Compressed air | GTAMotorcycle.com

Compressed air

timtune

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When I need air I have to turn on my compressor and let it fill and that's a pain. My cheap air hose fittings leak. Is there any brand of fitting that won't leak? I hate the thought of my compressor coming on half a dozen times refilling the tank when I don't even need it.
 
Get rid of the tank end by screwing the hose directly into the manifold.

Another option is to yank the hose when you're done for the day. The quick connects don't usually leak when there is no hose plugged into them.
 
The only leaks in my system are factory swivels on the soft hoses. I have one from the compressor to the wall (theoretically portable compressor so I can easily take it) and one on the end of a hose reel. I have a ball valve that cuts off all the airlines from the compressor but the compressor still cycles once every few days unless I disconnect the hose between the compressor and hard piping. At some point I may get annoyed enough to cut the leaky fitting off and crimp on a new fixed fitting but I don't have an appropriate crimper and I don't have high hopes that a barb fitting will be completely leak free.
 
Don't buy cheap tools?

Decent connectors aren't expensive.
Seal the threads with teflon tape and you shouldn't have any problems
 
I have a ball valve right at the discharge of mine. Turning that off extends the time for pressure to leak down quite a bit. The compressor is on switched power, so I simply switch it off to prevent it from deciding to pump up the tank at 3 AM.
 
Don't buy cheap tools?

Decent connectors aren't expensive.
Seal the threads with teflon tape and you shouldn't have any problems
If anyone is buying new fittings, I recommend Type V. A huge flow improvement over the standard crap.
 
When I need air I have to turn on my compressor and let it fill and that's a pain. My cheap air hose fittings leak. Is there any brand of fitting that won't leak? I hate the thought of my compressor coming on half a dozen times refilling the tank when I don't even need it.
Topring stuff is good but not cheap
 
I’ve always just turned it off when not in use. When I’m ready it runs for a few minutes and then it’s ready to go


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I’ve always just turned it off when not in use. When I’m ready it runs for a few minutes and then it’s ready to go


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com
It's mainly an annoyance thing. I have air, I want it to be ready to go damnit. Sure I could inflate the kids bike tire or ball with a pump, but I have all of this money invested in compressed air and I want to use it. I also ran a drop in the basement that is primarily used for blowing lint out of the dryer. It's annoying to go to the garage to turn on the air, then to the basement, then back to the garage. I'm trying to come up with low-voltage or wireless control so I can put some buttons around that give the compressor power for x hours and then kill it. Put one near the door to the house and buy the time I get to the hose, it will be up to 30 psi to inflate kids crap and another one in the basement.
 
It's mainly an annoyance thing. I have air, I want it to be ready to go damnit. Sure I could inflate the kids bike tire or ball with a pump, but I have all of this money invested in compressed air and I want to use it. I also ran a drop in the basement that is primarily used for blowing lint out of the dryer. It's annoying to go to the garage to turn on the air, then to the basement, then back to the garage. I'm trying to come up with low-voltage or wireless control so I can put some buttons around that give the compressor power for x hours and then kill it. Put one near the door to the house and buy the time I get to the hose, it will be up to 30 psi to inflate kids crap and another one in the basement.
Easy to do. I have SONOFF wireless controllers and switches that run through Google Home. I can turn the compressor on and off with my phone, I also have a switch on the wall in the garage, and one in the kitchen. When I touch the switch, it trips a scene that powers up the garage lights and compressor. Touch it again and the compressor power is cut. Turn off the garage lights and the compressor is cut. Forget to shut down the garage and everything cuts at 1AM. I love the wifi switches - with scene programming you can make things happen off triggers on your phone, other smart switches, time of day, your proximity, sunrise, sunset, temperature. It's beginner geek complicated and really cheap.
 
Get rid of the tank end by screwing the hose directly into the manifold.

Another option is to yank the hose when you're done for the day. The quick connects don't usually leak when there is no hose plugged into them.
Yes pulling the hose slows the leak down but in a day or two the the pressure is down.
 
I have a ball valve right at the discharge of mine. Turning that off extends the time for pressure to leak down quite a bit. The compressor is on switched power, so I simply switch it off to prevent it from deciding to pump up the tank at 3 AM.
This sounds promising - Brian, what do you consider "quite a bit". Would that be days or weeks perhaps?
 
If anyone is buying new fittings, I recommend Type V. A huge flow improvement over the standard crap.
Are these much different than the standard fitting? Where can I get them?
 
Are these much different than the standard fitting? Where can I get them?
They aren't as common as type M but not hard to find. I bought some from amazon.

Pic below is 1/4" type M, 1/4" Type V, 3/8" Type M. As you can see, the type V flows about as much air as the next size larger Type M.

20201029-092500.jpg
 
On the subject of compressors, mine from Cdn Tire that's 20 years old is noisy as hell when running ... have they gotten any quieter (regardless of brand)?
 
On the subject of compressors, mine from Cdn Tire that's 20 years old is noisy as hell when running ... have they gotten any quieter (regardless of brand)?

Makita Mac 700 and Mac 2400 are pretty quiet. Most rolair are pretty quiet. California air tools are pretty quiet. You can still buy porter cable pancake compressors that are incredibly loud. If you are looking at big compressors, again, you can buy quiet or loud, choose wisely.
 
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I don't think you are a typical use case for air compressors. I have no expectation for the tank to hold anything when I'm not using it. 24/7 on-demand compressed air for a residential setting is... unusual. The closest equivalent I can think would be a hospital compressed air system
 
They have regular and high flow also high flow that interchanges with standard coupler any non standard coupler is going to be a pain in the ass when you need something else.
V Female takes M male with no issues. V male needs V female (or at least not the M females I have). If you want to keep using what you have, use the M males on your low flow things and replace with male V's on high-flow tools and put V females on everything.
 

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