Air Line Bore

[rustydreamcast]

thought ID post this as may make a difference to someone

I bought a cheap compressor from aldi with a 25L tank which came with a hose with an 8mm bore
worked fine with the aldi tool but using in impact wrench was like blowing down the hose

almost gave it up as a bad job but out of interest picked up a short 12mm bore hose as a test its a different animal tool the wheel nuts off the car so quick did not have time to blink thought they had snapped major improvement is an understatement

 

[brightspark]

8mm not much use for anything all my main length hoses are 15mm 12mm will be fine though

 

[slim_boy_fat]

its a different animal

Aye, but the bigger the bore, the sooner it'll run out of puff.

 

[knighty]

also check the valve on the output of the compressor tank.... most of them are pretty restrictive especially on cheap compressors


I've got one at home and removing that valve made a pretty big difference :-)

 

[Cobbler]

If you read the spec for impact wrenches, they specify at least 10mm, but most of the cheap air line tube is only 8mm. I found the same as you, makes a world of difference. I don't think many of the tool shops understand this either.

 

[johnakay]

also check the valve on the output of the compressor tank.... most of them are pretty restrictive especially on cheap compressors


I've got one at home and removing that valve made a pretty big difference :-)

thought those valves are for safety reason's

 

[the snooper]

Aye, but the bigger the bore, the sooner it'll run out of puff.

Better to run out quicker then the tool not work though

 

[the snooper]

thought those valves are for safety reason's

You are thinking of the safety valve that blows off incase the motor doesn't shut off and keeps filling the tank

 

[rosinante]

Remember pressure is created by opposition to flow, no resistance = no pressure = max flow, check capacities .
Chris

 

[cocker]

Isn't the air flow restricted by the bore size in the fittings ?

 

[brightspark]

pcl connectors say there high cfm

Isn't the air flow restricted by the bore size in the fittings ?

to a degree yes I use high flow fittings on all air tools and c couplings on blast pot. the pcl is 4.8mm bore and rated at 43 cfm I don't think so

 

[Bill Edwards]

'Euro' fittings are far better than the common 'pcl' (that's like saying hoover) type which are highly restrictive.
It's the regulators on these compressors which tend to be very restrictive, many people connect directly to the tank for better air flow.
Air fittings want to be as large as possible, but say you have a 10mm hose with a 6mm fitting your airline will still flow a lot more than a 6mm hose with a 6mm fitting would, it has an effect but doesn't limit the entire system down to that level.

 

[brightspark]

no loss here I have adaptor from c coupling to euro at other end

 

[james butler]

do what i did and hook it up to another tank with the 8mm pipe then run your 12-15mm pipe from the tank to your gun then you can increase your capacity and still utilise the 8mm pipework

 

[Mee]

I just plumbed several tanks and ran 1" steam pipe around the barns to reduce the rubber pipes and fittings and the restrictions.

 

[rustydreamcast]

Interesting how did you add second tank ?

 

[Mee]

I have two compressors, one portable single phase and one larger three phase, both outlets are connected to good non return valves and they are connected by steel pipe to the receivers as they have 1" BSP fittings with reducing plugs for where the cut off switches went, bungs removed and pipes installed. Installed T pieces into the receivers and ran the steel pipes straight into them and out of them to the next receiver.

 

[daleyd]

I have two compressors, one portable single phase and one larger three phase, both outlets are connected to good non return valves and they are connected by steel pipe to the receivers as they have 1" BSP fittings with reducing plugs for where the cut off switches went, bungs removed and pipes installed. Installed T pieces into the receivers and ran the steel pipes straight into them and out of them to the next receiver.

Why have you removed the cut off switches

This install sounds amazing, would love to see some pics of your setup.

 

[Mr shiney]

Interesting discussion. What sort of air guns are people using that need this much air? I run a 1/2" drive gun for bike and car work on 8mm and never have an issue.

 

[Mee]

Not just air guns which are run off them.