Snap lock ducting anyone?

[Brian Kincaid]

So has anyone installed snap lock ducting (Nordfab, etc)?

Oneida-air seems to have decent prices. I'm sort of in the market and I'd love to get some impressions from folks who own and use it.

-Brian

[Greg Portland]

Yes, I run Nordfab in my shop. I like it because I can easily make changes to the DC system w/o having to retape or glue anything. Installation is significantly easier than other pipe solutions. I have three 6" drops and each tool has a 6" fitting. I wheel my tool into that work zone, snap on the fitting, plug in the tool, and I'm running. One of the 6" drops splits into a dual 4" (for router table, etc.)

The Nordfab pipe is very heavy duty, I could probably stand on the pipe and it wouldn't collapse. The pipe itself is not much more expensive than snap-lock pipe but the fittings can get very expensive. When I re-designed my shop I priced out my entire DC system with both types of pipe and then made my decision. IIRC, the Nordfab was ~25% more than snaplock for my setup. BTW, Norfab appears to be price fixed unless you find a few used fittings on Ebay so you might as well order it from Oneida (or other company with great customer service). Oneida will design your ductwork for free with a $500+ duct purchase (I altered their design somewhat).

[Mark Levitski]

Nordfab also. Like it a lot, for many of the same reasons as Greg has. Also advise going thru Oneida. Keep in mind that resale value would be a big factor in any decision--I could not find anything used in Nordfab and spent way more for the ductwork than the huge DC I got.