air hose diameter and impact gun

[r7000]

i have a cheap HF 26 gal air compressor, goes to ~120 psi. Currently have 50 ft of 3/8" hose and trying to use a 1/2" HF earthquake impact gun (which is supposed to be good) has little power. I want to upgrade my hose at least. Obviously looking for maximum air flow to get limited use out of a big tool that my given compressor can't handle for more than 5 seconds. The tap of the air tank I believe is 1/4", and the couplings and air fittings are the typical 1/4" size. What's the way to go here or what will be not worthwhile with the given compressor? Would a 50' 1/2" air hose be a noticeable difference or is my choke point the fittings and tap size off the tank and how does one deal with that? I mean if I go by a $800 vertical compressor are those tank fittings and hose couplers bigger? How do you set up to have real "shop air" ?

 

[Squareground3691]

i have a cheap HF 26 gal air compressor, goes to ~120 psi. Currently have 50 ft of 3/8" hose and trying to use a 1/2" HF earthquake impact gun (which is supposed to be good) has little power. I want to upgrade my hose at least. Obviously looking for maximum air flow to get limited use out of a big tool that my given compressor can't handle for more than 5 seconds. The tap of the air tank I believe is 1/4", and the couplings and air fittings are the typical 1/4" size. What's the way to go here or what will be not worthwhile with the given compressor? Would a 50' 1/2" air hose be a noticeable difference or is my choke point the fittings and tap size off the tank and how does one deal with that? I mean if I go by a $800 vertical compressor are those tank fittings and hose couplers bigger? How do you set up to have real "shop air" ?

The capacity of ur compressor is limited, the longer hose and bigger diameter, the more pressure capacity is needed , probably a upgrade would be the favorable thing to do , if ur serious about a real air shop .

 

[srcarr52]

Does the HF air compressor have a pressure regulator on it?

 

[Seachaser]

Yes. A bigger hose makes a difference. I bought an Ingersoll Rand impact and it wouldn’t work with a small hose.

 

[redline4]

3/8" hose.
8 hours a day, 5 days a week.

 

[srcarr52]

3/8" should be enough. Most peoples shop air is 150psi or more.

I bet the regulator on the tank is set lower or causing too much of a restriction.

 

[Canadian farm boy]

I work in a heavy truck shop. All of our air lines are 3/8 with high flow couplers. Shop air is set at 140psi. The only tool that sort of has a hard time with the 3/8 is the big 1” IR impact gun and even then only when it’s being used on stuff that needs a 2” or bigger socket

 

[huskihl]

There could be a limiting dial on the gun like my IR 231 has and it’s not turned up. Or the regulator on the compressor is turned down

 

[thedude74]

The bottleneck may actually be in the size of the fittings used before or after(or both) the regulator, or small internal passages within the regulator. Could try and install a tee and quick disconnect before the regulator....however as mentioned a larger capacity, quality compressor is probably the best solution.

 

[Al Smith]

One method on a long hose is to "tee " in another air tank closer to the usage point .

 

[Kiwioilboiler]

One method on a long hose is to "tee " in another air tank closer to the usage point .

Defo this. You cannot have too much stored compressed air volume.

 

[r7000]

i forgot to look last night, I redid the output piping on the tank and re-doped everything. It did have a regulator, which I never really used, and I took that out, now. But however long ago when using the impact gun yes that was through the cheap little regulator that came with the compressor.

 

[JB-PlantHeirloom]

> Would a 50' 1/2" air hose be a noticeable difference

Yes, far less performance and you will nuke the compressor. That is roughly 118 CI inside the hose itself. It helps to have a regulator, even if it is only set 10 psi above what your tool needs.

I noticed a huge difference going with Milton High Flow V 1/4" fittings on my 3/8" hose. Especially with my cut off wheel tool not stalling in the cut.

Why not go 3/8" fittings? Because the Milton 1/4" fittings are good for something in the neighborhood of 100 psi at 12-15 CFM. The likely hood of me having a compressor rated for that within the next 5 years is fairly low.

 

[IffykidMn]

The smallest choke point is going to be the biggest limiting factor.

IMHO going the 1/4"hiflow or 3/8" fittting is going to see the biggest bang for the buck.

Air tools are rated at psi @ cu ft min. so even if you could achieve 1000psi not delivering at sufficient volume is the limiting factor which goes back to choke point.

 

[KS Plainsman]

I had a small compressor about that size, from Napa and I had to add another small 25 gallon tank to the system before I could run an impact without issues. A larger hose, with bigger couplers may, or may not fix the issue, in my experience.

Try couplers and a hose. If that works, great. If not, you have a good hose and couplers for a new larger compressor.

I finally just bought a big air compressor because I wanted a "shop air" system. If a new compressor is in the budget, I'd suggest going that route and nix the small compressor issues.

 

[Al Smith]

Another thing you might keep in mind with a long hose .In addition to a remote air tank is the regulator if like you are spray painting which I've done .Install the regulator in the last section of hose like 25-50 feet from the point of use .That way you are pushing air at the highest pressure rather than lower pressure and obvious speed .

 

[Al Smith]

I might add at my shop I have a two stage compressor,5 HP dumping into either one or two 60 gallon tanks .On at 140 PSI,off at 160 .At the house I only have 3 HP on a 30 gallon, single stage 120 PSI .It struggles to run an impact wrench but I get by .Also I've built up a 10 HP 3 phase on a 120 gallon tank which is a work in progress I can't seem to find the time to finish .

 

[blades]

Volume is the main key. restrictive qd's are the second. look carefully at qd's there is quite a bit of diffrence between various brands internally . some guns require a lot more volume than others even though the pressure is the same.

 

[Only the Tony]

Look up Torque Test Channel on YouTube. They do a lot of testing on just these type of things. May have to go back a bit, but I know there are some tests done in regard to hose and connector sizes.

 

[Deputyrpa]

I work in a heavy truck shop. All of our air lines are 3/8 with high flow couplers. Shop air is set at 140psi. The only tool that sort of has a hard time with the 3/8 is the big 1” IR impact gun and even then only when it’s being used on stuff that needs a 2” or bigger socket

This ^^

I have 3/8 hose with the Merlin high flow couplers. My garage air maxes at 175psi @17.8cfs, and I set the regulator for my HF Earthquake 1/2" gun at 90psi. Once in a while I crank it to 120, but not often. Most tools only need about 90psi, but they need plenty of air flow at that pressure.