Air hose questions

[Sal Lubrano]

Looking in to a new air hose for my compressor. I see there are two hose diameter sizes. 1/4'' and 3/8''. Both hose sizes come with 1/4'' npt fittings on both ends. What is the benefit of buying the 3/8'' hose if the air has to go through the restrictive fittings on both ends? Would a 1/4" hose be just as good? If, a 3/8'' hose and a 1/4'' leader was used what would happen?

 

[chopped39]

How big is your compressor? 3/8 line will have more volume even if it has 1/4npt fittings. I use the 3/8 line with 3/8 fittings. That really wakes up the air tools:biggrin:

 

[SS/GN]

Goodyear hose with high flow fittings.The hose stands up to almost anything.Good luck.:biggrin:

Kevin

 

[novaderrik]

a bigger hose is essentially a free addition to the size of your tank.

 

[Sal Lubrano]

High flow fittings. Where do you get these from?

 

[NEVER ENOUGH]

High flow fittings. Where do you get these from?

This should get you started on the hoses.
Air Hoses + Reels | Air Tools | Northern Tool + Equipment?
After you see the difference and what you are after. In the search window on the same site type in "Milton Coupler". And this will show you the cooresponding fittings by size.

 

[NEVER ENOUGH]

I use the 1/4" hoses and fittings for nail guns, staplers etc. Low consumption tools.

I use 3/8" hose with 3/8" high flow fittings for the high consumption tools like the cut off wheels, drills, or impacts etc.

 

[S10xGN]

How big is your compressor? 3/8 line will have more volume even if it has 1/4npt fittings. I use the 3/8 line with 3/8 fittings. That really wakes up the air tools:biggrin:

Another big difference is an HVLP gun. With 1/4" fittings and no regulator you can't get the required 23# at the cap. By switching to 3/8" fittings, there's so much more flow you'll need a regulator at the gun to keep from exceeding 23#...

 

[cchilly]

The issue using a 1/4 inch hose is the pressure drop through the hose itself. They say 25 feet of 1/4 inch hose has a 25psi drop. The same hose in 3/8 inch has a 4 psi drop. This is why if you need a long hose you should step up to a 1/2 inch hose. Of coarse it all depends on what your using it for.

Chris