The Ultimate Shop Air Compressor Setup! (at least for me....)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- How I set up my shop air compressor, including running galvanized iron pipes with drops, filters, pre-cooler, moisture separators, and air driers.
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That setup indeed deserves the term "ultimate". My grandfather (who was an expert on overbuilding things) would be proud of you.
I was thinkin the same thing. That system will likely outlast the owner. But the complexity and auxiliary systems are a LOT.
With you 1000%
I am now retired, but I spent over 40 years as and an industrial electrical/millwright contractor and we put in miles of air lines or all types. I would wire my shop in romex before I'd use plastic air lines.,,,,, You did the job EXACTLY like I would have done it. Only thing is I wouldn't have used the unions (We would just cut and re-thread a pipe if we needed to put in a full size branch,) and unless there was some spec we were working to we put a T every 5 feet. That way you are never more then 30" from a drop.
Not just because you did it the same way we would have done it, including getting the compressor outside, but you did as good of a job as any of the fitters that used to work for us.( ,,,,, Not a good job, but a GREAT job. (And God bless you for not using rat cable.)
Just the $$$$$ could give most guys a heart attack!
Love the way you designed & built the system. Do it right or do it twice. 38 years ago I plumbed my shop with copper. Never regretted it. That's my retirement on the walls!
Got it right
I did my garage in copper 28 years ago and don't regret it eather and I'm still on my original compressor that I change the oil periodically and just changed a belt since it wore out and broke.
38 years ago it didn't cost a Million dollars to use copper...LOL
One of the banes of my existence as an Energy Manager was the various air systems in the factories I was responsible for. First off, nobody seemed to realise how expensive compressed air was. In the end I bought an ultra sonic instrument to help find the many many air leaks from the joints in the systems. First, I’d stay behind after the area staff went home, when it was quiet, monitoring the systems and marking up the leaks. After the first round of repairs the ultra sonic instrument was used to identify the smaller leaks in the more inaccessible places. And that was phase 2 of the repairs.
So Keith, you have a huge number of joints, valves and equipment connections which are liable to leak. I’d check your system out on a regular basis because you’ll be surprised what this is going to cost. Isolating sections and looking for over night pressure drops. I like the fact that you can isolate the air cylinder easily, meaning that a whole cylinder of air won’t be wasted into the atmosphere. Anyway, enjoy, your electrician has set you up with a very useful control system and it really does cover all of that shop of yours. By the way, lorries/trucks have 24v lighting systems. Would any of their bulbs have fitted your indicator lamps? Regards.
When you come in in the morning and there is still air in the system,,,,don't worry about it. - I saw the way he did it too. - It will be 2070 or later before he is going to have leaks in the main line,,,,if then. The QD,,,,,now that;s a whole nother ball game.
I'm not crazy of the bright blue myself Keith. It definitely stands out.
Nice job on the air system.
Beautifully over done.
As soon as Keith mentioned the blue piping, I thought of you, Steve! :)
No offense to KR but I like urs better.
@@donjohnston9554 Ah that's sweet!
I like yours better. It is not susceptible to internal rusting and contamination of the air.
@@ElmerJFudd-oi9kj Not trying to be sweet (altho it is LOL) but KRs piping is 100% industrial application. Now for a home or small shop their are HUGE advantages with SS's system. Larger air flow, convenience of modification, cost, repairability, on and on. The only place I would NOT put SS's is a welding/grinding booth. As for COLOR, well my OCD is not that bad. LOL
Its good to see a proper screwed galv pipe compressed air installation that is not only reliable but safe. A client of mine, who is a major bus operator in UK tried a plastic pipe compressed air installation in a bus workshop and found it disastrous. Apart from the constant leaks, the crunch came when a joint let go and the plastic pipe flailed around the workshop after ripping the feeble clips out of the wall, that simply can't happen with galv pipe.
Kudos on your system. My work experience was as a naval architect/marine engineer, working with oil tankers. I have been involved with the design and redesign of ship's air systems.
