ridge, and the "T" style the longer flat raised area.

http://www.acmeautomotive.com/applications.asp#Disconnect and http://www.airhosesupply.com/coupincen.html have some good info.

It seems to me that the "M" style, aka Mil-Spec, aka Industrial, has the single ridge. The "T" style, aka Tru-Flate, aka Automotive, has the longer raised flat area. Correct? So which one do most RVers use again?
 
Last edited:
Sorry about the poor explanation. The
2881 - Milton "M" Style Air Couplers is what most people use.

The brass couplers sold at Harbor Freight are probably the same style, but when I used the female couplers they tended to leak. The male couplers seem to be OK. In their stores they do sell a name brand, Amflow in bulk, and one of the male couplers is stamped Amflo CP21. Here are links for illustrations: http://www.wholesalerscatalog.com/proddetail.php?prod=jc1796_hs
http://www.wholesalerscatalog.com/proddetail.php?prod=jc1792_hs

Richard Scott
RV-9A Fulsalge
 
steel or brass fittings?

I always wondered if steel or brass fittings worked better? I finally found someone that could answer that question.
I know steel is slighty cheaper and lasts longer. My neighbor (head of a maintenance dept.) told me that you only need brass if you are in a high moisture area.
Sounded good to me. Any thoughts?
Todd Crowl
Northwest OH
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top