Opinions on RapidAir Compressed Air Kit

[Wes Billups]

I'm a couple weeks away from insulating the walls in my shop and would like to hear opinions on this system. I'm thinking this would be pretty nice to bury in the walls. My compressor will be in a separate room so I do want something that will give me a compressed air outlet in the main portion of my shop.

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It's on sale for $90 from Rockler and includes free shipping.

Please give me your thoughts.

Thanks,
Wes

[Matt Meiser]

I like the idea, but no matter what you do, I wouldn't bury it in the wall. If you ever get a leak you'll have to cut into the wall to find and fix or just abandon the system completely.

[Eric Skell]

I agree. I have the rapid air system and it works great, would buy it again in a heartbeat. I just would hate to drywall over something that might be prone to leaking.

[Phil Maddox]

I wouldn't hesitate to put the tubing in the wall - you have pipes in the walls, wiring, possibly gas pipes - air is no different. Why would it leak? Obviously don't bury fittings in the wall, just tubing. If you want to feel better, test the tubing before you install it.

don't forget the nailing plates - like you would use at plumbing pipes - so you don't screw or nail into the tubing. It should also be installed in the center of the stud - again, like plumbing pipe.

Good luck!!

[Jeff Monson]

Wes, I have rapid air in my shop. I like it as its very easy to move and reconfigure. I would not hesitate to bury the blue line in the wall. I wouldnt bury any conntections, unless you are willing to tear it out in case of a leak. I consider this stuff like the "pex" of water lines. The line comes coiled up in a roll and its not very easy to get it to straighten out, that is my biggest pet pieve with the rapid air. I have mine surface mounted on the perimeter of my shop and it looks a little wavy.

[Matt Meiser]

Yeah I was thinking more about connections than runs of tubing. The advantage water pipes have in walls is that they tend to make the location of their leaks known.

[Phil Maddox]

Yeah I was thinking more about connections than runs of tubing. The advantage water pipes have in walls is that they tend to make the location of their leaks known.

I you had a leak - you could always run water through the pipe to find the leak.

[Matt Meiser]

I thought the same thing!

[Anthony Whitesell]

I know the thread is two years old. Any updated disenting opinions or is the Rapid Air system still a go?

Are you stuck with the fittings from Rapid Air or can you use other 'shark bite' fittings from Lowes/HD/plumbing supplier?

[Bob Vavricka]

I've had the rapid air in my shop for three years with no problems. All covered with OSB walls. No splices behind the walls, just at the outlets. I don't know about the Shark Bite connectors--are they that much cheaper than the Rapid Air connectors?

[Marty Tippin]

I've got the Rapid Air system and am generally happy with it. I do have a persistent minor leak that I haven't found yet - the joints are a little bit tricky to get just right.

If I were to do it again, I'd go with the larger 3/4" system for the main runs - I have about 40 ft of the smaller stuff running to a 50 ft hose reel and the pressure drops significantly by the time it gets to the connected device.

Definitely would not bury it in the walls. If you want bury something, use copper or black iron pipe.

[Mike Heidrick]

Reading reviews of this setup I would not put any Ts in the wall either. Sounds like folks have had leakage issues with this setup in reading reviews. How much to run copper?

[Ole Anderson]

Any issues with just running PEX with its crimp fittings? And if you do get a tiny leak, from any type of pipe, no damage from leaking air.

[Marty Tippin]

Any issues with just running PEX with its crimp fittings? And if you do get a tiny leak, from any type of pipe, no damage from leaking air.

I've wondered whether the Rapid Air tubing is *really* any different than plain old PEX. They sure look similar, but no idea if they're rated for anywhere near the same PSI.

[Steve Milito]

The Maxline product is aluminum core with high density polyethylene coating. It's a much better product than the simple flexible tubing that they also offer. I ran 3/4" maxline in my shop with 1/2" drops. Way easier than black pipe or copper.