Compressor accessorise advice

[Iron man]

evening all after some advice if I may, some questions may sound silly but being new please bear with me.

I have a Clarke compressor boxer 14/100 belt driven.

I am after some advice on which airline to get ie 1/4 inch 3/8 etc.

Also I am wondering which connection people put on the compressor and which on the airline, I'd on the compressor do you fit your bayonet or coupler to the compressor?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Bill Edwards]

You always fit the female coupler to the air source so the flow stops when you disconnect a hose or tool.

What do you plan to use the air for? A lot of air tools (such as impact wrenches, that kind of thing) require a 10mm (3/8) bore hose to work properly.

As to the type of coupler PCL is the most common type* but I think Euro fittings give greater flow rates which is good for air tools, as to what's best probably depends on your intended use.

*PCL is actually a manufacturer of air equipment and they make a range of air fittings but there is one particular coupling which is mostly referred to as 'PCL' in the same way that hoover is used for vacuum cleaners.

 

[gordon stephenson]

Depends it depends what you would be running from the compressor, Go for the 3/8". You could always have a smaller I/d whip for use on smaller tools and blow guns etc. The female fitting with a self sealing valve would go onto the compressor.
Bill beat me to it.

 

[Iron man]

Thanks for responses, I plan to use general air tools like air gun etc for work on VW and also plan to use a spray gun at some point. Any suggestions on where to get hose or fittings from? Or are they all much of a muchness thanks

 

[Iron man]

Thanks for the bit about fitting coupler as now I have read that it makes sense see I said it would be a silly question oops. Thanks

 

[Bill Edwards]

Thanks for the bit about fitting coupler as now I have read that it makes sense see I said it would be a silly question oops. Thanks

Better than he who does it without asking and gets it wrong - we've seen it...!

I'm not sure on the best place to get air hose, there are huge differences in the qualities. Some are very stiff and horrible to use (fine for running across a workshop but nasty on a handheld tool) and some are very flexible and don't drag you down. Unfortunately there are some which are of appalling quality and rot/perish in no time, even with only DIY use. I've got some which seems to need an end chopping off where it's cracked through every 2nd or 3rd time I go to use it!
I don't rate the coily hoses myself. You can get large bore ones but the majority are too small to run air tools well and they kink and tangle very easily and some are quite brittle - quality varies with these as well.

As to couplers cheap ones generally work but I've concluded they're not really worth it as they tend to leak. I'm on PCL (which is a mistake but now I have so many tools and whip hoses I can't face the thought of changing them all for ones which offer better flow) and now aim for genuine ones as there is a difference.

As to the spray gun when you get there you'll probably want a regulator/filter. Your compressor might already have a regulator built in but will probably need a filter. I did some research on filters myself and found that most of the people who bought cheap ones regretted it, it seems the ones to look for are Norgren.

Just a point on where to take air from on your compressor, they often have a regulator built in which is usually very restrictive. For air tools to work well try to get a connection directly off the tank itself. There's usually a large plug at one or both ends of the cylinder which is a popular choice for air connections, though they can be very tight to remove and sometimes need heat.


When you go for an impact wrench do your homework first.
There are some good value airtools with good (3 year) warranty available from Aldi when they have offers but avoid cheap impact wrenches. The cheap ones are utterly powerless and guzzle air and are to be viewed as nut runners for once you've already slackened something.
I'm not suggesting you go spend £300 on a top end one but the really cheap ones aren't worth bothering with.

 

[Iron man]

Thanks bill a lot to think about, definitely don't want a coil hose as I have one here brand new and looks like it would become a pain

 

[Iron man]

Bill a couple uick questions if I may, You said PCL was a mistake and you would get genuine ones my question is everywhere I look they are either PCL or BSP fittings. Another quick question as I am going to go for 3/8 hose but you can get to options of 1/4 or 3/8 fitted, my compressor has 1/4 on the end and im guessing to much messing to change, is there any advantage? thanks again

 

[Bill Edwards]

I said that PCL is a mistake for me because I use some tools requiring a lot of air, I should be using another type of fitting such as Euro.

PCL is the fitting type, BSP refers to the threads used on fittings and hoses. A standard PCL fitting can be had in a range of thread sizes, such as 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2".

Yes you get a range of thread sizes available on different hose diameters. 10mm hose with 1/4 BSP fittings is quite common and should be easy to find. In an ideal world it would be nicer to have larger fittings at the ends but it won't make that much difference to be worth bothering about, just make sure the hose is big.

 

[Iron man]

Thanks again bill for taking the time, I did find some fittings which just had bop on and nothing else but looked a bit cheaply made but managed to pick up some pcl ones. Also got a 3/8 hose to go with thanks again

 

[Bill Edwards]

Glad you're getting sorted.
It's all very basic stuff but without something to guide you through it the only way to learn can be through trial and error which is not cheap and not fun.
I've bought enough things that have not fitted or have ended up upgraded as they've not really been suitable in the long run.

 

[anjum]

Buy the highest flow connectors and regulator/ filters that you can afford. They will limit the flow of every tool you use.

 

[brightspark]

Glad you're getting sorted.
It's all very basic stuff but without something to guide you through it the only way to learn can be through trial and error which is not cheap and not fun.
I've bought enough things that have not fitted or have ended up upgraded as they've not really been suitable in the long run.

i learnt the hard way on compressors blast pots and air flow 40 years ago . no one to advise hardly then made my own comps and blast pots its easy now u just have to ask and all the info is there for u. having said that it was good making things and learning the hard way by trial and error