On Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:49:48 -0600, justme wrote:

Due to having no money and abundance of devil-may-care, I am thinking
of using P.V.C. pipe to put in my shop for air supply. I am thinking
of using 1/2 inch due the the highest pressure rating compared to
larger sizes.

Now, my thought is to buy some wire cloth - the stuff that has open
squares of ~ .5 inch and cut it where, when formed into a tube, it
would cover the p.v.c. pipe comfortably.

Should the pipe explode due to the air pressure, the wire-cloth should
stop large pieces from becoming killer pieces.

I expect the nay sayers to say: DON'T DO IT, YOU WILL BE KILLED. To
them I say: I don't expect to eliminate ALL CHANCES OF DEATH OR INJURY
BUT I DO EXPECT THE SHIELDING TO CALM MY FEARS RATHER THAN USING BARE
PIPE.

What say?

If you can afford PVC Pipe and fittings, you can afford cheap imported
Black Iron (really steel) pipe - they sell a lot of it for natural gas
lines. Take the time to do it right, or don't bother and get lots of
hoses.

They have the plastic coated rust resistant stuff too if you need to
bury an air feed between the garage and house - coat the fitting with
sealant, then wrap the fittings in the special tape and slather
another coat of sealant over the tape to keep the water out.

Do Not use Galvanized pipe, the zinc flakes off and gets into the
tools and valves.

And your 'Wrap chicken wire around the PVC " plan is doomed for
failure - there is a LOT of captive energy there...

Run the riser up to the rafters from the compressor and refrigerated
dryer or aftercooler, then when it changes to horizontal to head off
into the shop leave a slight downhill - maybe 1/4" per 10' to the far
end of the room - where you put an elbow and a drain leg down to a
drain valve you can reach. Drain it every few weeks - you'll be
shocked how much water coalesces out in the lines.

Do NOT buy lots of couplings - buy mostly Tees and Plugs, and put a
tee every length of pipe with the third hole POINTED UP to the roof -
when you realize you need a new drop there, you just pull the threaded
pipe plug out of the tee and go.

If you plan to wait 20 years and then add a new drop by cutting the
Black pipe and threading it for a new tee, FUHGEDDABOUDIT. You'll
either snap off an old fitting, or twist the old connections and
create a dozen leaks... And eventually between the hissing leaks and
compressor cycling every fifteen minutes it will drive you mad, and
you have to take The Whole Damn System Apart and start over.

The tap legs go UP from the main line for a few inches so if there is
any moisture in the air you leave it trapped in the main line - and
eventually it'll work it's way to that drain leg at the far end. Then
you go horizontal over to the wall, and drop down to your drop
fittings.

Oh, and put another tee there with another butterfly drain valve on
the drip-leg, so if any water gets that far it's stopped again. Water
in your air is bad news.

If you have the money you use Copper pipe - but you build it the exact
same way with the drip legs everywhere, and up-legs to leave the water
behind. Except you can skip the tees, it's easy enough to cut in one
and solder or braze the tap tee as needed. (No threading in place.)

I use Silver Braze on Copper for Air (or refrigerant) - that way your
Plumber doesn't think it's a Water line he can tap into. Which can
get exciting.

-- Bruce --