Replies

1. 
   quicksilver | Jun 28, 2005 05:30am | #1

   I don't know of any special place to buy one but as long as your hose is leak free. I don't think there is a limit on length.

2. 
   dieselpig | Jun 28, 2005 05:52am | #2

   I believe the longest I've ever run was 250' so I can't say for sure.  But I'd give it a try.

   Any chance you can break up the run with an auxillary storage tank mid-way? 

3. 
   ponytl | Jun 28, 2005 06:39am | #3

   shouldn't be any problem... try a rubber supply house full spools are usually 250ft... but i'd just go to harbor freight and get 10 50ft hoses

4. 
   joeh | Jun 28, 2005 07:11am | #4

   Dieselpig has a good idea, a storage tank in the line, closer to the gun would be better.

   You want big hose, 1/4" will not pass enough air that far to allow you to fire rapidly. I don't know how long it will take to fill your gun, but you might have to wait between shots.

   Think how big a cord you'd need to operate your saw at that distance, the voltage drop is the same effect you will have with air.

   Joe H

    

5. 
   MarkCadioli | Jun 28, 2005 09:31am | #5

   We run 3/8 hose. Standard length is 90 ft. If we join two hoses together ( 180 ft )  we get pressure drop and have to wind the reg up to about 120 psi just to get 100 at the gun.

   To overcome this on long runs we have now built a splitter box. It is just a foot long piece of RHS weld capped off with a couple of additional female air fittings out one side. With this we can run additional hoses, but the main advantage is it seems to provide a pressure reservoir which helps combat pressure drop.

    

   regards

   Mark

   http://www.quittintime.com

6. 
   WorkshopJon | Jun 28, 2005 01:09pm | #6

   I second DieslePigs idea of the in-line strage tank close to the gun.  You can pick up a small 2 to 5 gallon one at a big box for usually less than $20.00

   WSJ

7. 
   STAINLESS | Jun 28, 2005 04:03pm | #7

   I recently solved a similar problem: trying to run a 3/4" impact wrench at 300 ft from the compressor. My cheapest solution was to purchase 3/4" ID rubber water hose rated at 350 PSI burst strength when filled with hot water. I cobbled together 2 sets of brass fittings from HD to adapt the water hose fittings to NPT. Over this length the large volume inside the hose acted like a storage tank; it took much longer for the compressor to bring the whole system up to pressure but once there, it lasted longer than the tank would have by itself. (I had to run the wrench between fill cycles, but the job I was doing took multiple resets of scaffolding so it wasn't much of a hassle). In all I torqued over (250) 3/4" bolts.  In retrospect I probably could have used a lesser quality of hose, however, even this large and good a product was far cheaper than a cheap vinyl air hose of only 1/2" ID would have cost me. Another bonus was how easy it was to add or subtract hose in 100 ft lengths, I still only needed the 2 original adapters regardless of how long or short. Each hose came with its own couplers.

   After the job was finished I was left with a fine garden hose that will last a good long time!

   Best of luck. 

1. 
   razorsharp | Jun 30, 2005 06:25am | #8

   Thanks to all for your responses- at least I see that it will be worth a try to run the long hose.  I've never seen an additional tank away from the compressor but close to the tool as dieselpig suggests (I'm an amateur) but logically it does make sense.  Question about STAINLESS's posting though- why is it that the water hose is so much less expensive than the air hose? 

1. 
   STAINLESS | Jun 30, 2005 09:35am | #9

   Hi Nat, not being in the hose mfg. business I can only offer a few conjectures as to costing reasons.

   1) production volume issue: I imagine that more 3/4" ID rubber water hose is made than 1/2" air hose so the economy of scale may be playing a role here.

   2) liability issues: since water (and most other liquids) are almost incompressible they can store very little energy when compressed: not so with gases such as air! When a water hose does spring a leak during its lifetime (Not if it finally leaks some day) you may get some water that could stain or otherwise damage property. If a big air hose (or air receiver tank for that matter) ruptures, you can release large quantities of energy in very short times (also known as an explosion !) : this can become a personal liability issue to a company's legal dep't. (and very personal to you if you should get hit by shrapnel or a whipping hose rocketing all over the place!) Perhaps the higher cost reflects this added risk the mfg. takes on by selling a product expected to be used with air. (This is why it becomes so important to keep air tanks drained of condensate so they won't rust and prematurely fail.)

   3) safety ratio used when rating the product: perhaps the air hose mfg. derates his hose working pressures more on air hose than water hose and his air hose is actually of much better construction than his water hose.