Ideally, designing, for ship service, control and start air systems requires the production of clean, dry air. We used water cooled tube heat exchangers and cyclone separators to remove water in hot, humid climates. To further remove water for control air we used Hankison Refridgifilters. Ideally, air should be cleaned and dried prior to it being put into the air bottle to prevent rust in the tanks. Tanks were coated with varnish on the inside to prevent corrosion. Our preference for service air compressors were rotary screw compressors. Piston compressors were used for start air because of the need for higher pressures. We also used hand-cranked single cylinder diesel air compressors for dead ship starting in emergencies.
If I were designing an air system today I would use stainless tubing and compression fittings such as those made by Pyplock and others. In areas where mechanical damage could be an issue I would switch to stainless pipe. I would also look to dry and clean all air, not just control air. I would tend to move away from galvanized pipe because, just like tools made overseas, it just isn't made like it once was. In a new build project in the late 1990s to early 2000s we sent an engineer to inspect galvanized pipe at the supplier to ensure quality, something a general consumer cannot possibly do.
In any case I enjoy your videos immensely.
Bob
Thanks for the comments regarding Teflon tape and joint compound acting as "lubricants" to facilitate a little extra gronk on the thead bind...
Where I used to work, the factory had a 12 inch pipe in the roof as both compressed air storage and distribution.
The trick was that the pipe, some 600 foot long, sloped down at one end about 3 inches.
Air feeds were mounted off the top of the 12 inch tube, at to low end of the 12 inch was a 4 inch pipe welded into the bottom.
Reason was to feed "dry" air to the tools and to collect any condensation in the 4 inch off the bottom. We had a fitting on the bottom of the 4 inch to drain any accumulated water. 4 inch was about 20 feet long. Was a daily job to drain it.
Worst thing for the air tools is water, freezes them up real quick.
30+ year industrial maintenance engineer and 'boots on the ground' guy here, and I'm dammed proud of you!
You did almost everything right, and the only thing you did that MIGHT not be 100% right is probably not that big of a deal in the long run.
The one questionable thing about your setup is providing power to the air dryer only when the unit is running, and if you know a guy that is really good on small, high pressure refrigerant systems like this, I would strongly advise you to get with him about this.
Hermetically sealed compressors like that are often designed to be internally "leaky" - that is, the refrigerant being pumped is not completely separated from the oily within the compressor. That's pretty much what keeps the oil cool enough to not degrade and have to be changed like you have to do in a car or something. The problem is, the oil and refrigerant sometimes mix so well that some of the oil will get pumped out of the compressor and into the condenser, where it condenses and ends up all over the place EXCEPT the compressor - which is where it is supposed to be.
A way around this is something called a 'crankcase heater'. A crankcase heater is just a small heating unit that keeps the oil in the crankcase of the compressor warm enough to boil out any refrigerant while the unit isn't actively running. It keeps the oil in the crankcase during downtime, and the refrigerant on the other side of the compressor. Without that, and especially in cold weather, you could have some oil migration out of your compressor. Like I said, get a HVACR guy to look at your system and give you better advise on this than some random guy on YT like me. If you have the schematics and or paperwork on the system, he should be able to glance at it and give a 'pass or fail' on your set up.
The things that are right, and why:
1) For a 10 horse system, the two 80 gallon tanks are plenty of buffer capacity, but especially with the added 1" pipe loop that takes your 160 gallon capacity up to around 200 gallons. That prevents short cycling of the compressor and prolongs motor life.
1.B) Between your intercooler and double tank system, they are reducing the work load on your air dryer by probably a minimum of 60% - but I live just and work a little north of you in Georgia, and I know how the humidity can tax a system on those Dog days of summer.
2) A 1" main distribution loop is big enough for future upgrades up to about a 20 horse system. You could have gone with 3/4" pipe and been fine, but I would have done the same thing as you did and went with 1".
3) ALL 'drops' should start off as risers on compressed air systems, and I was happy to see that you did exactly that, and for the reasons you stated. Gotta admit though, when you showed the first quick connect outlet, I was cringing a fair bit when I saw an elbow instead of a tee with a dirt leg. However, I was happy to hear you point out that the ell was temporary until you could get a tee.
