I Know I'm Over Thinking This About Air Hose Connectors

[onocoffee]

So, I've got my PC1010. I got the Flexzilla hose. And now, for some reason, I'm fretting about air hose connectors. You know the quick release connectors for the brad nailer. Those. And I don't know why. In years past, I bought whatever brass ones they had at Sears and I liked the ones that closed and held the air in the line.

But now with Home Depot, Harbor Freight and other places, I'm not sure which is "the best" and I know that I probably shouldn't even be thinking this much abou it.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nitto's not pretty much the standard?

 

[onocoffee]

Nitto's not pretty much the standard?

That's what I mean - I don't know. I've been in old Craftsman and cheap Harbor Freight for the entire time! I will look Nitto up.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Pretty much all air gear sold here in Oz is with the Nitto fittings. Much better than the old style brass ones.

 

[tjbnwi]

Milton 727 plug and coupler are probably the most common style in the US (M style). Most others are knock offs of this system.

1/4" NPT M-STYLE® Coupler and Plug Kit (7-Piece)

1/4" NPT M-Style Coupler and Plug Kit, (7-Piece) Milton (S-212) M-Style Coupler and Plug Kit, (7-Piece) This pneumatic 7-pc. Milton (S-212) M-Style KWIK-CHANGE® coupler/plug air accessory kit includes a variety of couplers and plugs air fittings with

miltonindustries.com

Tom

 

[peter halle]

If you have already have the Flexzilla hose and enjoy the color green, you can change over to the Flexzilla High Flow Fittings:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CK42B32?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1

Peter

 

[Mini Me]

Pretty much all air gear sold here in Oz is with the Nitto fittings. Much better than the old style brass ones.

Be careful with Nitto fittings, I have seen them disconnect when dragged over the floor, the coupling hitting a floor edge where it changed height and the collar sliding back and disconnecting leaving a manic hose going mad all over the workshop after it dinged a Mercedes side door. They can be had with release buttons but most don't use them for some reason.

 

[Cheese]

A long time ago I standardized on the Milton "P Style" fittings because of the high flow volume. At the time they were the highest flowing fitting and the size was still manageable. However, if I were to make the decision now, I'd gravitate towards the newer Milton "V Style" which is a hi-flow connector and physically a little bit smaller than the P version. The V Style is also the fitting used on the Festool VAC SYS and is a European interchange.
Milton also recently released the universal 5 in One coupler that mates with all M-A-T-V-L style plugs.

 

[Cheese]

Here's that Milton 5 in One coupler I mentioned earlier...a single coupler costs $25-$30 but if you purchase a 5-pack from Amazon they come to just over $9 each. The coupler also incorporates some type of blow-back preventer.

 

[leakyroof]

Here's that Milton 5 in One coupler I mentioned earlier...a single coupler costs $25-$30 but if you purchase a 5-pack from Amazon they come to just over $9 each. The coupler also incorporates some type of blow-back preventer.

The Coupler probably has a venting release like some of the Couplers that I bought years ago from Wurth. As you're disconnecting the hose, or tool, the coupler vents some pressure so you don't have a huge sound like normal, or a moving hose on you.
At work, I use the plastic bodied Quick Couplers with the side release button as mentioned above. Rarely have a false release when dragging them over the floor, unlike normal couplers getting their release rings hung on 'just' the right thing to disengage them....
Milton Style Industrial, but forget who the Coupler is made by.
Lincoln style fittings and couplers were the preferred style when I was young, as its long body was actually kind of graceful in engaging each part, if you get my meaning. But, they are longer, so they take up more space on a tool, and could get damaged if you dropped the tool since there was so much more fitting sticking out due to Lincoln style. You rarely see them in shops anymore, bygone era I guess, but the old timers when I started swore by them back then.
Milton took over the Industry as the Gold standard at some point unless you needed higher volume or air flow, then Aro or Aroflow kind of held that niche.
Now it's another Generation as Cheese noted, all things to all users.....

 

[Mini Me]

Here's that Milton 5 in One coupler I mentioned earlier...a single coupler costs $25-$30 but if you purchase a 5-pack from Amazon they come to just over $9 each. The coupler also incorporates some type of blow-back preventer.

1/4" hoses don't flow enough air to run any tool except an air nailer or similar so keep that in mind though cordless tools have largely changed the need for pneumatic tools these days.

 

[smorgasbord]

The Milton V-stye connectors are both compatible with the standard connectors, but if you have them on both male and female they're high flow. And you don't need to retract the collar to assemble, just to disassemble.

