What’s the best type of hose for a compressor?

[Louis Brandt]

Hello,

I want to buy a different hose for the compressor that I just bought, because the one that came with it doesn’t look very durable to me.

What should I look for in a quality compressor hose? Should it be rubber, poly, vinyl, pvc or what?

Thanks,
Louis

[Don Eddard]

I prefer rubber for long runs, but also use some of the coiled plastic (PVC?) close to the compressor.

[Byron Trantham]

Flex Eel. Flat out the best air hose on the market!

[Guy Roland]

I bought a Prohoze ( Stanley-Bostitch ) to replace cheap ones that kept giving me grief. It's not the most economical but it's the best I've ever used.

[Jason White]

I use the newer polyurethane hoses and like them a lot. They're pricey, but very lightweight and durable.

Jason

Hello,

I want to buy a different hose for the compressor that I just bought, because the one that came with it doesn’t look very durable to me.

What should I look for in a quality compressor hose? Should it be rubber, poly, vinyl, pvc or what?

Thanks,
Louis

[Dave Falkenstein]

Flex Eel. Flat out the best air hose on the market!

I agree with Byron. Here's what I bought:

http://www.coastaltool.com/a/ab/coilhose/flexeel.htm

The smaller size is easier to handle and big enough for nailers.

[Jerry Bruette]

Louis,

I usually look for these qualities in a hose. It has to be round, hollow, and flexible.

Seriously, I've used some of the Flexeel mentioned and it's nice and light and very flexible. That stuff you got with your compressor shouldn't even be called hose, I replaced mine too.

Jerry

[Jim Kountz]

Flex Eel.

...........

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I prefer the rubber hoses, but I will say I have never tried a Flex hose. I buy the 50'ers at HD for $30. PVC and all the other cheaper ones have a huge memory in winter and are very hard to coil unless it is on a reel.

[Tom Veatch]

Anything but that cheap polyethylene c**p.

[Randal Stevenson]

In the garage I used to work at, we used rubber, Goodyear hoses. Durable, and hold up to chemicals, being dragged, tripped on, etc.

I picked up a Polyurethane one for use with my nailers, now I would like to see how it handles the garage. Anyone have mechanics experience with them?

[Greg Deakins]

might one be able to put a flexeel on a retractor reel?

[Greg Young]

Double braid rubber hose, 3/8 or 1/4" ID

[Paul Ryan]

Poly hoses wont hold up to a mechanics shop. We tried them at our shop and they only lasted about 6 months, and they are hard to repair. The chemicals and running over them, the dragging it just wears them out. And they are hard on the finish of cars, laying and moving around the bumbers, fenders, they can scratch the clear easier. Goodyear hoses are the best for a mechanics shop. They last years, and can take the abuse us idots can dish out.

To the OP just use the hose that came with the compressor. For running a finish nailer you will not need a better hose. For that matter using air tools in a wood shop is a lot easier on hoses than in a auto shop. If you are a hobbiest like I am, the hose that came with the compressor will last you years. I still am using the same hose that came with the little husky compressor I have after 12 years. Save your money for a different tool. Replace the hose when it breaks. You will not notice any perfomance difference from a different hose, except for the weight of your wallet!

[Larry Edgerton]

Air hose!

Am I right, am I? Do I get the prize?

I use gray rubber hose, the kind that requires no clamps at the fittings and stays flexible when [important here]cold, and Flexeel for my lead because of the lightness. It you are twenty feet in the air you really appreciate how light the Flex is at the end of the day. I don't use all Flex because it tends to get tangled, always catching on doorways and such, so I use the gray from the compressor to the area I am working, and then a flex lead. Also Flexeel tends to stand up when it gets twist and trip people, a bad thing on a job site. In the shop I use the gray, because it doesn't tangle, and coils around the shop.