4) In my career, I've always said that a piping system cannot have too many valves, or unions / blanked off tees (instead of couplings). I've worked in too many places that either had to run 24/7, or just had to keep running when something bad happened to a small part of some system that would require a total system shutdown in order to fix that one thing. The ability to isolate smaller areas for shutdown while the rest of the place keeps working while parts and labor come to bear on the problem, is worth every one of those fifty to a couple hundred bucks of initial outlay.
Pop the plug off of the bottom tee of every drop and add a 4" long piece of pipe with a cap. That'll be your dirt leg to catch trash and moisture. A blow down valve on each drop after the dirt leg is good too.
Mr. Rucker, I thoroughly enjoy your attention to detail and taking the time to do it to the best of your ability. It's a shame that time has destroyed the work ethic and expertise that our forefathers put into their work. It's only overkill to those that don't appreciate it. I wish you were my neighbor. We'd engineer overkill projects together!
Great job Keith! This was obviously not your first Rodeo with screw-pipe! The mastery of your pipe design and installation was shown off in the compressor room, where there are short distances between fittings. A beautiful job for sure, and I love the attention to detail. Also loved the Ridgid threading machine from back in the old days, before Emerson bought them out.
I spent 5 years as a Sales Engineer for a Mill/Industrial supply house here in Atlanta. Helped a LOT of customers either set up a shop or upgrade existing systems. Something you might find (will find) useful is an air hoist for your Gantry Crane! Now that you have air plumbed everywhere you can use it a LOT. Beats the snot out of a chain fall! Looks like an "A" list setup BTW!
I added an air hoist about 4 years ago and love it! Had to rebuild the hoist 4 times to get it to work properly; someone had added an extra internal washer that would only bind up under pressure.
Nothin like a sales pitch. ROFLMFAO
@@anonimous2451 Since he's not pimping a specific brand it's not a sales pitch. Go be retarded somewhere else. Pneumatic hoists (and tuggers which are outstanding for moving heavy loads horizontally in shops etc) are common in industry where adults need to get work done.
A key advantage by not being electrical they're far less hazardous in rough use environments. No heavy expensive cable to run and they're handy for mobile use as they can be run from any pneumatic source with enough CFM, or even a portable CO2 cylinder which many contractors use to run a variety of tools. Power Tank make the fancy off-road variety but I use common industrial fixed pressure Western regulators in the field.
I 100% agree with staying off of ladders. The ground got harder over the years. I'm with you, galvanized pipe is the better way to go. Beautiful workmanship!
Keith, you have about as much sympathy/empathy for Miles as a boss of mine when I was young. He would put me up on the extension ladder and he assured me that if I fell....he promised he would catch me on the first bounce.
I'm with you on ladders Keith. At 64, I'm just not that steady on the rungs anymore.
Twenty years ago when I built my garage I plumbed the air using black iron pipe have had no reservations, nice tidy job there Keith.
Very nice job! Refrigerated air dryer are usually left on 24/7 they have a thermostat just like your refrigerator. By leaving on it keeps their mass cold. Many times on the T at the bottom of your airdrop there's a 6in nipple and valve as another water Trap and drain. Excellent idea putting the compressor switch by the door. I tide mine into the light switch. When I turn the lights off I can't forget the compressor. Nice to see iron pipe! Air system normally use black iron pipe because galvanizing pipe will contaminate air and can't be used for painting. Happy to see an oil separator be sure to change it yearly. you don't know they've gone bad until your airlines are full of oil. LOL
Two easy suggestions Keith, very small but can save you a headache. First at 22:35, at the bottom of your tanks is an elbow with 8" ish nipple and valve for your timer drains. Let me tell you after many years of working on compressors, that toes find their way of stepping in them. They snap off easily right at the bottom of the tank. Then you have to stop, lay on the ground, reach under there with an extractor tool, then make the repair. Easily preventable. The bottom of the tank has 1 elbow, just add another one. If you kick the nipple sticking out or step on it with your toe, it will thread down or sideways a tiny bit and not break. Im telling you it does happen all the time. Second suggestion is also super easy. That shed will be warm and spiders and all sorts of little bugs will find a home in there. Add one hose connection. When you inevitably go to do maintenance, you can blow all that dirt and cobwebs out. easy.
