Sunday 8 March 2015

Air Lines

At last the new airline system is up and running. Sticking with my theme of using readily available piping. I opted to use 15mm household plastic pipe and push fit connections. I did use the super seals.
Larger pipe sizes give less friction loss. Like many things you have to compromise. Using 15mm pipe allowed me to bend the pipe and reduce connectors. “T” and “L” 
The only ‘specialist’ part was a brass half inch female to a 5mm hose tail. These I got from E bay. Nominally the inside diameter of silicone tube is 4mm but with a bit of warmth the 5mm fitted fine. The silicone tube was used for the last 50 cm or so and connected to air stones.

The 15mm pipe is not recommended for compressed air use. However with the relatively low air pressure I am using I decided to go ahead. My choice my responsibility.

I switched on the pump and it works great. Tomorrow I will check for leaks. Washing up liquid on the joints will bubble if air is leaking.

There is some noise with this type of air compressor. It’s out in the shed and I put an old mouse mat underneath. No problem.

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