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[Shop-talk] Compressed Air Lines, RapidAir

Subject: [Shop-talk] Compressed Air Lines, RapidAir
From: lotuseuropa at me.com (Michael Lye)
Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:49:21 -0400
References: <alpine.BSF.2.00.1108032008290.9767@itonami.pair.com> <alpine.BSF.2.00.1110122353080.7629@itonami.pair.com> <BAY167-W1041F13DC93BC52303B82249FE00@phx.gbl> <4E9721DE.6050106@xxiii.com>
Well, I can confirm first hand the PVC will fail by explosively shattering. I 
had thought the same thing about the pressure ratings etc. and ran a line from 
the back of a shop to the front of a store. Fortunately it was above a dropped 
ceiling because that served to stop the shrapnel when it let go. It made a big 
noise when it did let go that was only connected to a small tank around 100 
psi. Never did find all the pieces. About 6 inches of the pipe were badly 
fractured and I never did find all the pieces.The fracture occurred in the 
middle of a section of pipe nowhere near a joint or anything else I could 
identify as creating any special stress. 

So even though it's cheap and easy to work with I'd never do it again.  Even if 
no one gets hurt or nothing gets damaged it just isn't worth the effort of 
doing it twice. 

Michael

On Oct 13, 2011, at 1:37 PM, Wayne wrote:

> On 10/13/2011 9:11 AM, Bob Rochlin wrote:
>> I'm jumping in here late, but i've been using Home Depot PVC for my air lines
>> for about 10 years with no issues.  The PVC has a bursting rating or 600PSi 
>> (I
>> run it at about 100 PSI), is easy to work with, and inexpensive.  I've had no
>> issues with leaks, bursting etc.Bob
> 
> And of course everyone is gonna jump in with "do not use PVC, it can explode 
> and shatter".  But you know what -- I've seen it used in multiple industrial 
> air systems, including a local NASCAR shop (Andy Petree - I now own his 
> workbench and sandblaster) and never heard of failures.
> 
> I suspect it's kinda like "do not power up your cell phone on the plane, or 
> it will immediately nose dive into the ground"
> 
> -WC
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