[SEL] OT-OT- air lines in shop?

[Bill Dickerson]

I've got to get a better way to get air to my work benches and other areas
instead of a single hose dragged all over the place from the compressor in
the corner. 
A friend said he used copper pipe (not tube, but pipe)
He ran 3/4 for the "mains" and branched off to each connection with 1/2.
He also ran a vertical run of several feet up the wall from the compressor,
with a drain valve at the bottom. He said when the air left the tank into
that cool copper run that was several feet tall, the water condensed out and
ran to the bottom where he could drain it. He also ran the pipe a couple
inches or so below each T where the connection for the hose was - same idea,
the water would run down past the hose connection, and he could drain it
out.
I looked into doing this, but with a 30x36 shop with 14' ceilings, I'd be
spending a small fortune on copper pipe! 
I also found that Menards sells two "grades" of the pipe - one thinner wall
and cheaper than the other.

OK, finally the question - what are others doing?
Is the copper pipe with solder/sweat connections ok? 
What about the M compared to L grades of pipe?

I've got a lot of area to cover - 

http://theamcpages.com/images/garage/shop-009.jpg
http://theamcpages.com/images/garage/shop-005.jpg
http://theamcpages.com/images/garage/shop-008.jpg


Bill
Runnells