"Ignoramus13229" wrote in message
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On 2005-01-10, Ross Mac wrote:
"zxcvbob" wrote in message
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Ignoramus27473 wrote:
A few days ago I asked a few questions about installing a subpanel in
my garage. I am done with this job. I used 8 gauge THHN wires, 3/4"
conduit, little corner thingys, and ready made bent elbows.
The subpanel is HomeLine. I used a HomeLine 60A breaker on the main
panel (which has all other breakers by Gould), and have the following
breakers on the subpanel:
50A 220V (this is 30A now because I bought 30A by mistake, but I will
replace it with a 50A asap).
20A 220V
20A 110V
20A 110V
I have not yet installed the outlets.
I had a father of my friend visit today, he is a professional
electrician. He okayed my work.
I am going to return my kerosene heater to HD and install a 220V 4.5
kW heater in my garage. Also, one of the reasons why I did all this is
that I have a 2.2HP
compressor (harbr freight), which tripped the breaker when it ran with
other tools. Now it will have its own circuit.
I might install an air line from the garage toi the basement, to have
air in my basement workshop. It should not be difficult.
i
With a 60A breaker, your hot wires should be 6 gauge, not 8. You said
previously that you had already bought the #6 wire, so hopefully you
just
mistyped it above.
Other than that, it sounds OK.
I like using 1/2" copper pipe for compressed air, although galvanized is
traditional. Don't use PVC for compressed air.
Best regards,
Bob
Good advice Bob on not using PVC for air! I have seen that done in an
industrial setting many times and when I questioned it the maintenance
dept.
they would point to the pressure rating on the pipe and claim it to be
OK.
What they fail to realize is their are surges in air that make it rise
substantially. Also, compressors tend to pass oil, not to mention the
warmth
from compression, which degrades the pipe. I saw a few of them blow,
scattering plastic everywhere. Not to mention the holes in the wall. I
saw
another situation where there was a plastic coupling at the compressor. A
maintenance worker backed into it and it broke. The air force him into
some
metal framework where he took 90 or so stitches in his head!!!
Thanks for some good stories. I will not use PVC.
My main question now is, is there "plumbing" for permanent air lines
comparable to electrical equipment. Like permanent air outlet boxes,
conduit (to enclose lines), that sort of stuff. My objective is to not
have it look like it is all jury rigged, be reliable and safe etc. I
have a kid who likes to hang around my workshop, so, I want air lines
to be as safe as electrical.
i
How you go about this would certainly depend upon your budget, the distance
you have to plumb the air lines, the climate you live in and whether you
have a crawl space to run your lines (have no idea of your homes layout). If
you go the copper route (the best way short of stainless) you will have to
solder all you joints. If you go the galvanized rout you might have to do
some threading, unless you can find the proper sizes pre-threaded (probably
not). I'm not sure how far you have to go or what pressure drop and CFM you
can live with at the other end, but a guess would be 3/4 inch pipe as
adequate (using 1" sure wouldn't hurt if you have a real long run). If you
google around there are some formulas for figuring pipe size.
You may also want to filter the water out of the compressed air. This will
not work with a filter alone. The slick setup is to put a solenoid drain on
the air tank, then run a line to a dryer with another solenoid drain and
finally a coalescing filter with a float drain to catch the final drops of
water at the source of use. You will want to plumb all your drains with hose
to an outside location or drain. This way you should never get that
irritating spray of water out of your air gun or water leaking out of your
air tools! And remember, water will fall to the lowest level.....Hey, good
luck on your project.....Ross
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