How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank), it says
it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm thinking those are
continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but only for like 30 seconds?
Thanks!
Chris
p.s. More proof there are too many lawyers ... the owner's manual includes,
in the hazard section, a warning that if you put it on a
table/workbench/roof, it might fall off and hurt you. Duh!
You need a pretty good-size compressor for sprinklers. Yours couldn't put out
10CFM for more than a few seconds, and you need more than that to do a decent
job. The sprinkler guys I've seen use great big gas-powered compressors and let
them run for 15-20 minutes.
A shop-vac will provide the volume you need but not quite the pressure.
GTO(John)
>How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
>enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
>
>It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank), it says
>it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm thinking those are
>continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but only for like 30 seconds?
>
>Thanks!
>Chris
>
>p.s. More proof there are too many lawyers ... the owner's manual includes,
>in the hazard section, a warning that if you put it on a
>table/workbench/roof, it might fall off and hurt you. Duh!
In article <[email protected]>, Chris Shearer
Cooper <[email protected]> wrote:
> How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
> enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
I can blow mine out with my shop vacuum. I imagine your compressor can
do it. <s>
djb
--
There are no socks in my email address.
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati"
A properly installed sprinkler systems has drain valves to make sure
that there is no standing water in the pipes. However, many installers
save time and money by leaving these out. If water is left in the
system you may have a problem. In 30 years in Dallas I never had a
problem. In my other home with a 36" frost depth, it is another issue
altogether.
The issue with blowing out the system is that you need air volume more
than you need high pressure. I large diameter air hose and fittings
help. It's similar to the problems that you'd have trying to "pop" a
tubeless tire after installing it on the rim with a nail gun compressor.
RB
Thomas Kendrick wrote:
> BTW, what is the reason for blowing out a sprinkler system? In 13
> years in Texas, I have never done so. I have repaired it several times
> due to driving over a line or damage while planting a shrub.
> What would be the benefit of doing so?
> Leaving water in the lines is not usually a problem since my lot has
> significant slope and the excess drains out of the lowest head.
>
>
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:22:56 -0700, "Chris Shearer Cooper"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
>>enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
>
>
>
Thomas Kendrick wrote:
> BTW, what is the reason for blowing out a sprinkler system? In 13
> years in Texas, I have never done so. I have repaired it several times
> due to driving over a line or damage while planting a shrub.
> What would be the benefit of doing so?
> Leaving water in the lines is not usually a problem since my lot has
> significant slope and the excess drains out of the lowest head.
>
> On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:22:56 -0700, "Chris Shearer Cooper"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
> >enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
Where you live in Texas, how often does the frost line get as deep as your
sprinkler lines are buried?
Many of us live in areas where it gets very white for 3 - 4 (or more) months out
of the
year. Anything that can contain water without room to expand has to be either
buried
very deep, drained/blown out, heated, or filled with antifreeze. Not doing this
can provide
some very nasty surprises after the thaw.
ARM
43.94598 N / 69.45293 W
The harbor is frozen over but it's great in the winter.
RB
Alan McClure wrote:
>
> RB wrote:
> <snip>
>
>> In my other home with a 36" frost depth, it is another issue
>>altogether.
>
>
> <snip>
>
> Whoa!!!
> Just so I know where NOT to winter over, please tell where your
> other home is.
>
> ARM
>
"Chris Shearer Cooper" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is
> strong enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
>
> It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank),
> it says it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm
> thinking those are continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but
> only for like 30 seconds?
>
> Thanks!
> Chris
>
> p.s. More proof there are too many lawyers ... the owner's manual
> includes, in the hazard section, a warning that if you put it on a
> table/workbench/roof, it might fall off and hurt you. Duh!
>
>
It's not. There is a reason that the lawn service guys use those huge
compressors. The smaller ones will provide the pressure but not the
volume necesarry to clear the lines. What will happen if you use on of
these is that most of the water will clear, but you will still ahve water
pooled in the lowest parts of the lines. If your lines are deep enough
(they almost never are) to avoid freezing then it doesn't matter, but
otherwise you will find ruptured lines in the spring when you turn the
water back on.
In a previous life I did lawn sprinkler installations and every spring
we would do dozens of repair calls on systems where homeowners had
attempted this. You also have the problem of how to connect your hose to
the blowout. In any event, it is probably not worth the trouble or risk
to save the $40.00 or so that the sprinker guy charges.
For reference I have a 12 zone system that I blow out in the fall with my 10
CFM @ 90 PSI compressor. It is marginal to do the job. It takes me all day
because I allow the compressor to cool down between each zone. The
compressor is 5 HP and has a 33 gal tank but is not rated for continuous
duty. Boy does it get hot.
<Secret> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Chris Shearer Cooper" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> > How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is
> > strong enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
> >
> > It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank),
> > it says it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm
> > thinking those are continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but
> > only for like 30 seconds?
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Chris
> >
> > p.s. More proof there are too many lawyers ... the owner's manual
> > includes, in the hazard section, a warning that if you put it on a
> > table/workbench/roof, it might fall off and hurt you. Duh!
