Airlines

[Rockburner]

Recently I've been given an old 50l Sealey Air-Compressor (Many thanks, you know who you are! )

However, it doesn't have any accessories, and I'm completely unfamiliar with airline equipment.

It has.... I THINK... a 1/4 BSP 'female' fitting on the output pipe - does that sound right??

I've had a look at some suppliers but can't seem to figure out the different standards for fittings at all, nor find what I'm after: I specifically just want a longish hose (so that the compressor can live in one spot in the garage, but the hose will reach to all 4 tyres of a car parked outside); and a tyre-blowy-uppy fitting with a pressure guage built in. (I've no idea what this unit/collection of bits is called).

I may also need in the future the ability to plug the compressor into a bike lift/bench which I may be investing in sometime this year (once I've decided which one to go for).

All advice very welcome!

[dern]

From memory most of this stuff is 1/4" BSP. I bought my compressor years ago and bought a reinforced heavy duty hose that I loop and coil over the compressor. I've never had a problem with it, it doesn't get in the way and has survived being driven over many many time. Try to get on with a larger internal bore like 9.5mm as you'll get better flow for blowing tyres up and using impact guns. The coiled ones tend to have narrower bores and I think I'd find their natural tendency to pull back very annoying.

I use mine mostly for impact gun work as it takes too long to pressurise to blow up some tyres when I can just use a small electric job. The tyre inflator attachment does allow you to inflate tyres if you've changed your own though.

My hose is permanently attached at the compressor end but I have quick release fittings at the tool end.

[Horse]

As an aside, listen to Cabin Pressure on the iPlayer, about an air dot.

[v8-powered]

Generally 1/4" BSP but just consider if you want quick release adapters to change tools etc, there are 100's of similar but not interchangeable fittings!

[Rockburner]

Generally 1/4" BSP but just consider if you want quick release adapters to change tools etc, there are 100's of similar but not interchangeable fittings!

Yeah - that's what's confusing me!

[dern]

The only one that might be problematic is that if you order compatible 1/4 bsp fittings for the hose and tools then the quick release (if fitted) to the compressor might be different. The specs should be available from Sealey but assuming that the outlet will probably by 1/4 bsp as well you could easily order a female quick release connector compatible with the rest of the stuff you get and replace the one on the compressor if it's not compatible. It's all pretty cheap on ebay.

[Rockburner]

The only one that might be problematic is that if you order compatible 1/4 bsp fittings for the hose and tools then the quick release (if fitted) to the compressor might be different. The specs should be available from Sealey but assuming that the outlet will probably by 1/4 bsp as well you could easily order a female quick release connector compatible with the rest of the stuff you get and replace the one on the compressor if it's not compatible. It's all pretty cheap on ebay.

Are all the lines 'male' then?? (Like I say - I know nothing about the configs or standards involved here)

[dern]

The only one that might be problematic is that if you order compatible 1/4 bsp fittings for the hose and tools then the quick release (if fitted) to the compressor might be different. The specs should be available from Sealey but assuming that the outlet will probably by 1/4 bsp as well you could easily order a female quick release connector compatible with the rest of the stuff you get and replace the one on the compressor if it's not compatible. It's all pretty cheap on ebay.

Are all the lines 'male' then?? (Like I say - I know nothing about the configs or standards involved here)

Ooo, I don't know what they're supposed to be I'm afraid... I kind of made it up as I went along. It look like the fitting on this sealey is female...

https://www.uktoolbox.com/product/seale ... 5963073172

...so you'd put a male on that end. On the other end of the hose I'd have a female end and a male on the tool. I have no idea if that's right but it would work. The advantage is that the male bit is the cheapest bit and you need one per tool so it makes sense from a cost perspective.

[ChrisW]

Yep - female (coupler) on the compressor and end of the hose. Get a decent one btw, the Clarke ones from Machine Mart last no time at all.

When I upgraded mine its male end was stubbier than the usual ones, I think it's called a Euro connector or something like that so I had to get a different female coupler for the compressor which you can just about see in the pic. The female end of the hose takes the normal adaptors which I've got on all my air tools / inflators (like the one in the pic).

