Urethane air hoses, and hose reels...

[dbhost]

I have been running a 50ft Hitachi 3/8 Urethane hose for a while now, after swapping it out for the 1/2" Goodyear rubber hose I originally bought with my compressor. The lighter weight, and resistance to tangling is a real blessing, but I am wanting to add on to my arsenal now....

Specifically I want to add a 100 ft hose, and a hose reel that would work with it. I am wondering, I see a LOT of hose reels like the Grizzly GO614 that say they work with 100' of 3/8" air hose, but I am pretty sure that is 3/8" rubber hose, which is MUCH larger OD than urethane hose... So my questions are...

#1. Can a urethane hose be safely used with a hose winder? Not an auto retracting one, but a reel like the H0614?
#2. Do I need to get the 100' hose reel for 100' of urethane, or can a 50' reel work? I just don't want to have a majorly under utilized reel is all...

For the price I am seriously considering trying the Grizzly reel out, it's inexpensive, and has the capacity for the amount of hose I want on it...

[chopnhack]

Poly hoses can be used on a winder, but why would you want to? The poly hoses tangle and kink like there is no tomorrow! The rubber ones lie flat and don't create trip hazards like the poly does. I assume that your experience with a short 5'? length has left you with a different impression but I have used 25' and 50' urethane ones and they are enough to drive you mad. Rubber is more expensive but they typically are heavier duty with larger I.D. for greater flow rates. Depending on your usage a 25' rubber hose maybe all that you need in your shop. If you are concerned with spraying you could use the rubber hose as your trunk, leave it on the floor and then use a shorter length of autocoiling urethane hose from it to give you more freedom when spraying. Just remember to size the urethane hose the same as the rubber hoses I.D. otherwise you will choke air flow at that connection. HTH

[cwsmith]

I prefer a rubber hose. I have both rubber and poly, with the latter bought on sale, which seemed like a good deal at the time. But it is so stiff it's like trying to use a spring. I think to date I've only employed it twice, as I really find it a PIA.

They are building a new TSC (Tractor Supply Company) store in our area and just the other day we received a sales flyer from them which had a very economical 50 ft rubber hose with steel reel for around $70. Not sure if they are a national chain, or of the quality of the hose, but I thought the price was great. Here's a link to thier web site:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tools/air-compressors-air-tools-accessories/air-hoses-hose-accessories/air-hoses/mit-50-ft-air-hose-reel-with-rubber-hose-3310323

I hope this helps,

CWS

[LinuxRandal]

Poly hoses can be used on a winder, but why would you want to? The poly hoses tangle and kink like there is no tomorrow! The rubber ones lie flat and don't create trip hazards like the poly does. I assume that your experience with a short 5'? length has left you with a different impression but I have used 25' and 50' urethane ones and they are enough to drive you mad. Rubber is more expensive but they typically are heavier duty with larger I.D. for greater flow rates. Depending on your usage a 25' rubber hose maybe all that you need in your shop. If you are concerned with spraying you could use the rubber hose as your trunk, leave it on the floor and then use a shorter length of autocoiling urethane hose from it to give you more freedom when spraying. Just remember to size the urethane hose the same as the rubber hoses I.D. otherwise you will choke air flow at that connection. HTH

Are you sure your thinking of the polyurethane ones, and not the pvc ones?
Polyurethane ones are translucent, and pvc ones are not. (also pvc ones are at least 2x the weight)

I recommend the Rubber ones for the garage, and the polyurethane ones for use with air nailers. For home, run fixed lines and use as short a line as possible. For portability, use the polyurethane ones, and pitch any of those cheap pvc ones.

[chopnhack]

Oops, my mistake! I'm sorry I had lumped poly in with pvc and vinyl. You are correct, poly is fine but a good one may run you more than an equivalent rubber hose so if its in the shop and protected I still stick with rubber.

[LCHIEN]

the polyurethane ones are usually much smaller in diameter.
If the PU diameter is .707 of the diameter of the Larger hose used to determine the 50' capacity, then the reel will carry nearly 100' of the PU, since the cross section are is 1/4th as large for half the diameter, or 1/2 the area for .707 ( thats the square root of 1/2) 0f the diameter.

I'm 100 miles south of Venice, LA right now, so I can't measure my PU hose.

I assume you meant 50', not 5 foot.

[tommyt654]

FWIW Home Depot was closing out their Husky branded reels a few mo,s back and they were nice for around $50. You might can still find 1 and they have a pvc hose on sale this weel I believe.

[dbhost]

I am NOT talking PVC, I am talking Polyurethane. I honestly haven't been able to make mine tangle yet. Don't get me wrong, rubber hoses are great, I expect they last longer than Poly, but they also weigh a ton, tangle a lot, and become a trip hazard.

And if the Poly doesn't pan out, I can always go back to rubber hoses, but if I can avoid that extra unneeded weight, I will... Makes handling the air tools easier...

I was resistant to buying ANY sort of plastic hoses honestly, due to prior experience with PVC hoses (junk, junker, junkest...) but considering the reasonably low cost, and the recommendations of the likes of Loring and other members here I figured I would try the urethane. If you have experience with PVC hoses, don't assume that Polyurethane hoses are going to be the same. They aren't. Not even close...

I would not use a Polyurethane hose in a high abrasion environment like an auto repair shop, but for woodworking and home remodeling tasks so far they pass with flying colors...

And yes the hose is 50' not 5', I have no idea where the zero went, but it's supposed to be there....