On 9/21/05, Mike Rambour <mikey@b2systems.com> wrote:
>
> Problem with black iron is fitting it, if you have access to a
> threader (and someone else posted a cheapie at HF on this thread
> already) then it might work out but other wise you will be making
> compromises all over the place because of the length of pipe. Then
> you have rust eventually which could cause problems with your tools.
> And one other item is that most (not all) installations of pipe I
> have seen are actually a bunch of leaks connected together by pipe.
>
The shop I work at has a rather complex black iron pipe system that's
been in place for about 20 years. It's got two compressors, five
lifts, a car wash, and a tire machine attached to it. It doesn't
leak. The car wash does, the tire machine does, and a couple of the
couplings for air hoses do, but the iron pipe doesn't, the ball valves
on the lines don't leak. The system consists of two loops, one at
compressor pressure (~175 psi) for the lifts and tire machine, the
other at about 130 for the drops to the air hoses. There are six or
seven drains at various, logical places in the plumbing. There's a
filter regulator at most of the tool taps. The only maintenance
anything gets is the compressors are drained regularly, and the lines
occasionally (there's not much in them, though)
I think the overhead loops are 1 1/2", the drops are 3/4".
--
David Scheidt
dmscheidt@gmail.com
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