Fittings for compressed-air hoses

[Frank O]

Today I was looking through my compressed-air gear, and noticed that I have several different styles of quick-disconnect fittings, many of which don't work with each other. Some are "M style" (from Milton Industries), others are "hi-flow" (for HVLP), and others are plain old whatever.

I'd like to standardize so that everything in the shop plugs into everything else. Any suggestions on a type that's easy to buy, not too expensive and works well in a home shop situation?

 

[projectnut]

Good luck on standardizing. I must have a collection of 500 or more air fittings. The majority were collected from the time when I owned a repair shop. it seems that every 10 years or so the profiles change. What were once the mainstay suddenly becoming unavailable. At this point in time the Milton M style seems to be the more popular. However, the M style alone comes in 2 different lengths (and a multitude of colors). The shorter male components will work in the longer female components, but not the other way around.

 

[mmcmdl]

When I started my new position 4 years ago , there was nothing standard in the plant . Over the years , I've swapped them all out with the short stem fittings . Not sure what they call them , but I have about what the Nut above has floating around here also .

 

[Winegrower]

I use what I think are called "Industrial". It's what you'd get at HF or Ace hardware. They work fine, and the price is right. A friend has a mix of fittings and we occasionally and annoyingly have to swap them out for compatibility. He puts the non-standard stuff in a can, but I know against my recommendation he's going to pull them out and use them instead of trashing them.

 

[Gaffer]

I converted all of my fittings to Flexzilla hi-flow. I think they are type A. If you fast forward to 2:40 in this Youtube video, he explains the different (10) styles and their intended purposes. I've had the Flexzilla for several years now and they have been excellent. I use them with paint guns, sanders, ratchets, the sandblast cabinet, etc.

 

[Frank O]

I converted all of my fittings to Flexzilla hi-flow.

Wasn't familiar with that brand -- high-flow would be a good thing, I'll check them out.

In your experience do they hold pressure if you assemble them dry? Or is something like loctite necessary/desirable? (I'm thinking of leakage from the NPT end of the connectors.)

 

[Gaffer]

I wrap the threads with teflon tape. I haven’t had one fail yet. I have a 7.5 HP, 2-stage, 80 gallon compressor. I see they offer a pro version now. Hi-flow makes a big difference in tool performance.