Milton S-217 1/4" NPT V Style Coupler and Plug Kit​

It was like $16 for the kit (2 female, 4 male) a couple years ago, but not available on Amazon anymore.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The Milton "M" style is by far the most common around here. Every place I have ever worked, including my home, have used that style. As mini me said, they are the restriction of the system. I have seen people use bigger hoses, but the fittings still hold them back.
Way back, in my mechanic days, they used the G type, with the shorter tip. That was the only way to get 3/4" or 1" drive impact wrenches to function properly. We still used the M style for smaller tools though, air-ratchets, etc.
Most homeowner/diy compressors don't flow enough CFM to make it worth changing.

 

[leakyroof]

The Milton "M" style is by far the most common around here. Every place I have ever worked, including my home, have used that style. As mini me said, they are the restriction of the system. I have seen people use bigger hoses, but the fittings still hold them back.
Way back, in my mechanic days, they used the G type, with the shorter tip. That was the only way to get 3/4" or 1" drive impact wrenches to function properly. We still used the M style for smaller tools though, air-ratchets, etc.
Most homeowner/diy compressors don't flow enough CFM to make it worth changing.

Exactly. If you had a higher CFM pneumatic tool, you were generally using a 1/2" ID hose to feed it, and nipples and couplers that matched, or didn't restrict, the hose's ability to flow more air for the tool. Versus starving the tool with a standard 3/8" ID hose.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I recently got an air kit from Stupid Simple Tools (really nice kit, some issues, not sure why it is no longer on their site or I'd link it...) I wanted to use type-V high-flow couplers everywhere since they get ~74 cfm vs ~40 cfm for type-M ("Industrial", the typical coupler here in 'murica).

I wanted to buy them from Milton directly to avoid Amazon counterfeits (which are hugely prevalent and dangerous in my other hobby: circus rigging). It. Has. Been. An. Uphill. Battle... to get any customer service on two orders that are now clocking in at 2 months old. Contact via email (three times!) for any order questions: no answer. Ok, use the site's web page for support: no answer. I call the support line. It is just an answering service that takes your issue so they can not deal with it and hide behind their red ribbons with white stars and occasional eagles to make you feel like you're supporting American industry. (Wait for it!) No answer. Just emailed that I'd do a Visa charge-back on both orders with all transactions documented. They hate this one trick that can get them pulled from Shop, their online cart service. (As an aside, Shop is a really nice cart integration and this from a former PayPal contractor... PayPal is just, well, can't explain here because it is completely stolen from xxx payment sites haha!)

So if you want the nice type-V, as you should, do yourself a favor: while looking for an adaptor at Harbor Freight, I noticed that they have complete Milton ColorFix clones under the brand Merlin. They. Are. Identical. Buy those. I'm getting those and absolutely will roast Milton when I restart the channel. I get it some people will think Milton has the IP for type-V so we should support them not the clone, but type-V are "euro-style high-flow" meaning this is a clone of what Europe has been using anyway.

 

[onocoffee]

(which are hugely prevalent and dangerous in my other hobby: circus rigging).

Okay Paul, you cannot just drop a bomb like this and NOT elaborate!

I'm envisioning you hanging from the top of a big tent rigging trapezes.

 

[todd_fuller]

This is a Festool forum and no one has recommended Prevost couplers?!
They have a push-button release so the air hose doesn’t whip around. Mine work with Milton M and V plugs, no problem.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I recently got an air kit from Stupid Simple Tools (really nice kit, some issues, not sure why it is no longer on their site or I'd link it...) I wanted to use type-V high-flow couplers everywhere since they get ~74 cfm vs ~40 cfm for type-M ("Industrial", the typical coupler here in 'murica).

I wanted to buy them from Milton directly to avoid Amazon counterfeits (which are hugely prevalent and dangerous in my other hobby: circus rigging). It. Has. Been. An. Uphill. Battle... to get any customer service on two orders that are now clocking in at 2 months old. Contact via email (three times!) for any order questions: no answer. Ok, use the site's web page for support: no answer. I call the support line. It is just an answering service that takes your issue so they can not deal with it and hide behind their red ribbons with white stars and occasional eagles to make you feel like you're supporting American industry. (Wait for it!) No answer. Just emailed that I'd do a Visa charge-back on both orders with all transactions documented. They hate this one trick that can get them pulled from Shop, their online cart service. (As an aside, Shop is a really nice cart integration and this from a former PayPal contractor... PayPal is just, well, can't explain here because it is completely stolen from xxx payment sites haha!)

So if you want the nice type-V, as you should, do yourself a favor: while looking for an adaptor at Harbor Freight, I noticed that they have complete Milton ColorFix clones under the brand Merlin. They. Are. Identical. Buy those. I'm getting those and absolutely will roast Milton when I restart the channel. I get it some people will think Milton has the IP for type-V so we should support them not the clone, but type-V are "euro-style high-flow" meaning this is a clone of what Europe has been using anyway.

The Merlin kit is on sale via a coupon at HF this week.