16:10 Keith... you went full on beast mode with that thing. It's amazing.
Oh good... I'm not the only one who was crazy enough to run galvy air lines. Even with the UP-drops, I'd still recommend a drip tube and drain valve at all your air fittings. I still get water.
Have you seen Milton's new V series air chucks?? They take the new V plugs (70% more flow) but they still accept M plugs too.
Keith, I noticed that you have your air compressor bolted to the floor. When I did that, it rattled and vibrated like crazy so I took the bolts out and just left it setting on four pads of truck mud flap material. It seems a lot more happy now.
Truck air brake tubing comes in several colors. Even brown, black, green, red, orange, and blue. When my employer built the new shop we plumbed the air using 3/4 air brake tubing. All the drops were 5/8 inch and even the furthest drop had no problem feeding a one inch impact gun.
Glad to see that you are using a refrigerated air dryer, oil water separator in your compressed air lines. Galvanized pipe is adequate for dry compressed air piping. As a facilities engineer we always use Type-L copper tubing for 1" and smaller piping. Every drop should have a dirt leg with a ball valve and a removable plug. Hanson and Parker were our go to quick connects depending on what gas or liquid media we were conveying. Most drops had a small filter and a small oil/water separator and a pressure regulator before the quick connect. Normal compressed air pressure is 80 psig and reduced to 15 psig for a blow off gun. Overall your compressed air system looks good and should work well. Congratulations!
I agree, air in the shop is vital.
Only thing I would do is put ball valves at the drop so if you need to change the quick disconnect to another type you dont need to empty the lines completely.
Good idea.
@@hilltopmachineworks2131 No need ,can isolate whole shop from the air tanks outside. Good setup, have cursed before where pipeline has no union jounts. Usually inaccessable, rusted solid.
Love to see someone mimic my installation that I did 5 years ago. I have every component you have plus 5. 1) Add your portable air tank into the compressor tank storage before the solenoid shut off with quick connects and you will always be ready to go with emergency air and you will add 10 gallons more of air capacity. 2) have the intake pipe to the first storage tank shoot the air tangentially to the tank wall to help with cooling. 3) I used two compressors with one large tank staged to kick in when needed for a total of 12 1/2 hp all single phase for the same reasons. 4) have a rubber hose immediately after the compressor tank to keep vibrations out of the lines. 5) add a large air sandblaster fitting and piping outside the compressor shed for sandblasting large items outside.
My whole shop turns off minus the lights and battery charging circuits with one switched 100 amp relay with switches at each entrance. This assures you don’t leave a soldering iron or something running as well as a run away compressor due to a large air leak. I would have preferred you would have used black iron pipe and not used galvanized pipe as it is always discouraged in air systems due to flaking of the plating. I used copper as it is easier to make compact installations and to modify but more expensive. Great installation and you will never regret overdoing it - I haven’t.
Keith, to each his own. Build your shop the way you want to. My father-in-law's body shop was plumbed with galvanized air lines. He plumbed it in the '50s, and they were still working when he sold his shop in the late '80s. Praying you have no leaks.
That compressor setup/system is impressive - that air is going to be as dry as the Sahara desert! Thanks for the video Keith.
Just cooler :P
Surprising fact, driest air on earth is actually Antarctica. As Kieth mentioned hot air has more moisture holding capacity, so the cold air in the artic has less ability to hold moisture to begin with, and then it's so cold the moisture freezes out of the air. Hence why he has two cooling systems for the air and not heaters.
@@DracoOmnia True. Antarctica is also a desert.
Do everything you can, moisture still persists. The goal is to minimize it as much as possible. At my work we have one machine alone that has 122 pneumatic cylinders, it is a constant battle keeping them clear of water. We have a rotary compressor with a pre-cooler, two water seperators before a chiller, another water seperator and FLR at each machine.
The Whiskey Gunner .I know that Antarctica's drier but I was looking for a simile for dryness and "dry as Antarctica" doesn't sound as good as "dry as the Sahara". I could have gone for "dry as a bone" or "dry as a m*slim wedding"!
