Electric & Air

larry merlau

Member
Messages
18,741
Location
Delton, Michigan
ok if this is in the wrong place move it folks.. but here goes the question. i have seen several shop tours here and have treid to ferret out the locations of your power and air connections. so what are your recommendations,,hang from the ceilng power and air drops or at the bench or where are the best locations in your shop. thansk folks inguiring minds would like ot know.. in my little dungeon i had power strips at the bench and on a DC pipe for group hook ups but found that i needed crds the were longer on 30% of my applications so in the next remodel i am going t change them the air was on 2 coil hose's which worked ok but the one wasnt in the right place.
 
It doesn't matter how many outlets you have there will always be a need somewhere you don't have one. What I did.... am still doing, is to install outlets every ten feet or so. Since I have a large shop I added outlets on the columns in the center too. I still use the extension cords sometimes.

Best advice is figure out where you work, what you need and then install what you need there. Sounds easy doesn't it? :D

I am getting ready to order a hose reel because I am sick and tired of tripping over the hose all the time. I know where I use mine and I am going to mount it in the center of the shop. It will reach everywhere I typically use it. I can plug in a second hose to go outside when I need.

Not sure if that helps you out or not.
 
Morning Larry,

I have a power drop over one end of my workbench and I use it constantly. It is probably the most used outlet in my shop. It's nice to have power at the bench that keeps cords off the floor where an old clumsy guy like me could trip over them.

My compressor is located in a cabinet under my chop saw only a few feet from my bench. I have a quick connect on the outside of the cabinet and I can reach most all of my workbench with a simple coiled hose. However, I have been wanting to plumb a retractable reel drop over the bench for some time - I just can't get over the high price of these reels. I have been looking at one for under $50 at the orange box for a while. It's tempting.
 
Good ergonomics question. I'm one of those cords-from-the-ceiling types, as I hate tripping on them along the floor. But even that depends on what you're going to have moving around that may interfere with the hanging cords and hoses. Say for example you handle a lot of sheet goods. It might be a good idea to have those cords routed such that they don't get in the way. Think about the path of people and objects that will be moving through those spaces in your shop. Maybe terminate the ends of the electrical cords with twist-lock connectors, situated high enough that they don't bonk you in the head. You can disconnect what you're not using at the time and not worry about them. Ditto for air hoses - quick disconnects suspended just above the top of your head where you can still reach them. Or get one of those retractable hose reels.

Cheers,

Kevin
 
Larry, I don't have a compressor (yet?) so my answer applies only to electric. And my answer there is that I have lots of ceiling drops and lots of wall outlets in my shop and I use both. Probably the ceiling drops get used more -they are really handy.
 
For me, I have an 110V electrical outlet every 4 ft on the wall. 220V seems I never have in the right place. Speaking of which, I have around 50 110V receptacles in my shop (including the ones for the lights). Sheetrock guy had a fit as I SUCK at fitting sheetrock. For tools in the middle, I have fed them all from the ceiling adjoining dust collection fittings. Cords on the floor are a PITA to me. I do have several of the retractable cord reels in my shop as they are quite convenient.

Air, I have one outlet with a 50' hose reel. I want a second, but have not been willing to part with the $200 for the reel, pipe, and fittings I will need.

If it isn't apparent, I am a strong believer in ceiling mounted cord/hose reels. Convenient, and easy to get out of the way when not needed.
 
Larry,

If you decide to do any traditional copper tube air plumbing, remember that anywhere you run a vertical length you should extend a couple of inches of water trap and drain at the bottom below the last outlet. Then, having done that, try to remember to drain them periodically :).

cheers eh?
 
Larry,

If you decide to do any traditional copper tube air plumbing, remember that anywhere you run a vertical length you should extend a couple of inches of water trap and drain at the bottom below the last outlet. Then, having done that, try to remember to drain them periodically :).

cheers eh?

well john these days copper is gold, so was going to run 200psi plastic had some up in the old shop and did have run offs planned, with shutoffs after the outlets to collect and drain off moisture. my brother put in a sytem last year and so i had a good example to follow. thanks for the suggestion:wave:
 
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