Thread: Need help with Air Compressor Electric Vs Motor

Hi Lou...

I purchased a retractable hose reel when I got my compressor-8mm hose. Now I wish that I had opted for the larger reel of 10mm hose, both for reach and air capacity.

There are at least two different standard quick-disconnect fittings. The few people I know with industrial set-ups use Nitto fittings, so I do too. They are not too much money, and there are always some on eBay.

I am mounting a small air manifold on my workbench so that I can quickly plug in a blow gun (great for cleaning out handplanes) and a small nailer. I bought a cheapo 18ga nailer that works very well and is great for jig building etc*

*wear safety glasses. I now have a nice scar 1cm below my right eye where
a brad bounced off a hidden knot and then tried to bury itself in my face.

(almost) Dead-eye Greg

Originally Posted by Barry_White

Lou

I have to put mine outside the shed or put my ear muffs on.

Bazz will putting earmuffs on your compressor make it quieter:confused:

Originally Posted by redwood

Bazz will putting earmuffs on your compressor make it quieter:confused:

Redwood

I don't know if it helps the compressor because it just sits there and roars at me, but it certainly helps me if I put them on me.

See pic 1 of the compressor wearing ear muffs.

Lou.

As shown I have my compressor outside and I have set up an inlet in the wall to connect to Pic 2. The golf tee stuck in the hole is to stop the keyhole wasps from building their nests in it. I've already had to clean it out once because I forgot to put the golf tee back after using it.

Pic 3 shows the the compressor set up outside.

Pic 4 Is my suspension arm that swings through a 180° arc to use an air hose or two power tools from.

Lou
As to fittings I went with the quick couplers that were on the two 20meter hoses I bought as these were swaged on
Whatever fittings you use make them all the same, change each and every tool as you get it keep some spares, there is nothing worse than having to change fittings each time you wan't to use a diffrent tool
Some fittings look the same but they need to be identical to ensure no air leaks cause even a very small leak will play havoc on your compressors efficiency and running time.
Always use good quality thread tape on all tapered threads,( never on parallel threads)

With all your air tools make a point of pouring a drop or two of oil into the tool air fitting before you connect it up , and after 20 minutes of use oil again, (not spray gear of course) this will stop the tool from seizing up on you . I use an Aussie product Jamec-Pem Air Oil
Some people preffer a dedicated in line oiler but I feel it can leave a residue of oil in the hose ,and if you one day connect this to a spray gun may give you a problem .
The other thing with in line oilers is that they are easily forgotten and run out of oil.


Rgds


Ashore

Thx Fellas

REally appreciate that. Heres a great little tutorial on air compressors that I stumbled across:

http://www.energysolutionscenter.org...r_Tutorial.htm

love the ear muffs BArry

REgards Lou

Gidday

Well I've decided to go with gregoryq's suggestion to check out Nitto Gear. Not hard to find the Aussie distributor but man just in ther hose and couplers section alone there are 38 listed different products???

http://www.nitto-australia.com.au/

WHere to from here? greg mentioned the merits of 10mm hose but what type? what type of couplers should I go with? If I want to strategically set up a few outlets round the shop & in the workbench whats the best way to go about it?

I've looked out for a book on compressors n accessories for idiots but I've had no luck???

HELP GUYS :confused: :confused: :confused:


REgards Lou

Originally Posted by NewLou

Gidday

Well I've decided to go with gregoryq's suggestion to check out Nitto Gear. Not hard to find the Aussie distributor but man just in ther hose and couplers section alone there are 38 listed different products???

http://www.nitto-australia.com.au/

WHere to from here? greg mentioned the merits of 10mm hose but what type? what type of couplers should I go with? If I want to strategically set up a few outlets round the shop & in the workbench whats the best way to go about it?

I've looked out for a book on compressors n accessories for idiots but I've had no luck???

HELP GUYS :confused: :confused: :confused:


REgards Lou

Hi Lou...

Yeah, it does get confusing with all of the options, doesn't it.

Here's what I have learned so far:

Get a roll of 10mm hose-its cheap and durable, and you can mount it pretty much like garden hose along the walls to where you want your plug-ins to be.

There are much better solutions to this, like the plastic 1" line, but all of the fittings, elbows etc spike the price quickly. The smaller the line the greater the pressure and flow drops with distance.

SMC and Festo regulators and filters are top notch-you can often find them on ebay for less than half of the new price. Sometimes much less than that. (A friend mounted two SMC water mist separators in his shop at $300.00 each.:eek: I didn't have the heart to tell him of finding two new ones on ebay for $15.00 each.

The most common fiting size is 1/4". Every air tool that I have seen so far uses this standard. I bought some 1/4" barbed connectors to fit 10mm hose and provide a male or female threaded end. Also get several quick connectors-a male for each tool and a female for the end of each hose that you are going to install.

I have a filter/reg on the compressor, and two separate stations downstream. One has an oiler and a dedicated line for nailers and air wrenches (What's Christmas without a little rattle gun action to amuse the neighbours). I am not too sure about this as I expect that one day I'll use this oil-contaminated line with my spray gun.

The other station has another reg, filter and the mist separators. this is of course dedicated for the spray gun.

I am going to change to a simple manifold with a coil hose on my workbench for utility air.

more later

Greg

Thx greg really appreciate your reply

Any chance of posting some pics of the gadgets your talking about soz I've got a bit of an idea what to look out for???

Regards Lou

Good evening NewLou...

Pictures I can do tomorrow, no problems. Let me find a few ebay links in the meantime.

Greg

Here are some ebay listings of the items that I mentioned:

4428768052. This is the third attempt to sell this, has no gauge and shipping is unknown, but this is the kind of thing that I was speaking of. Larger ports are better-3/8" is probably ideal, and the hose barbs are commonly available.

7575220897. This guy always has nitto fittings cheap. I haven't bought from him, but it looks like he carries everything that you'd need. I don't think that you have to buy genuine Nitto, but I will defer to anybody who has a strong opinion on this. My stuff is generic, and so far, so good.

Let me know if you'd like more...

Greg

Thanx greg I'll check em out

REgards Lou

Marvelous thread...no need for me to post my question...thanks guys

just to throw my hat in, don't forget to always drain your tank to keep the moisture out of it, compressed air builds up an incredible amount of moisture and will eventually leave you with rust in your tank, a big no no. As for the safety side of things don't be foolish and dust yourself down with a air duster at the end of a days work, compressed air comes out at high forces, it can and has been known to be injected along with the moisture into foolish people doing this, the end result is not very pretty so if yo are covered in dust use a bannister brush, much more safe.

Smeds makes good sense and does us all a service with his reminder of the dangers of compressed air.

This is something that I always forget to mention-the application of good sense and sound practices. I shall try and find a link to info on do's and don'ts of air installations.

WRT the draining of tanks: There is a guy on ebay usa who sells bekomat automatic drains. The catch is you need a friend to forward it to you as he will not ship offshore. I have a nifty automatic drain that vents out the tank moisture. It IS large however, and almost scrapes the floor in the trial installation. I'm looking for a better solution presently. I never would have opted for this as they are around $350.00 here. Ebay price? a low, low $19.00 shipped. I really, really like us govement surplus sales

Greg