I agree on the way real pipe looks, when I redid my air lines last summer I went back and forth a few times and ended up with black pipe. Have had issues with galvanized flaking and getting in tools and I couldn't bring myself to trust "O" rings for the long term.
"THERE is NO KILL like OVER KILL"
No one was ever upset that they over built something.
I wouldn’t call it way over board but a dream shop air system supply. You nailed it Sir! I like the way you think, a modern blue line has no place in a old classic vintage work shop. Thumbs way up!!
You understand the feeling of yesterday
Keith I am a retired Pipefitter and I have 1 thing to say "Great Job".
yeah the fact he knows and uses unions means he has worked on a lot of piped systems. So many plumbers now a days refuse to install them. When I had well installed, the plumber refused to install unions on each side of the pump.
Several decades ago, a shop needed an "Import" tech as children of customers that had cars repaired grew up and had Honda's, Toyota's etc. 42 years of this shop used every trick found in Popular Mechanics. His 120 gallon, two stage compressor sat on top of the bathroom. He routed copper pipe to the toilet from behind. A simple typed note, taped to the wall with shipping tape that kept it new, said; "Empty Each Night." Open the valve and the condensation flowed into the bowl. Sometimes the simple things in life work the best! DK, retired auto tech. Happy holidays, Dec 21, 2022.
I always put in a dump valve on the down spout at each outlet so you can dump water out in the pipe before the start of the day
Keith
nice to see air drops done correctly out the top , If you suffer like I do go to next room and forget what I went in for 😇 as you have control panels near each door why not wire in a interlock into the door dead bolt so when you lock the door with a key it disables the air comp. and the phase converter , its the same set up as used in burglar alarms to override the door trip ( instant ) when you unlock the door to give you time to use the key pad
Finally, Intelligent Choice, Galvanized instead of plastic. WTG! You are the first one I found recently on youtube who has not selected plastic! I just picked up a 3,100 sq foot building and need to install an air system. I am going with copper. Just like you, the copper is simple to cut into to add a new drop. Galvanized and copper sure beat plastic, which, like you, I think will have issues as the years go on. Good choice on having the compressor in separate building. You will not have to put up with the noise. In my building, there is a nice small separate room that will work as a compressor room. I will not hear it in the shop.
That pipe and conduit is better looking than most industrial stuff I've seen. Great work
Only change I would make is moving the pressure regulator out of the line in the shed. If you are running more than one item at a time it is much easier to regulate the pressure at the tool end with the tool on. That is especially true with things like blast cabinets as they take a lot of high pressure air and needing to have someone holding the valve open while you adjust the pressure in the shed is a pain.
Your shop your way. Similar setup I have done. The steel also works well with hanging partition curtains on if you have a dusty job or painting.
Enjoy your fantastic shop. Nice job on the infrastructure. Refrigerator, easy chair and hot plate next!
Great system! Project satisfies Smith’s First Rule: “Any project that didn’t require at least three trips to the hardware store probably wasn’t worth doing.”
You can never have to many drops. If you go through & put in some overhead hose reels you'll never regret it. In his latter years my father put in 4 overhead reels in our shop. It's made it so nice, we can have the end of a hose anywhere in the whole work area of the shop within seconds & then put back up in seconds instead of tripping over hoses. He went with 3 25ft reels & one 50ft reel that will reach 30ft outside.
The correct Southern description of your set-up is "Snazzy". Well done , sir.
You can also switch your gear off by hooking the shops lighting circuit up so when you leave and turn the lights out all your other circuits go dead.
My dad built his truck shop 1984, he made a ring line in 1" zink coated hydraulic pipes, cutring couplings, he mad a fall to every corner and a blowdown pip in each corner.
Cejn water filter,pressure regulator and lubricator on every drop point.
Drop point every 3m.
Not one problem with the piping to date.
At the same place you have a 16amp 400v and 230v outlet.
Short cables and airhoses makes the floor spaghetti almost disappear.
I'll bet you will not have a problem with your system for your lifetime.
it was a good call using the galvanised pipe for your shop air makes it look more industrial and not out of place :-)
Imagine having some of that heavy iron he collects bump into that blue plastic stuff. It would squish it like a pancake. The galvanized will be a lot more durable.
