Shop air compressor setup

Goddamn you got a great deal.

Heck leaving it on the pallets a good idea.

 

Yes, I got real lucky on this one. I guess months of patience paid off haha

I thought about leaving it on the pallet but floor space is a premium around here. Im guessing the rubber pads will do just fine even without being lagged to the floor

 

Took a while but finally got it all setup. For now..

Air reel mounted up in the rafters. All 3/8" rubber line from filter/regulator output to the reel, only one 1/4" fitting right where it enters the reel. Went with a Merlin 40 micron filter & regulator followed up with a Merlin 5 micron filter. Both from Harbor Freight. Impressed with them so far. Only have about an hour of run time on them but they've caught a decent amount of moisture. No pics of those, but I mounted them directly on the output post shutoff with steel nipples. Might move them to the wall eventually to save space, not sure.

Speaking of run time, added a mechanical hour meter on the switched side of the pressure switch. Cause why not for a new machine

Lastly, an extended tank drain. Highly recommend. PowerMate 072-0023RP. Caught way more water in the bottom of the tank than I would have expected

 

What are you using for the hour meter signal? I am use to the ones on engines where it wraps around the spark plug wire.

 

Just straight line to line AC voltage to power it

TruMeter model 722-0001

 

I know it's too late but in case anyone else had interest in the Harbor Freight quiet compressor it's $50 off w/coupon until Sunday. That's making my Harbor Freight card a little itchy. It'd be nice to get rid of the little, noisy, 35 year old Craftsman one that's in the basement.

 

that's not the quiet compressor. you can put your card away!

but i did look into it for the same reason. i'm waiting for it to go on sale as well.

this is the quiet compressor this is the one that's on sale. biggest differences other than loudness is going to be a higher max psi--200 vs 175, 1 gallon more capacity, and 5.1 scfm instead of 4.5.

but i'd much rather have the quieter design over any of those features!

 

Thanks and sorry for the screw up. I ended up buying it anyway.

 

How're you liking it so far?

 

For those of you who have plumbed hard lines in your shop, whats the material of choice? Any pitfalls to keep an eye out for? What diameter is common?

The reel has been cool, but after using it for a week or two its going to make a lot of sense to plumb a hard line to my workbench where 90% of my air usage is. Been comparing the cost of different pipe this morning. Kind of surprised to see 1/2" and 3/4" copper is actually comparable to black iron. And thats type L, type M is even cheaper and still has a very good working pressure rating in the smaller sizes. Granted I haven't compared cost of fittings yet

 

Haven't unboxed it yet. It's been kinda hectic around here the past few weeks. I may actually return it and wait for a sale on the quiet one myself. With as good as cordless tools have gotten I rarely go into my air tool drawer anymore so I can keep using my old Craftsman for now.

I knew a guy years ago that did a lot of cylinder head work in his basement. He had an L shaped workbench along two of the walls and plumbed it all in copper with T's every few feet with quick connects on them so he always had a nearby source of air.

 

I just set up this kit this weekend. I need to order some fittings to see how it works but the setup wasnt too bad.

Maxline M7500 Master Kit, 3/4" x 100-Feet

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005FKYRTU?ie=UTF8

 

I haven't added any hard lines to my shop yet but I would opt for something that won't be susceptible to rust, and be sure to include some dead legs with low point drains to remove any moisture. Also, an after cooler and water separator makes a massive difference in compressed air quality.

 

Yup. Ill have to sit down and make a rough shopping list, including fittings. I'd do copper in a heart beat if the cost was similar.

As far as the water separator goes, Ive seen folks run a few sticks of copper up/down with drains at the bottom. Just after the regulator. Homemade water separator of sorts

 

Well I'm in Maine way north west of Portland. 60 gallon tank twin cylinder 240 single phase 30 amp outlet with a 100 feet of hose on a cheapo hand wind real. I use the compressor a lot don't get cheap if you use a compressor a lot. Tractor, implements and 80 acre to deal with I would cook a cheap compressor in 3 mouths.

 

yea I did mine with an oil cooler/fan. The copper tubing style works very well too. Just make sure you use 1/2" or (preferably) 3/4" tubing so you get good airflow if you plan to run a lot of demanding tools. 3/4" may be a little overkill but it will ensure that you are getting everything you can from your compressor.

 

Just got a 15% off any Fortress compressor until 9/15 coupon in an email from HF today so I think I'll load up the compressor I bought last week, return it, and get the quiet model.

 

I used 1/2" galvanized. Black pipe is okay but galvanized is more corrosion resistant inside AND out (for appearance). Copper is good and easy to work with but it's soft and isn't physically durable. I bought a used steel pipe cutter, a Rigid pipe threading ratchet and some chasers (dies) off of Kijiji to fit it all. One tip for cleaner, drier air (borrowed from gas pipe fitting) is to put tees and 3" nipples ("cleanouts") with pipe caps at the bottom of every vertical pipe section for particles and moisture to collect. Also, tees are better than 90s because they provide extra ports to branch off from if more lines are needed.

 

I like the cleanout idea for sure. Id add a quarter turn shutoff before each drop as well.

Still have great hopes of getting my garage plumbed with hard line at some point, but that keeps moving further and further down the list haha

 

If you'd like to get all fancy pants, install vented ball valves that vent downstream pressure when shut off. They're for safety for working on long lines and machines and to make connecting and disconnecting large air couplings easier. They're actually mandated by OSHA in some applications. Only thing is that they're more expensive and typically available only through industrial supply companies.