swapping to 1/2"

[gavcarter]

so thinking of swapping over to 1/2" reg and airline does it make much difference with impact guns and the likes?

 

[brightspark]

so thinking of swapping over to 1/2" reg and airline does it make much difference with impact guns and the likes?

yes a lot all my main hoses are 15mm bore

 

[gavcarter]

thanks mate 15mm might be pushing it for me, I only have 1/2" outlet on the compressor (actually its a bung that im going to remove) so it seems a little pointless to use 15mm hose when the regulator and fittings only go to 12mm.
Or am I missing something?

 

[doubleboost]

Big difference I run 3/8 at work
We used to use 1/4
It is like fitting a turbo lol

 

[brightspark]

10mm bore should be fine as well. length of hose makes a difference as well

 

[gavcarter]

ill use 5/8 then instead of 1/2 for the hose, hopefully the ratchets and impact gun will have a bit more whack

 

[Bill Edwards]

Just because a restriction is in place smaller than the bore of the hose doesn't limit the effective bore size to that of the restriction.
A larger bore hose will flow more air than a smaller hose even if they both have a small diameter fitting on the end. In fact, the majority of airline fittings are smaller than 3/8 or 1/2, but there are still benefits to uprating the hose.
If you are using the common 'pcl type' couplers I suggest ditching them in favour of something (anything!) else. I use Euro type and there is a difference.
Cheap air tools use a lot more air than good ones, so if you are using cheapish impact wrenches etc you may see a lot of benefit to upgrades.

How long the hose is should be taken into account. If it's only say 5 meters then there's little gain in going massive, 10mm (3/8) ought to suffice. But if it's 15m long it's worth going bigger.
Bear in mind the downside of going bigger is an increase in weight and a decrease in flexibility. You may want to consider using whip hoses on the tools, I fit swivels too which really make a big difference. About £2.50 each from China on eBay.

 

[gavcarter]

I see, thanks, what's up with the pcl connectors like? I've just ditched all euro? (little stubby ones) to fit pcl as the connectors always fill with crap and leak. I thought the pcl looked a little more rugged as the seal is a lot further inside

 

[gavcarter]

well god knows what i had before that but the bores in the pcl connections look a bit bigger. I am going to use 15mm hose which i thought was 5/16 but isn't, I think its about 10/16 as its over 1/2"...
I reckon the male parts of the connectors should be about even aslong as they have a similar bore, I bet its the couplings that make a difference as some of the cheap ones I've had in past have really held back thing.

ill get a couple of pcl xf bits to compare them I think​

 

[gavcarter]

not this exact set but my previous ones all looked like this
http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-X-Male-F...3Ab8d5768015c0ab640b8c364bfffd03ba%7Ciid%3A13

 

[Bill Edwards]

Put a PCL male into a female and blow through them, then do the same with a Euro set and you'll see the difference.

As to leakage, buy decent ones! I avoid anything other than genuine PCL (the make) where possible for all types as others don't tend to last long. Getting what you pay for and all that.

 

[rtbcomp]

PCL - Pnuematic Components Limited - been at it for decades and good quality stuff.