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Thread: brand/style of air quick connects

  1. #1
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    Feb 2005
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    brand/style of air quick connects

    We're getting ready to pipe the air around the new shop and need to buy the quick disconnects. Anyone have a good brand or style that they really like?

  2. #2
    I like the universal style of couplers since they can be connected one-handed. I've had good luck with both the Harbor Freight connectors and the Kobalt brand at Lowes, but the locking ball bearings do tend to rust if exposed to the elements - I've had a few on my Jeep, and they all eventually (2 years or so) corroded beyond use. Luckily they are cheap and easy to replace.
    ~Garth

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Biddle View Post
    We're getting ready to pipe the air around the new shop and need to buy the quick disconnects. Anyone have a good brand or style that they really like?
    James, I use three types in my shop, and one is king for wall mounted air outlets: the push-to-connect style of 1/4" couplers. These look much like the standard universal couplers normally used except you don't have to pull back the sleeve while inserting the male end on the hose so they connect easily with one hand - just push. They do cost a tiny bit more than the standard couplers but the difference is negligible. You can tell the difference by the gap just in front of the sleeve as shown in the picture. (The standard couplers don't have this gap.)

    air_line_coupler.jpg

    BTW, I use only brass. I try to buy Milton brand but I also found these at Home Depot and I don't remember the brand.

    The other kind of coupler I really like for air lines (but I don't use for the wall outlets) are the Milton push button release couplers. After I tried one I put them on the end of all my air lines.

    air_line_coupler_pushbutton.jpg

    Be advised that I have found some poorly made cheap male couplers that don't work with these due to precision issues. I just threw them away.

    JKJ

  4. #4
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    I have used Milton M style connectors exclusively for over 20 years.

  5. #5
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    I converted everything to Milton V style high volume connectors a while ago. For things like framing nailers or especially impact wrenches the larger bore makes a big difference. They also have the one hand connect feature.

    A side bonus....since replacing the female connectors on my compressor with the above, it no longer leaks down in a day or two like it did before. I had periods where I haven't used the compressor in a couple of weeks and it will still be at full pressure, even though the powers been off the whole time. Before I changed the couplers it would leak down in a day or so max.

  6. #6
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    I tossed all my borg quick connects and bought a couple sets of these: ColorConnex Coupler & Plug Kit

    No doubt there's better available. These are reasonably cheap and don't leak.
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  7. #7
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    I am still in process of building a new shop and have researched different brands of couplers. I have had Milton ones in my present shop and have been disappointed in them for a long time. They all seem to end up leaking. Since I was starting with a new system from scratch I was determined to use something better. I just received shipment of two types: Prevost and a few Oetikers. It was very confusing deciphering all the the different models of the Prevost but I finally figured it out I think. I have both 1/4" and 3/8" I will use the 3/8" for air hogs like sanders and blast cabinet. They can deliver over 80 CFM
    I settled on the ISC 061 (1/4') and ISC 081 (3/8") These are the ones with black body and blue button

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNMgXhssW3M

    https://mdmetric.com/prod/atp/D3Prevostcoupler.pdf

    The Oetikers are quite different. The male plug is inserted at a right angle and then rotated down straight to lock in. I went with the Industrial Interchange plug which the most common type and what I already have on my tools.

  8. #8
    I use Tru-flate style & Parker brand connectors.

  9. #9
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    I am a fan o Milton V hi flow quick attach and prevost.
    Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.

  10. #10
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    Thanks for all the replies. I ordered a Milton M-Style, a Milton-V-style, and and a Milton M-style with push button to test out. I'd like to try out the Prevost as well, but I'm having a hard time finding them for under $25 each. I'd use them if they're that much better than the Milton, but at $20 more per coupler, it gets expensive (I need about 20-25 for the new shop). Anyone have a good source for them?

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Page View Post
    I tossed all my borg quick connects and bought a couple sets of these: ColorConnex Coupler & Plug Kit

    No doubt there's better available. These are reasonably cheap and don't leak.
    I bought this same package 5 years ago for use around the home. They've worked ok but I've noticed a couple of them starting to leak.

    Mine are still holding tight. As I said above there's better available but these are much better than the borg variety, IMO.
    Last edited by Bruce Page; 01-15-2017 at 1:39 PM.

  12. #12
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    James, the Prevost are somewhat hard to find. I ordered piecemeal from a few different sellers. MSC has them but I found better pricing by searching online. Decide what model number you want and enter only that model number in the search. I found some here and there on Ebay for instance.

  13. #13
    Buy Miltons....

  14. #14
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    As can update, I received the 3 different couplings and here's my initial thoughts before testing them with air.

    Milton M style ($5.99)...these are the standard fittings most people use. They have a 3-ball release in them that I think might lead to more leaks over time as there is more side to side play allowed. These also took the most effort to connect/release. The Legacy color-connect that I have (recommended above) is the same style as this coupling except it has a 4-ball release and is/steel/aluminum instead of brass.

    Milton V-style ($7.99)...these are the hi-flow, push to connect fittings. It uses a ring-type release on it. I can't tell whether this is better or worse in the long term. The push-to-connect feature works nice. You can see that it will allow for more air flow, but it's hard to tell how important this is for woodworking (do our tools require it or is there another point of restriction making the feature moot).

    Milton M-style with release button ($10.99)... this has a 4-ball release instead of the 3. More seems better, but I wonder how that translates into real world usage. I can see the push once to release the air, a second time to release the tool to be beneficial when releasing a hose and there is quite a bit of air behind it. But I wonder how much of a benefit it would be when releasing a tool that has virtually no air behind it. So I could see the potential benefit on a wall coupling, but not as much at the end of a hose. This is also made of steel and some type of composite cover instead of brass. Will the composite last or wear leaving a rough edge?

    We're putting a brass Wye at the end of our wall drops that allows for up to 3 devices to be connected. Given the higher cost of the M-style with release, I wonder if using a combination of composite and standard M-style on the Wye's and a push-to-connect at the hose end wouldn't be a viable option. We have certain stationary tools that require air (slider, line boring, CNC, wide belt, etc.)...using the standard M-style for these is probably a cost wash versus a shut-off valve with a direct pipe/hose setup. What have you done in your shops?

    Next step is to get air on them and perform a better evaluation.

  15. #15
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    I buy kits of the s217 milton v plug and coupler kit from amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Milton-S-217-...words=Milton+v

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