AB hose - Brand/Quality... ?

i haven't had experience with the others,but i do have several Badger hoses and never a problem,very well constructed and flexible,,,my main hose is about 16 years old and i see no need to order a replacement

to be honest I own both Badger and Iwata hoses and don't note a visible difference in them beyond color... someone else might be able to offer you more but to me they appear the same...

I paid less than dixieart for the Iwata by using a 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon.  (they sell Iwata now too) if you have one in the area they have a 40% off coupon on their website this week good till Sat..   the only Paasche hose I saw there was the plastic kind (I think)

I got a Badger hose with the T&C I bought recently. I found it to be less flexible than the Paasche hose I already had, and which has served very well for over twenty years. I do not know if current issue Paasche hoses are as good as the one I have

Thanks for the input guys.

I had a few bad experiences with an airhose for my large compressor. Not that I bought a "cheap" hose, but a different brand from a department store instead of the more expensive from the part store. Needless to say it was a waist of money because it didn't last long.

No Hobby Lobby anywhere near me.
I have a couple of things to order from Dixie Art so the hose will help make my free shipping. 

Call me weird but personally I prefer the cheap vinyl hoses over the braided kind.  I have a couple of the braided hoses and never use them.  I use one of the old vinyl hoses I've had for about 12 years simply because it is so much more flexible and the smaller diameter gets in the way less.

Thanks Scott, make's sense and I didn't realize they would last that long.

I wonder now... will a quick disconnect fit on one?

Jim, they do last quite well, however I admit I have a minor leak around one of the hose fittings.  I guess that's to be expected after this many years though.  It isn't bad and I usually just unplug the airbrush when I'm not using it.  Even if I forget it isn't a big deal since I have a 15 gallon tank on my compressor ;)

I wonder now... will a quick disconnect fit on one?

Probably not, but I don't know for sure.  All I use is standard 1/4" NPT quick disconnect fittings.  The vinyl hoses have little bitty threads.  Both ends are the same size as those of the air valve on the airbrush.  The 50-023 adapter (About halfway down This Page) is necessary to get it to fit a 1/4" NPT fitting.

I had a braided hose and found it very heavy.

Thanks again Scott and thank you too Bill.

I was thinking of running the vinyl hose (came with compressor) up to an AB/regulator holder and then a 6' or 8' braided hose (thought it would handle the abuse better) with a quick disconnect. That way I could switch between AB brands easily. I'm trying to have it setup so I can have my paint booth on one side of the workbench and my wife can spray her stuff on the other side (not at the same time though LOL).

Maybe I should just concider a manifold and have short vinyl hoses running to each AB... humm? But then I'll be getting a few more AB's and also want to be able to work at the hobby bench or out in the garage on larger projects.

Still contemplating this hook-up for ease of use and mobility. 

Bgrigg wrote:

I had a braided hose and found it very heavy.

bilbirk wrote:

Bgrigg wrote: I had a braided hose and found it very heavy.

Thanks 

Sorry to bring this thread up again but I need some guidance.
Maybe I'm blind besides nuts, but I'm having troubles finding quick disconnects.

I'm trying to go with your guys recommendation of using the regular vinyl hose. I've found QD that fit the braided hose (have to cut the hose) but not having much luck finding one that will screw onto the end of the hose. Well, except for one on eBay but I'm not an eBay type of shopper (never bought anything from there) and the item ships from Taiwan. 

There must be some reputable online shop that carries such an item... I would think?
Or should I chance buying from Evil Bay? GULP!!!



Click Here to see it at eBay.

I think if you really need the quick connects you may have to stick the the braided hoses, unless you were going to put an adater to the larger hose connection on each vinyl hose. That's starting to sound pretty clunky!

I believe the female quick disconnect above should screw right onto the end of the air hose? Then all I would need is the male quick disconnect to attach to my Iwata and another for my Badger (Thayer & Chandler/Vega)? I don't think having that small of a quick disconnect between the AB & vinyl hose would be that cumbersome? At least I'm used to that with all my larger automotive air tools.

I did think about making a manifold instead. But then I'd eventually end up with a twisted octopus at the work area. Remember, my wife and kids will have access to this too for awhile. 

jhande wrote:

Is there a difference in quality between the brands of air hoses? Or is it just a price difference because of the names? From Dixie Art: Paasche 10' $ 9.50 Badger   10' $13.95 Iwata       10' $18.95

I can't speak about Iwata, but the Badger braided hoses seem a little thicker and perhaps more heavy duty than Paasche ones.  This is not necessarily a point against the Paasche hose because its somewhat greater flexiblity may be more to your liking.  I use my 10' Badger hose for both my Badger and Paasche air brushes not particularly due to liking Badge hose better han Passche hose, but only because the Badger hose has in in-line moisture trap and I like the 10' length vs my Paasche's 6'.

The vinyl hose I have uses a 3/8" NPT to 1/4" brass adapter that you would need to attach to each hose. I don't know if you can buy quick connects that have the "male" threads that those brass adapters require. To me this is adding yet another area to develop leaks and potential problems. Badger doesn't seem to offer the vinyl hose with a quick connect, and I'm thinking that must be for a reason. One reason I found the braided hose heavy for my use was that I was loathe to cut it shorter, it would spill out of the booth onto the floor and I would be "lifting" four feet of hose when I was using the AB. The vinyl hose is connected to my regulator inside the booth and is only four feet long, and since it is smaller and doesn't fall out of the booth, I'm only carrying at most a couple feet worth and it's far lighter. You might consider cutting the hose shorter if that is suitable. A shorter hose is a lighter hose.

I hear what your saying about being used to it with your automotive air tools, but you probably don't use an impact driver with the same finesse as an AB!

The manifold might be an idea for a single user, but I agree, multiple users would mean multiple problems!

jhande wrote:

Sorry to bring this thread up again but I need some guidance. Maybe I'm blind besides nuts, but I'm having troubles finding quick disconnects. I'm trying to go with your guys recommendation of using the regular vinyl hose. I've found QD that fit the braided hose (have to cut the hose) but not having much luck finding one that will screw onto the end of the hose. Well, except for one on eBay but I'm not an eBay type of shopper (never bought anything from there) and the item ships from Taiwan.  There must be some reputable online shop that carries such an item... I would think? Or should I chance buying from Evil Bay? GULP!!! Click Here to see it at eBay.

Jim.. Try this link on ebay... seller is located in U.S. If you're looking for a QD to fit between the AB end of an Iwata hose and the AB, this is what you need. I got the same thing last week at Hobby Lobby, but I think you said there wasn't a Hobby Lobby near you.

If the link doesn't work, go to eBay and search iwata quick disconnect

HTH
Jack