And repeated pressure cycles weakens the PVC.
heated tubing of any kind expands so it would need expansion joints built in. I put my compressor in the attic of the garage and plumbed it point-to-point with regular hose. If it ruptures I don’t care.
One word of caution with connecting multiple hoses together - the usual quick-disconnect female connectors cut off the airflow when disconnected, but the male ones don’t. If you’re careless and just pull on the sleeve of the female connector to disconnect one hose from another, the other hose with the male connector will whip around as the air pressure dissipates.
I’ve got a big Thomas compressor in the garage, plumbed to a 50’ (-ish, it’s metric) Retracta Reel. I have a 50’ extension when needed (mostly to blow the crud out of the house air conditioner coils). When even that isn’t long enough, I have a portable Thomas pancake compressor that I can move wherever I need compressed air.
Yeah, I have never seen a professional installation which uses PVC, only copper. Certainly what I used at my house. The compressor lives in the garage, but I wanted drops inside the house for nailers. I have one drop at the back of a kitchen cabinet (which is on the other side of the garage) and one in the basement, below that cabinet.
I used to do systems qualifications, and I reviewed many a gas system. ALWAYS copper. That doesn’t mean they never use anything else, but I never saw it.
FWIW I have never in all my years in the car business seen copper air piping in a shop. It is always galvanized pipe. ( with the exception I mentioned above.
One thing you might consider before you install the compressor in its final location. Turn the compressor on its side and unscrew the drain out of the bottom of the tank. Screw in a 1/4" street ell and a length of pipe long enough to reach past the edge of the tank. Put a valve there. You can then run a drain hose to a good location and won’t have to lay on the floor to drain the water from the tank.
Ditto never PVC. Copper or iron. If you see PVC air lines, start looking around for other hazards.
PVC is safe enough for pressurized liquids, because they don’t store much energy when compressed. Gases are another story.
No, not in my experience.
This is in pharma. Copper for all the utilities, although I should have noted dedicated systems with stainless if product contact or contact with primary packaging (i.e., the vial)
This visual makes the whole thread worthwhile. 