Very nice set up Keith . About your comment on avoiding ladders , I’m around the same age as you and when I was younger I’d climb around on ladders and roofs like a squirrel, but now I avoid ladders as much as I can , it’s not about being chicken , it’s about being smart .
Your videos are always helpful and entertaining but every once in a while you flex your muscles and show how much you know. This is one of those times.
Very nice air setup you got yourself
I am about to install my compressor lines as well. I'm using the blue pipe, and have the compressor in it's own sound-proofed room. I actually like the blue, modern look, but can certainly respect your choice. If I had a bunch of antique machines I would have went with metal myself. I contemplated making a pre-cooler out of copper pipe but decided it was overkill, but may go back to it if the water separators at the ends of the lines cannot keep up. Now you need a few quality hose reels, awesome system Keith!
The most important item for moisture control is the inter cooler. Air comes out of the compressor at 400 degrees F and the cooler between the compressor head and the tank if sized right will bring it down to room temp and the water will rain out in the tank which you should have an auto drain on.
@@bruceanderson9461 I do have an auto drain, but I'll have to look into the inter cooler. Thanks!
Hi, this is a very well planned complete air supply system for your shop, like the outside room for the compressor and it fits the shop like a glove. Theres very little other satisfactions like a man walk into his own created shop and do something when he wants.
Complex system, thanks for walking through the entire set up.
Excellent piping system. A loop is the best way to go for running air through a shop or manufacturing plant.
And I agree, the galvanized pipe looks so much better than plastic.
Looks good Keith. And, I agree with your blue pipe aesthetics reluctance. A suggestion, In South Georgia, you may want to consider ball valves to drain those drops.
Looks like you did it up right. With that refrigerated air dryer you should have what we call at the plant "Instrument Air" quality dry air with a dew point of about 35 degrees F. That should reduce to a minimum any corrosion of the galvanized pipe. The one negative of galvanized pipe used in compressed air system is that the zinc will corrode due to the moisture in the air and sluff off in small granuals. You shouldn't experience that problem. You have also addressed some of that issue with the top exit of the piping at the drops. Good Job!!
You don't mess around! Class setup.
I actually stood up and applauded you! I have watched your shop build from the very beginning with extreme interest. Apparently you have dealt with the issues of a poor air system before and simply decided 'NEVER AGAIN'. That was money well spent and you will never regret it. You have my heartiest congratulations. Anybody that thinks this is overkill or wasteful has never been to south Georgia in the summer (humidity).
Art
Instead of pipe (heavy, slow to erect, rusts internally) I plumbed my shop with red air hose and Chicago couplings.
I also run a large industrial receiver tank (cheap used because hobbyists don't know they exist nor do many small shop owners).
I can rearrange equipment effortlessly and red air hose is only a couple bucks a foot. Couplings aren't expensive in bulk via Ebay though I had to redrill some of the hitch pin clip holes (1/8" bit, connect couplings than run the bit through to match the holes).
I went with a rotary phase converter since three phase motors abound and I buy machinery with them at auction. VFD for my lathe and mill of course though for the variable speed control which it totally worth it.
My compressors are horizontal so I fabbed chassis and mounted scaffolding casters with 8" wheels. I put demountable wheels on everything (machine tools included) which makes life amazingly convenient when I add equipment. I used a small Harbor Freight 12v winch and a Clore JNC 660 jump pack as a shot "tugger" to bring my compressors into my shop. Being able to pull heavy objects effortlessly is insanely handy.
Worth remembering is you don't have to replace compressors because adding more of them increases volume.
I've been pleased with pvc for over a decade.
Very nice air set up, looks way better built then the shop air system at my job from 100 years ago. Do it once, do it right.
I have a lot of strong opinions about how airlines should be set up. That is a fine system with excellent dryers. Nice job. I don't think that you will ever regret it.
Very slick system Keith ! Those control boxes look to be 1960’s vintage navy issue !
Keith, VERY nice air compressor set up. Great work!
Eric
I`ve been in compressed air for 30years and you've made a good job of that installation
Nice use of Unistrut channel and brackets.
