Was looking thru the Northern tool catalog & saw they had high flow 1/4" & 3/8" npt fittings as well as the quick connects. Would these make a noticeable difference with using air tools, sprayers, ect? All the tools I have now have 1/4" inputs, can these be changed to 3/8" or is the high flow the only way to go? I am currently using 3/8" hose so would the 3/8" fittings even be an option without going to 1/2" hose?
Thanks,
Steve
High flow always helps....especially on race cars so why wouldn't they help on anything else? Is it worth the cost? 1/4 is kinda small so 3/8 would be better but you really don't need high flow 3/8ths fittings imo.
If you do any painting it make a huge difference in a HVLP paint gun and usually a noticeable difference in impact wrenches of 1/2" or larger, most any air tool will benefit from these and they are a good investment.
As part of my first air compressor purchase this year I bought 65 feet of 1/2 inch hose (for "maximum" air flow), and quickly decided I HATED it. It was the black rubber hose from Northern tool, and was big, bulky, and inflexible. I compromised and just bought a 50ft reel of 3/8" hose from harbor freight with 3/8" fittings. I put a 3/8" adaptor on my air tools (so far just an air impact, and an an air ratchet - but ultimately my HVLP guns too which I haven't used yet). It can be hard to find 3/8 inch hose with 3/8 fittings. Most have 1/4" fittings - no doubt because most tools are 1/4 inch. I didn't buy any "special" hi-flo fittings - just standard 3/8.
Hi flo valves are straight through with no restrictions, if you hold one up and look through it you can tell the difference between from one that isn't.
And like the other guys said, a restriction is a restriction.
The 1/4 fittings on 3/8 air hoses are "pipe fittings". I have found a difference in the ID of the fittings from one hose mfg to another though, so that is somthing to watch for.
Plan on ordering some of these next week along with the quick connects to make sure they will work, not sure if they are enough different that they would not work with the ones for standard fittings. I want to gain every bit of performance from whatever I can, looks like these will be affordable as well
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