# Best type of air hose coupler??



## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

Just put some new couplers in on the shop air hoses a few months ago, and dang if the dagnabbit things ain't leaking AGAIN...

I noticed here while back when I was in Big R in Indiana that they sell about fifteen different "styles" of couplers... usually designated by letter...

My question is, WHICH ONE is the most leak/trouble free?? I just get sick and tired of every friggin' time I set the impact down while doing a job, I have to listen to a constant "SSSSS!!!!" from the air hose nonstop!

"We can put a man on the Moon, but we can't make a friggin' air hose coupler that doesn't leak like a sieve as soon as the new is worn off it??" Geez... (well, actually we CAN'T put a man on the Moon anymore, so maybe we can't make a decent air coupler anymore either...)

I've used the "industrial" type (with the short sleeve below the ball lock groove). Just wondering if yall prefer something different and have better luck or not...

What I don't understand is, I've had hydraulic hose couplers drag the pavement and get a chunk ground off the side of them, all scratched or rusted to h3ll, dirtier than sh!t (I wipe them off first, but you know what I mean), look in the female end and it's full of dirt or soybean fuzz or grass debris or whatever, blow it out a little and couple the thing up, and run a couple THOUSAND psi of oil pressure through it, AND NOT HAVE THE FRIGGIN' THING LEAK!

Yet plug in an impact wrench or heck even the tire filler to the end of the flippin hose with a lousy 150 PSI of air pressure in the line, and the thing sits and hisses like a cobra all day...

I've only had to change the "O-rings" in the tractor's couplers ONE TIME due to excess leakage, and that was after 10 years of hard use with dirt and crud getting up in there and plugging in rust-scaled, worn, dirty, or even road-dragged damaged couplers... and all I had to do was fish out four "Several dollars a piece" silicone O-rings with a pick and shove new ones up in there til they dropped in the groove...

SO WHY CAN'T THEY MAKE A FRIGGIN AIR HOSE COUPLING THAT WORKS HALF AS WELL?? I'd switch to glad-hands like on a semi or the half-turn twist lock "straight through" industrial kind in a second if I could find them small enough, and with a valve of some sort on the hose end...

Later! OL J R


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

This is the kind I use. They are bigger diameter and allow for more cfm. They seem not to leak as bad as the standard...maybe, in part, because they are more of a cylindrical shape all the way to the end.









If "normal" amount of air is needed, go with the longer stub on the end. Works great for paint sprayers, etc that are constantly on the move and twisting against the hose.









VS









73, Mark


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

> What I don't understand is, I've had hydraulic hose couplers drag the pavement and get a chunk ground off the side of them, all scratched or rusted to h3ll, dirtier than sh!t (I wipe them off first, but you know what I mean), look in the female end and it's full of dirt or soybean fuzz or grass debris or whatever, blow it out a little and couple the thing up, and run a couple THOUSAND psi of oil pressure through it, AND NOT HAVE THE FRIGGIN' THING LEAK!


I read that part & "click", a light went on. If it bugs ya real bad, replace the air chucks with hydraulic ends. Would that work, other than being a little 'pricey"?


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Do not buy Northern Tool or the like. Sure they look snazzy in an array of colors. Make sure all males and chucks are from same manufacturer. I like Campbell Hausfeld. Larger nipples seem to work better. Pipe threads are best but if your tool requires a MB, make sure you lube the oring with tranny fluid (minimizes tears).


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Like Glass i use the G style couplers. My wife finds them hard to put together though. If you go with this style try and find the Bostitch brand female ends. They have an aggressive dimple making it easier to pull back the sliding band.


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## Idaho Jade (Aug 3, 2011)

Make sure you are getting steel as well. They will take the abuse of dropping on the shop floor a whole lot better than brass. All to often when a brass end was around, it'd get dropped on the floor when letting the hose down and the lock collar gets dented then won't fully seat. Maybe you all are already using steel, but there's my 2 cents.


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## Farmerbrown2 (Sep 25, 2018)

We always use Milton couplers got some prouably 30 years old.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

glasswrongsize said:


> This is the kind I use. They are bigger diameter and allow for more cfm. They seem not to leak as bad as the standard...maybe, in part, because they are more of a cylindrical shape all the way to the end.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That top one is known as Automotive type, that's what I prefer. The bottom is known as Industrial, never really cared for them although if you buy a new tool that's what they'll come with. First we do is change them out. The Industrial seems to be the most popular, not sure why, seen a lot people cursing at them.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

farmerbrown said:


> We always use Milton couplers got some prouably 30 years old.


I switched my ends over to Milton when I purchased a Milton filler last year. Money well spent. No more leaks as of yet.

What kind are you currently using JR?


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

deadmoose said:


> I switched my ends over to Milton when I purchased a Milton filler last year. Money well spent. No more leaks as of yet.
> 
> What kind are you currently using JR?


