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Posted by David Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 00:40:21 :
In Reply to: Air Compressor, Shop Talk posted by Jason [75.37.55.217] on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 00:24:17 :
I ran a lot of permanent lines with 1/2" copper, and that would still be my first choice. The trouble is 1/2" type M copper has gone from $2.50/stick to $15/stick (10') over the past few years. I don't mind doing iron pipe for gas lines, but it's a ton of extra work. If you have lots of fittings, angles, drops, etc, you'll have your work cut out for you. I can't see any advantage of iron over copper, not even cost, and two main disadvantage -- rust and way more work to install.
I recently added a run of about 75' of 3/4" Pex to an outside connection. For a long run with no branches and a fair amount of bending to get around this and that, the Pex can't be beat. The fittings are expensive, though the crimp-on ones are cheaper than the push-on ones, so it's best for long runs. I would still go with copper for the parts that have lots of branches and drops on them, but then splice into Pex for the long runs. On my outside connection, I ran galvanized iron through the wall and with a dog-leg inside so I could clamp it down securely and have it be stiff.
Everybody says not to use PVC because if it blows, it'll send sharp fragments flying. I have not heard a first-hand account of that happening, but I would still avoid it. It tends to get more brittle with age, especially in the sun, which can only make matters worse. The only thing it has going for it is cheapness.
On the Pex, one thing to keep in mind is they really cheated on the sizes. "1/2" Pex is really only about 3/8 inside, and then the fittings go inside that (unlike copper, iron, and PVC) and make it even smaller. I don't know how they get away with that, legally, but they do. I have 1/2" copper lines all over but went with 3/4" Pex to the outside connection because I wanted to have an honest clear 1/2" inside the whole way so I could run a 1" impact wrench for truck lug nuts.
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