What does everybody think is the best compressor hose? I’d like to have a 3/8″ male connector on one end and 1/4″ female on the other.
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I've got senco hose that's over 25 y.o. The heavier hose has a memory, but unwound it will lay flat.
For more length and usually indoors-Flexeel, the light blue poly looking hose. No marks around corners dragging it around a house-especially neat around that light colored carpet. Lightwt and compact. Does keep it's curly memory that can be an inconvenience or worse up on staging or the roof. Still, many framers like to use it I think.
edit: evidently not as sturdy as my original senco hose. Have heard of punctures moreso than the old style.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 4/10/2007 7:29 pm ET by calvin
Thanks for the good advice. Sounds like senco is good.
You're welcome. But remember that like most anything else-those old hoses of mine that I took decent care of-were old production. I hate to say it but I am suspect of most all things produced now. Were the spec's kept the same or did cost pare down the quality? Best of luck with your purchase.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
And, welcome to Breaktime.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Re: Flexeel hoses. I have had them for about three years now. Slowly phased them in when others wore out or I mucked one up on a shingle job.
When I get a new flexeel, the first thing I do is lay it out the entire length and stretch it. Either by arm-length section if I am solo, or w/ another guy at the opposite end. It kinda pops and cracks.
I don't know how much it stretches, but this seems to help lay flat on the floor, deck or roof.
Anyone else do this?
No, but that's a good tip.
Thank you for the tip. While I find the unstretched flexeel has a loop memory, it does usually lay flat on the floor. I've never had it retract the tool, that would be the end of that experiment. I usually unroll my hoses rather than pull from the loop on the floor, which helps keep both styles flat and safe.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I stretch mine out as you describe. My hoses lay nice and flat.Forcing hoses into nice neat coils, when rolling them up, dramatically increases kinks and standing loops. Letting the hose form natural figure-8's in a loose roll lets the hose unroll into a nice straight line.The new "Eel Green" Flexeel hoses have swivel connections at both ends, I think those would be nice.
I use the flexeels and found that 50 foot is the max you want to roll up. The 100s are a mess to roll up. I cut all my 100s in half. Not sure the swivel connectors do anything but i have them on all my hoses and guns. The flexeel are imo the best you can get so far.
I mentioned here that I had my 100' hose cut in thirds, I really like the 33' length.I keep two 50' hoses, three 33' hoses and one 25'. That assortment with the 3-way manifold works well for me working solo or with a crew of two or three.
I have a 50 ft 25 ft and 25 ft coil flexeel hoses and they are the best gave all my old hoses to a friend that cant pass up free stuff even if he hasen't any room or doesn't need it. they are the best for hanging out a 2nd story window or pulling around a very nice home and they aren't very big to step over. Ill even get same when I need to.
dogboyCarpentry and remodeling
Vic Vardamis
Bangor Me
http://www.ravengrove.com
Thanks, all the info. is great.
I'll second the flexeel. It comes in a variety of colors including the previously mentioned blue and, my particular favorite, a nice shiny red. Never had a problem with one, aside from shooting the occasional nail through it.
I have Bostitch Proz Hoz. Great stuff.
I just picked up a couple of yellow flexeels. The 4 or 5 blue ones can make it hard to tell who's who at the octopus. Where did you find the red one?
Found the red at a lumber yard in NH (I've seen them online too). The company I work for has blue and one of the other guys has yellow so I went red. Make sure you find the Coilhose brand though, a friend of mine got some knockoffs that are nowhere near as easy to use. Here's a link to Coilhose's webpage for flexeel. http://coilhose.com/uploads/products/Page%2016.pdfNot to hijack, but what's the preferred fitting type? Universal, automotive, I/M?
I have blue and red Flexeel hoses and several blues poly hoses of other brands. I wish I had bought each length of hose in different colors...too late now.To keep my hoses from being confused, I use colored electrical tape at both ends and in the middle of the hose. I have a color-coded manifold too. I often run three hoses with three guns (even when working solo). My color-coded hoses match the color of the nailguns (yellow for Bostitch 23ga., green for Hitachi 18ga. orange for Paslode 16ga.).I really like swivel hose lanyards at the manifold. I also like good, Universal, stab-in, female connectors.
I saw your color-coded idea the other day. In fact I think that might have been my inspiration for dropping the extra $2 per hose at Western Tool for the yellow hose.
Unfortunately I can't use the colored tape idea. My brother and I started a system back when we worked together of color coding all our tools since many were the same model. Engraving was too much work, paint is messy and changes color if the substrate is colored, and ink wears off.
We decided to use colored tape. He uses yellow, I use blue. I have it on almost all my tools, and it lasts surprisingly well. Over a year on frequently used tools, even my hammer, and several years on less-frequently used tools like shovels and rakes.
It's important now that I work for a company but provide many of my own tools for the crew to use. Over time I am replacing my tools with company tools, but when they give you a construction trailer and pump jacks to use it's hard to ask for another $10K for tools.
So, short answer is I use colored tape to mark ownership but I like your system.
I have lots of ideas that don't happen because there is too much enertia in another direction already.Here is another idea for you...I bought a 100' poly hose and had it cut in thirds and had new ends put on it at Ronco Engineering (the local hose gurus, they mostly do custom hydraulic stuff). 33' hoses are now my favorite length. I run a 25' or 50' hose from the compressor to the 3-way manifold, in a hallway, for instance. Then I use the three 33' hoses to trim all the rooms off that hall. Never have to move the manifold and never have to change guns on a hose.Any trim gun I want to use is already hooked up. I set one gun down on my trim cart and pick up the next gun.I do the same kind of thing with cordless drill/drivers...seldom change bits...just grab the next gun.
Based on all the raves here, I picked up a Flexeel hose to add to my collection of various cheepo hoses. I have never seen any type of hose or tubing that twists or kinks as much as the Flexeel does. I pulled the Flexeel around a corner and found that my nail gun wasn't firing. Figured I had pulled out the plug on the small compresser. Discovered that the Flexeel had kinked so tightly that it was shutting off all air to the gun...Other than that, I like the Flexeel. Very light weight.
I have found these guys to have the best price on Flexeel. Blue only tho.
http://www.coastaltool.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/a/ab/coilhose/flexeel.htm?L+coastest+yzgh8941ff7db37d+1176287909
Just found these.http://www.floydtool.com/air_hose.htmAll colors and lengths for about $1.50 - $5 less than Coastal (though I like Coastal, have gotten stuff there before).
I'm going against the grain here.
I hate fighting the hose, I hate the hose curling up. I want it to lay flat on the ground. Or more importantly, flat on a roof or on scaffolding. I don't want the memory of a hose pulling it away from me when I set the nailgun down.
I prefer rubber hoses.
They are a little heavier, and if you drag them around a corner, you could mar baseboard corners.
But they lay flat. They remain plenty flexible in cold weather. While they don't tend to tangle, I'd imagine they'd be a lot easier to unravel if they did.
I have red rubber hoses, I think Ingersol Rand ones.
You can put whatever sized fittings you want on the hose ends, just buy a hose with threaded ends and add your own fittings.
Mongo