Air Fittings
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:44 pmI have two different air fitting style couplers in my shop.
When I plumbed in my air compressor, I used the Legacy Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs instead of the big old sticky couplers from my old air gun and carpenter days.
The Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs worked so well that when I decided to use a second style of couplers and plugs for the non-spray gun tools (DA, sander, grinders etc) that don’t get run through the desiccant filter that I would use the Legacy Colorconnex Blue connectors – kind of like having Garanimals (yeah, that’s how old I am, go Google Sears youngsters!) for my air tools.
So from the start the Legacy Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs have been great and the Legacy Colorconnex Blue connectors have been garbage and leak like crazy at the connection.
I pinged the “contact us” email at Legacy and told them of my problems that I am having, and they did respond quickly;
Thank you for contacting Legacy with this problem. We’re glad to hear the high flows are working well!
Unfortunately, we do not offer repair kits for our couplers. One thing that I can think of that may help remedy this problem, is lubrication to the O-Rings. I too have come across leaky coupler in the past and in some case have been able to resolve by applying lubrication to the O-Ring itself. I’m not going to say this will 100% work, however, have rejuvenated a number of coupler with this tactic. My process for this – Apply a light amount of lubrication to a Q-Tip and lather the O-Ring with that tip, then engage and disengage with a plug a few times to cycle and distribute lubrication.
One other thing to look over, is the condition of the plugs being used with those couplers. If the plug has significant wear, this could be contributing to the problem. The reason I mention this is due to the material of the plug and the tools being used. The color connex plugs are made up of aluminum and would be more susceptible to wear and tear. If you have wear on the plugs, it may be time to replace them.
The problem is that most of these connectors and plugs are less than a couple of years old and are only used by me on my little hobby weekend projects and should definitely NOT be worn out.
* So, if I am going to replace all of my non-Flexzilla couplers and plugs, any suggestions on what to use?
I am thinking of trying the Milton V style and the Prevost couplers.
The big old brass Miltons are what I used to use on our big air nailers running ½” and bigger hoses but their ColorFit series seems to be quite a bit cheaper and almost too cheap. I don’t want hissing air connections anymore…
When I plumbed in my air compressor, I used the Legacy Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs instead of the big old sticky couplers from my old air gun and carpenter days.
The Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs worked so well that when I decided to use a second style of couplers and plugs for the non-spray gun tools (DA, sander, grinders etc) that don’t get run through the desiccant filter that I would use the Legacy Colorconnex Blue connectors – kind of like having Garanimals (yeah, that’s how old I am, go Google Sears youngsters!) for my air tools.
So from the start the Legacy Flexzilla High Flow couplers and plugs have been great and the Legacy Colorconnex Blue connectors have been garbage and leak like crazy at the connection.
I pinged the “contact us” email at Legacy and told them of my problems that I am having, and they did respond quickly;
Thank you for contacting Legacy with this problem. We’re glad to hear the high flows are working well!
Unfortunately, we do not offer repair kits for our couplers. One thing that I can think of that may help remedy this problem, is lubrication to the O-Rings. I too have come across leaky coupler in the past and in some case have been able to resolve by applying lubrication to the O-Ring itself. I’m not going to say this will 100% work, however, have rejuvenated a number of coupler with this tactic. My process for this – Apply a light amount of lubrication to a Q-Tip and lather the O-Ring with that tip, then engage and disengage with a plug a few times to cycle and distribute lubrication.
One other thing to look over, is the condition of the plugs being used with those couplers. If the plug has significant wear, this could be contributing to the problem. The reason I mention this is due to the material of the plug and the tools being used. The color connex plugs are made up of aluminum and would be more susceptible to wear and tear. If you have wear on the plugs, it may be time to replace them.
The problem is that most of these connectors and plugs are less than a couple of years old and are only used by me on my little hobby weekend projects and should definitely NOT be worn out.
* So, if I am going to replace all of my non-Flexzilla couplers and plugs, any suggestions on what to use?
I am thinking of trying the Milton V style and the Prevost couplers.
The big old brass Miltons are what I used to use on our big air nailers running ½” and bigger hoses but their ColorFit series seems to be quite a bit cheaper and almost too cheap. I don’t want hissing air connections anymore…
