It's harder than it looks

[john_bud]

Ok, I have been redoing the compressed air lines in my shop. Used PVC (I know!) as a temporary solution, 15 years ago. The lines finally blew apart -- literally. Left a giant cloud of mist and a lot of platic chunks. So, I went to the permanent solution, black iron. Everything was going great, but I didn't have a stick the right lenght to match up to where I wanted drops. Didn't want to spend a $100 on a 1/2 and 3/4 die set, so I decided to weld pipe to fitting.

Cut the pipe nice and careful with the chop saw. Knocked the saw over and broke the plastic handle into 1000 small parts. (F-ing -10F temperature!) Dressed the pipe and fitting, tacked it in 3-4 spots. Uh-oh, sucker is twisting. Held it down, welded it around --bendy bendy. Welded back and forth and got it straight(ish). Did 2 fittings and it took a lot longer than I anticipated. And was a bear keeping (or trying) to keep it straight.

Complained to a buddy, "oh I have one of those somewhere" Hands me a 3/4 and 1/2 set with a long handle. Found it in the loft when we bought the place. Grrrr now you tell me! Well, if you don't ask ....



Put the system together and pressurized it. You guessed it. 2 leaks in the pipes. Both of the ones I welded. So much for my "skill". Cut them out and patched in some others. Then extended the system out to the new part of the shop where the equipment sleeps and to the front for tire filling and other general use.

Let me tell you, cutting threads is much easier than air tight welding!

jb

 

[montejw]

Ok, I have been redoing the compressed air lines in my shop. Used PVC (I know!) as a temporary solution, 15 years ago. The lines finally blew apart -- literally. Left a giant cloud of mist and a lot of platic chunks. So, I went to the permanent solution, black iron. Everything was going great, but I didn't have a stick the right lenght to match up to where I wanted drops. Didn't want to spend a $100 on a 1/2 and 3/4 die set, so I decided to weld pipe to fitting.

Cut the pipe nice and careful with the chop saw. Knocked the saw over and broke the plastic handle into 1000 small parts. (F-ing -10F temperature!) Dressed the pipe and fitting, tacked it in 3-4 spots. Uh-oh, sucker is twisting. Held it down, welded it around --bendy bendy. Welded back and forth and got it straight(ish). Did 2 fittings and it took a lot longer than I anticipated. And was a bear keeping (or trying) to keep it straight.

Complained to a buddy, "oh I have one of those somewhere" Hands me a 3/4 and 1/2 set with a long handle. Found it in the loft when we bought the place. Grrrr now you tell me! Well, if you don't ask ....



Put the system together and pressurized it. You guessed it. 2 leaks in the pipes. Both of the ones I welded. So much for my "skill". Cut them out and patched in some others. Then extended the system out to the new part of the shop where the equipment sleeps and to the front for tire filling and other general use.

Let me tell you, cutting threads is much easier than air tight welding!

jb

Hope you weren't in the room when the pvc line blew up!

I just read that in pipefitting, threading pipe under 2 or 4 inches is faster than welding. Over that size, welding is faster. Probably easier too!

Monte

 

[john_bud]

Oh Yeah! I was in the room when it blew. Very exciting.....

 

[pat32rf]

I've been told that copper lines are not suitable for air either but can't figure out what the problem would be with type L and 95/5 solder.....I agree that silfoss might be better but don't have any. Anyone know the reason why copper is no good- we used to use it for 120psi water lines.

 

[Jay4200]

Anyone know the reason why copper is no good- we used to use it for 120psi water lines.

It's not a pressure issue - probably a potential corrosion problem.

JayC

 

[mopacman]

Railroad locomotives have used copper and steel tubeing for air lines sence the beginning of time

 

[john_bud]

I've been told that copper lines are not suitable for air either but can't figure out what the problem would be with type L and 95/5 solder.....I agree that silfoss might be better but don't have any. Anyone know the reason why copper is no good- we used to use it for 120psi water lines.

I don'tt know the technical reasons, but the cost of copper is so dern high now that iron looks cheap!

jb

 

[EddieWalker]

John,

You can get the pipe cut and threaded at Home Depot or just about any plumbing supply store for just a few bucks. If not, I'd buy short lengths and thread them together to get the right length. I gave up trying to weld things that needed to be air or watertight years ago. That's a skill that I'm just not capable of.

Eddie

 

[Asymtave]

I picked up a ratcheting threader with 1/2", 3/4" and 1" dies at Harbor Freight for $20 or $25. Not the highest quality but no problem using it. A journeyman pipefitter would laugh, but good enough for occasional home use.

I think that black iron cost is on par with the thinner copper tubing now. Of course the labor is more with black, but it's much more able to take abuse over time in a shop situation.

 

[flINTLOCK]

I ran threaded pipe from garage to basement to keep noise level in basement down. My plumber saw the pipes and asked why I didn't use copper!! I've never used copper. but it must be OK.