You are not crazy. I’m with you 100% on using the galvanized pipe. Both for the vintage look and it’s durability.
When my father started building our mobile home park in the early 50s all the water lines were galvanized. I don’t think there was a choice back then. By the time I was 10 I was digging the ditches, cutting, reaming, and threading the pipe. My father would lay everything out and with my younger brother as a helper we did a lot of the work putting in the water system. When I sold the mobile home park in 2004 very little repairs had to be done to the water system. My brother and I also worked on the septic tank style sewer system. We dug the field line ditches and graded out the gravel that we loaded into a wheelbarrow to dump into ditches. All done with shovels, no machines were used to dig any of the ditches. The field lines were made by laying the one foot terra-cotta pipe sections with about 1/4 inch gap between the sections one at a time. No 20 foot sections of PVC back then either.
Wow, you are insane. If I didn't know better I'd swear you are my long lost father. I have a huge problem with overbuilding things as well. Inspiring!
Hi Keith! That's a far cry from your old, one-lung Craftsman compressor. I still have mine after 30 years. I think you need to use something like that for a few years to appreciate the convenience of what you have installed. No more worries about junk getting into a wrench or paint gun, or spraying oil or water all over your just completed work. Congratulations on a job well done!
Always enjoy spending half an hour in the shop with you.
i’m glad there is someone else out there who used galvanized pipe for their shop over that blue Plex airline. I think maybe I would use that stuff in a home garage when mounting over drywall when you don’t plan to use it every day. galvanized pipe for commercial, set up and blue plaques or copper for a small home garage. I would never recommend copper for a commercial shop. Too many people coming and going and lots of eyes lead to thieves, breaking in And stripping the copper.
I just added some gas lines using black iron pipe. Your air project is a huge amount of work.
It may have been said already I am not going to read thru all the comments .. but each drop add yourself a 10 to 12 inch piece of pipe and a ball valve as each drop all tho fed from the top will still degrade and add sediment to your line... that way each time you go to use a tool .. you can open it blow it out for a few seconds and keep the micro fines from being introduced to your tools.. the over all project is amazing and really top notch... A+ to the project
I'm behind you 110% about using galvanized for your air lines. There's a reason air lines that have been up for 100 years are still up and never leaked. Tried & true is always the best way. I know the blue conduit is good stuff, but I also know how you can easily hit them and have them split. where I've seen galvanized ran over by a forktruck and still just fine.
Black pipe - galvanized should never be used in an air system.
@@bruceanderson9461 you have to explain why - or your response is useless...
If you read through the comments you will find the reason explained at least 6 times as it has long been accepted as poor practice to use galvanized pipe in air systems. Do not use galvanized pipe in air systems as the galvanizing can and does flake off the internal surface which can then damage air tools, clog orifices or contaminate the surface you are painting. Galvanized pipe is for water, not air. Black iron does not have plating on its inner surface so with dry air you will not have this problem. I have always used copper as it is totally inert in an air system, easy to modify, not damaged by sparks and light flame and can be more compactly built into your shop but more expensive-maybe. I completed my third and last air system in my shop 5 years ago and did all of the things Keith did plus some and have never regretted it. Buy once - cry once. Keith did an excellent job-best I have seen on you tube. If you would like pictures of my compressor plumbing and wiring contact me at andmfg@ yahoo.com I wish I could have been exposed to this knowledge 35 years ago. So if you are just thinking of putting in a system you are so lucky to have seen this video.
You are right about overdoing it. You never have to worry.
I love the thought process, nice setup and installation.
Great job on the piping, dryers, and electrical installation. Especially the control next to your exit door. My wife tells me often at night, "you left the compressor on again"!!
Great design and installation Keith - well done!
that is the neatest system for air! One thing I would suggest is to put a brass pipe about a foot long under each wall t. The brass will allow a little cooling to help catch any moisture and hold it. Just put an ordinary tap on it and drain once a day or once a week depending. As for the steel lines lasting a long time...ehhhh there is usually one pipe that just explodes when it comes to steel for some reason. As for plastic lines in a shop with welders...yeah no, just do not even go there. Been there, done that, had to run and shut off compressor.