Last batch I got at TSC... maybe that's my problem... LOL

I've never had particularly good luck with any of them though, higher cost or not...

It's just one of those things that irritate the fool out of a guy, that's all...

I just noticed that there were about fifteen different types and kinds and sizes at Big R sold by Milton... Having had crummy luck with the last few batches I've bought (think some were Horror Freight-- yeah, I know... first mistake) thought that maybe SOMEBODY made a better one...

First thing I looked at before bringing it up here was looking online to see what other people, shops, etc. suggested. Evidently the consensus is that really no one particular type is any "better" on that score than any other type... and of course the recommendation is to buy Milton, Snap-On, or other "high dollar" brands because they have better quality components and machine work. I can understand that... Some people have said that even with "new" couplers, even from good name brand manufacturers, that sometimes they have inordinately short life spans before leaking. As with most things, it seems even the "best quality" ones were made much better IN THE PAST the the current cheap throw-away culture that seems to pervade virtually everything manufactured in this day and time...

I never bothered taking one of them apart... I saw a video on YouTube where a guy took one apart. All this time, I thought that they had an "O" ring that sealed the end of the fitting... that when the male part was locked into the female coupler, that it slid up inside an O-ring that sealed it radially around the outside of the short straight section that extends past the raised "lock ring" that the lock balls bear against. I was surprised to see in the video that they actually use a flat rubber washer of sorts that the end of the fitting presses up against to make the seal... and that over time this washer ends up getting a little concave with wear and thus doesn't make a good seal, causing leaks... In the video they disassembled the female connector, reversed the washer, reinserted the check valve and spring, and in most cases renewed the seal like a new one (at least until the washer wears on that new side too). I also was never aware that one should actually lubricate the friggin' male coupler end before connecting the tool... the only lubrication I've ever put on them is when I periodically dribble some air tool oil down inside the male connector before coupling the hose on, in order to lube the tool when I pull the trigger... Usually enough oil dribbles around the end and side of the male connector to lube everything up... The video also states the importance of the end of the male fitting being absolutely smooth and even, without being scratched or otherwise dented or damaged in any way, since it relies on the smooth round flat surface to create the seal.

I just find it amusing that hydraulic couplers are SO well made that even when damaged (unless TOO damaged-- I've had some drag the pavement to the point that it cut back to the raised lock ring and simply won't seal... but except in these extreme cases, usually even if they're rusted, scuffed, covered with sh!t, or even if the coupler has extraneous sh!t in it, they'll usually couple and seal smoothly without leaking, even at a couple thousand PSI...

Not the worst idea I've ever heard, using hydraulic couplers... awfully bulky and definitely more expensive... It's just a shame that NONE of the air coupler connector manufacturers make an air connector based on the design of a hydraulic coupler... There's no need for the ball or poppet end on the male connector (to retain fluid in the hose and keep out dirt) so they could use a poppet valve in the female coupler similar/identical to that currently used in air couplers, but with a better external O-ring seal slipping OVER the outside of the male connector when inserted, like a hydraulic coupler. Just seems to me that from what I've read, NONE of all the different types of couplers offered by the manufacturers are substantially any better than any of the others, in that they ALL will eventually leak like a sieve when they get some age and wear on them... (quality dependent and use dependent). I guess if one WAS substantially better than another, it would have edged out the others long ago-- once it got a reputation of being the BEST, most everybody would have eventually made the switch and the others would be considered cheap leaky junk and become rare... but no such consensus exists...

Anyway, thanks for the ideas... Guess I'll have to part with some greenbacks for some higher quality Milton hardware and see how that works...

Later! OL J R


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

I refrained from a tsc commenting earlier post.

If they sell it @ tsc, it is generally cheap in both price and quality (they go hand in hand).

I bought Milton because mechanic shop had the tire fillers with guages. I think amazon got me wit "people who buy...". Glad they did. I always hated the leaky sound.


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## Ray 54 (Aug 2, 2014)

I have good service from Amflo brand females couplings. Used the automotive style as that's what my uncle used and he wanted to us the electric air compressor here rather than fire up his gas engine one when working on my dads stuff.

Now that he and dad are gone,I work mostly with a friend that has all industrial type.The local bearing supply house started pushing a Tomco seriesU2 universal female coupling that has a air shut off built in,works very well.Have had some more than 10 years and only one that got a lot of mud inside has given any trouble. They are a little more money but very handy to have. Just looked and found them on Amazon for less than $20 ,may order some more.

Where I get the most leaks is the crimp that hold the fitting in the hose.End up putting the screw type clamps on then you have the big bump where the screw is. Maybe to much air hose but need to get to the shade in summer or you cannot touch the tools without burning your self,and the compressor doesn't move.


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