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

P. Johns enginepaul at gmail.com
Sat Oct 30 21:27:51 PDT 2010


On Sat, Oct 30, 2010 at 3:33 PM, David Rotigel <rotigel at me.com> wrote:

> Very interesting Paul. Could you please tell be the pragmatic
> difference between "a lot of bends" and "runs that are not straight?"
>        Dave
>

Technically a lot of bends and runs that aren't straight may be about the
same thing. First, usually to a plumber a 'bend' would be an angled fitting.
A run that isn't straight might require bending a pipe length somewhat as an
easier alternative to adding fittings. (It makes a difference to me - but
probably nobody else.)

With Pex, you can frequently make an entire run without fittings. It would
also be handy to fish behind installed benched or machines.

As for speed, I bought a house that had the copper removed by thieves. My
plumber showed up with a helper (a very pretty gal, but that's another
story) and they re-plumbed, from the meter: two baths, a kitchen and laundry
in about ten hours. If any other method was used, it would have been a lot
longer. I'm a big fan of Pex for the speed aspect alone. But again, I know
it was designed for water, so clean air wouldn't be a problem; but oil from
the compressor and contaminates in the shop - assuming it isn't installed
behind walls or under floors - may be a problem. I know it must be protected
from sunlight.

Incidentally, the schedule 80 that Judge Tommy used should do the trick in
most cases.

Paul

PS: Now I'm curious, I'll have to look into the Pex/air situation. One thing
I'm thinking is that if oil started to deteriorate it, it would bulge or
discolor first; and a repair would be cheap. I have some Pex, I guess I'll
have to soak it in oil for a bit to see what happens.



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