Most air hoses are 3/8 to 1/2 id. You can go to a hydraulic shop and get 5/8 id hoses. Much better for certain things that require high volume. For actual pot type sandblasters get a 1in id hose (short run usually) it makes a HUGE difference.
I also found that many hoses do NOT like solvents or oils. If you can avoid having a hose sit in either. Smooth run hoses seem to last longer than the wrap hoses too. Remember to oil your tools and have them serviced from time to time. Vanes checked, valves checked, bearings checked etc. My most used air tool is a blower, second is die grinder, then impact. I have many other tools, sanders, spray guns, air sawsall, grinders, polishers, air ratchets, solvent guns, riviter, puncher/crimper, etc etc.
For some odd reason nobody has ever figured out horizontal tanks hold more air volume that vertical tanks. Vertical work but they just don't seem to have the same volume. By that I mean the supply volume( gallons per second or minute) they say they have same but in function they don't.
Whatever it takes to get the job done! Your shop, your money, and your time!
I've been in a ton of shops, never seen a compressor setup this nice and well though out ! Congratulations !!
Thank you Kieth this video is exactly what I need to finalize my plans and stop procrastinating your vital hints will be very valuable!
That is a GREAT setup you have. Love the controllers mounted strategically and at the main ingress/egress to the shop.
Going to share this with a couple people who I'm sure would like to do something similar.
It's good to remember that, gravity is not just a good idea, it's the law, and it's also good too recognize that the law is a lot harder on us old people then it is young .
I would put air filters at every drop. There is a chance that the galvinised coating on the inside will flake off and it is abrasive so it's not good for air cylinders.
It looks great though
Great setup! Some of those issues I'd thought of too, but your implementation is way better than what I was thinking. Now to build a shop to put it all in.
I love those two vertical blue tool boxes/part cabinets you have in the background. It’s hard to find those in my area
your system ism much better than many shop systems, my only concern is about a compressor that consumes oil, in fact, it fogs oil and shoots it through all your system.
If I were you, i would install a fan to force air exchange in your compressor room because you should consider that you spend 10Kw of power that is mostly depleted heat that stays in that very small room.
I don't have the funds to build such a complete system so I fabricated an air to air aftercooler that I,ve installed between the compressor pump and tank to maintain the tank cool, this has proven to be very effective . I made my shop piping in 1/2" copper pipe with a standard filter installed about 20 ft past the tank. and a filter regulator unit to feed my spray guns.
beautiful system, thanks for posting
Just an old trick on those specific types of unions (NOT the ones with an O-ring or rubber seal in them). Seems I've installed hundreds of them in my life... Often times (quite often in fact) you will find that they leak just a TINY amount. The fix is easy, hit it with a hammer (around the center nut) and re-tighten an additional 1/4 turn... This causes the inner seal to shift about when you hit it and changes the seat angle while "jogging it around with the hammer." You will notice that no matter how hard you tighten them, after a few smacks, there is always room for another 1/4 turn.
This is such a simple/quick thing to do that I never check for leaks first and I always tighten them this way (check for leaks after), been doin it for 30+ years and I would go as far as saying that this is the only way to do it. Take my experience for what you will....
P.S. Be sensible with how vigorous you are with hitting these with a hammer... Don't break the nut folks. Solid even taps, do not knock the hell out of it
Keith, beautifully engineered and executed. Congratulations
Very nice setup!!!
Your setup is outstanding! Great job sir!
Nicely done, Sir! Very well thought out. That bandsaw works a lot faster than I imagined.
Very nice well thought out system. Thanks for sharing.
Sweet setup.
Thanks,
John
Very nice Keith. Saved as a template for my own future shop.
That is a sweet and thoughtful setup. I need about 10% of that for my garage workshop.
Wow! what a first class operation. that took a lot of thought to get done correctly very impressive, I’d be very proud of that in my shop...
At the bottom of your drops you should have a short length of pipe with a cap on the bottom. That will provide a moisture trap on every low point, it's code for natural gas lines which means it's probably a pretty good idea for ordinary air which starts with even more moisture than natural gas does. Compressor in a different building is always a nice way to keep the noise down.