Collection: Maxline Air Compressor Tubing

MaxLine, from RapidAir, is HDPE over an aluminum core, rated to 200 PSI at 73 degrees F and usable from about minus 40 to 140 degrees F. The aluminum layer is the whole point. The tubing takes a bend and holds it, so you route around a beam instead of building the corner out of four fittings.

It comes in 1/2, 3/4 and 1 inch, in 100 and 300 foot rolls. Long rolls mean fewer joints, and fewer joints mean fewer leaks, which is most of what you are actually buying. The compression fittings are reusable and go together with a wrench. No torch, no threading, no tool rental. One person can pipe a two bay garage in an afternoon.

Where MaxLine is the wrong choice

Keep it downstream of the aftercooler. Air leaving a compressor pump runs 180 degrees F and up, well past what the tubing is rated for, and that is the failure we see. Above 1 inch MaxLine runs out of sizes, so a plant main belongs in aluminum or steel pipe. And if anyone has suggested PVC as the cheap alternative, read why PVC and compressed air do not belong together before you buy a stick of it.

The sizing mistake

Half inch is a drop, not a main. Running 1/2 inch as the backbone of a shop costs you pressure at every tool, and the savings are gone inside a week. Size the main one step larger than feels necessary, then branch to each bench with tees and elbows. Our pipe sizing guide has the chart to work from.