[cheb]

Odd, I wrote and thought I sent you a PM about this but there's nothing in my outbox nor sent items.

In no particular order:

The female part of the connector has the seal and keeps the air in the receiver when the hose is disconnected. I use old style PCL connectors as that's what i first used and I'm too cheap to replace them now. That's the longer one in ChrisW's picture. For the male part I don't think the make matters that much but female genuine PCL fittings are much better than the knock offs I like the PCL safety couplings, pull back to release the pressurised air and then forward to remove the coupling. There's a chunk of stored energy in a pressurised line and they flail a treat if uncontrolled.

1/4" BSP is standard for most tools and lines, some of the bigger stuff uses 3/8" BSP.

I don't like curly hoses for the same reason as that said above. Consider fitting fixed pipes around the shed with suitable take off points. Shorter hoses are less irritating that long hoses. You can get brass female connectors for outside fitting it corrosion is a problem. Fixed piping can be done with domestic 15mm water pipe and John Guest do the relevant fittings.

Opinion: Windy guns aren't worth it now, cordless tools far exceed them in both ease of use and capability.

[cheb]

For a tyre inflator I'd suggest this: https://www.pclairtechnology.com/airfor ... -connector

Rugged enough to survive garage forecourts, no batteries to run out, and will stay accurate as long as you don't use it as a hammer too often. Their only snag is the angled connector can make getting onto bike wheel valves trickier than necessary, especially those with big brake discs.

[cheb]

Another opinion: Don't get too bedazzled by flow rate, that compressor won't supply enough air for properly hungry tools, blasters or big windy guns, nor will you save any appreciable amount of time pumping up car tyres, not even from flat. Seating tyres is a different thing but just removing the valve core usually allows enough extra flow to do the job.

[cheb]

https://www.pclairtechnology.com/safefl ... read-r-1-4

https://www.pclairtechnology.com/non-co ... ead-rp-1-4

I think they also use the brass connectors in submarine emergency breathing systems.

[cheb]

I've fitted one of these to my inflator: https://www.pclairtechnology.com/produk ... -tailpiece

[Rockburner]

Thanks cheb!

[ChrisW]

I don't like curly hoses for the same reason as that said above. Shorter hoses are less irritating that long hoses.

Completely agree on both points - get the shortest hose that you need. If you're only ever going to work on/inflate one car in front of the garage/workshop get that length. Re-furling air hose is really horrible.

Opinion: Windy guns aren't worth it now, cordless tools far exceed them in both ease of use and capability.

Also agree, unless you've just been given a compressor in which case air guns are really cheap on ebay because no-one wants them

[Mussels]

I've had a couple of smaller compressors, one of them being a bit bigger that the usual budget ones. They run out of puff quickly and aren't much better than a track pump for seating tyres, trying to do any heavy work will involve a frustrating amount of waiting for the pressure to come back up.
The idea of them is great as the tools are much lighter than electric versions but I'd rather heavier tools that can do a much better job, I wouldn't use one enough to make it worth buying a decent compressor or second tank. The noise also gets on my nerves.

[Screwdriver]

@Rockburner whereabouts in the world are you?

I might have just what you need.

[ZRX61]

length of hose needed for inside the garage depends on how big the garage is. If it's just one of those tiny single car UK comedy garages then 25ft would do...
How long the hose needs to be for outside the garage depends if the comp is by the door or at the back of the garage. My garage is 24 x 25ft. Hoses are cheap, I have 25 & 50 footers.

Can't offer any help on connectors as I don't know what is common over there. In the US it's usually T type or M type.

[cheb]

length of hose needed for inside the garage depends on how big the garage is. If it's just one of those tiny single car UK comedy garages then 25ft would do...
How long the hose needs to be for outside the garage depends if the comp is by the door or at the back of the garage. My garage is 24 x 25ft. Hoses are cheap, I have 25 & 50 footers.

Can't offer any help on connectors as I don't know what is common over there. In the US it's usually T type or M type.

What's that in linguini?