> >
> >
>
> It's not. There is a reason that the lawn service guys use those huge
> compressors. The smaller ones will provide the pressure but not the
> volume necesarry to clear the lines. What will happen if you use on of
> these is that most of the water will clear, but you will still ahve water
> pooled in the lowest parts of the lines. If your lines are deep enough
> (they almost never are) to avoid freezing then it doesn't matter, but
> otherwise you will find ruptured lines in the spring when you turn the
> water back on.
> In a previous life I did lawn sprinkler installations and every spring
> we would do dozens of repair calls on systems where homeowners had
> attempted this. You also have the problem of how to connect your hose to
> the blowout. In any event, it is probably not worth the trouble or risk
> to save the $40.00 or so that the sprinker guy charges.
In article <[email protected]>,
Chris Shearer Cooper <[email protected]> wrote:
>How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
>enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
>
>It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank), it says
>it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm thinking those are
>continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but only for like 30 seconds?
do the math:
6 gallons is somewhat less than 1 cu ft. Approximately 0.8 cu ft, in fact.
At +90 psi (6 atmospheres above ambient), there's just about 4.8 cu ft 'usable'
air in the tank.
In 30 seconds (1/2 min.), the compressor could contribute another 1.3 cu ft.
You're now up to 6.1 cu ft out of the 10 you claim you need.
Find a 15 gal tank that you can pressurize to 90psi and you've got the
30 seconds @ 10 cfm.
If I'm doing the math right, charging that 15 gal tank to 90 psi should take
only about 5 minutes.
Fire sprinkler or lawn sprinkler?
10 cfm times 0.5 minute = 5 cfm - it's quite underpowered.
Many pancakes are:
1 - oilless (will get quite warm when run continuous)
2 - intended for very intermittent loads (nailers/staplers) which do
not use much air
My 2HP 4 gallon unit gets very hot when I fill up several car tires in
succession.
Instead of having to buy a replacement compressor, go rent one of the
compressors used to drive a jackhammer (90 cfm) and be done with it.
That's what the electricians use to blow a fish tape down an
underground conduit. The wires are then pulled through with the fish
tape.
Better safe than sorry.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:22:56 -0700, "Chris Shearer Cooper"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
>enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
>
>It's just a little pancake compressor (Porter Cable, 6 gallon tank), it says
>it can do 3.7 cfm at 40 psi or 2.6 cfm at 90 psi, but I'm thinking those are
>continuous numbers? And I need like 10 cfm but only for like 30 seconds?
>
>Thanks!
>Chris
>
>p.s. More proof there are too many lawyers ... the owner's manual includes,
>in the hazard section, a warning that if you put it on a
>table/workbench/roof, it might fall off and hurt you. Duh!
>
BTW, what is the reason for blowing out a sprinkler system? In 13
years in Texas, I have never done so. I have repaired it several times
due to driving over a line or damage while planting a shrub.
What would be the benefit of doing so?
Leaving water in the lines is not usually a problem since my lot has
significant slope and the excess drains out of the lowest head.
On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 17:22:56 -0700, "Chris Shearer Cooper"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>How do I know if the compressor I bought to power my finish nailer is strong
>enough to blow out my brother's sprinkler system?
On 10/25/2017 3:16 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 10/25/2017 1:44 PM, Perry wrote:
>> replying to Thomas Kendrick, Perry wrote:
>> In Canada, when it freezes, the extra water in the lines would freeze,
>> expand
>> and break the pipes.
>>
>
> I think that happens in places other than Canada too. ;~)
Yeah, but when it happens in Canada somebody will always say, "So, you
didn't drain them lines, you hoser, eh?"
On Wed, 25 Oct 2017 17:10:04 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On 10/25/2017 3:16 PM, Leon wrote:
>> On 10/25/2017 1:44 PM, Perry wrote:
>>> replying to Thomas Kendrick, Perry wrote:
>>> In Canada, when it freezes, the extra water in the lines would freeze,
>>> expand
>>> and break the pipes.
>>>
>>
>> I think that happens in places other than Canada too. ;~)
>
>
>Yeah, but when it happens in Canada somebody will always say, "So, you
>didn't drain them lines, you hoser, eh?"
I forgot to put a hose away one year and left it attached to the
silcock. One morning getting ready for work I heard water running
and, yep, the hose AND silcock burst. Yeah, I pretty much thought the
same thing about myself. I'm just lucky I was at home when it went.
Perry <[email protected]> writes:
>replying to Thomas Kendrick, Perry wrote:
>In Canada, when it freezes, the extra water in the lines would freeze, expand
>and break the pipes.
Really? Who'd have thunk it.
All I know is that the people who serviced our sprinklers at the old
house had a BIG compressor It just fit in the bed of their pickup.
They kept air on the pipes until no more water sprayed out, which I
would assume would take more air than a pancake could generate.
So a pancake or shopvac might be able to push water out of the system,
but that doesn't mean it's getting all the water out, or even enough
to prevent ice damage if the remaining water collects in a low spot.