Air line connectors

[mowersman]

Hi all
I'm in the middle of putting proper hard airline all through my workshop and am at the stage I need to order new airline fittings. Currently, everything is on PCL fittings, the regular ones, but I want to take this opportunity to upgrade to something a little less restrictive. Most people seem to use the PCL XF or Euro fittings (Which I believe are cross compatible?). I'm also thinking about using what I would call bayonet fittings, but they seem to be sold as "Instantair" fittings, as I have several air lines with these already on. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to either?
Cheers
Andrew

 

[WorkshopChris]

If it is the bayonet style i am thinking of they have been around for years as "Broomwade Fittings", often with swivel ends as well. More common in industrial and mod sites.

 

[armalites]

PCL19 or PCL standard as we all know them is I would say still the most common. I've just switched all mine to PCL XF, you need to shop around but Screwfix are about the cheapest for easy access. My conversion cost me just over £200 but I was able to sort a deal where the supplier beat Screwfix prices. PCL XF are often known as Euro but a true Euro fitting is different. What I did is make up a couple of adapter hoses going both ways so that I have some options if I borrow a tool and it also meant I could take my tim converting everything.

When you look at the bore of an XF it's quite a bit bigger than a PCL 19, the most noticeable difference is my impact gun, it used to spin up quick but there was a change in tone once it was running like it was running slower. With the XF connector the tone remains the same continuously(on a 3/8 hose and a 3/8 whip hose.

 

[mowersman]

If it is the bayonet style i am thinking of they have been around for years as "Broomwade Fittings", often with swivel ends as well. More common in industrial and mod sites.

Those are the ones! Does anyone know how well they flow compared to the PCL XF fittings, as if I can, I'll use the Broomwade ones. I already have several laying around from raiding the scrap bin at work and I find them much easier to inset and remove single handed.
Cheers
Andrew

 

[rcx132]

The Euro high flow fittings are now quite popular and I've noticed a lot of tools and compressors come as standard with them now. I've only seen PCL and Euro fittings ever so I would only consider one of these two.