On Wed, 11 Dec 1996, John T. Blair wrote:
> >Does the smallest diameter hose/pipe/fitting
> >that exists between the tank and the tool limit the
> >volume of air that reaches the blaster?
> IMHO, definetly. The flow rate should be proportional to the
> cross sectional area of the hose. The smaller the dia. the
> less flow.
I have to disagree. The aggregate resistance between the compressor and
the tool is what limits the flow, just as the total resistance in an
electrical circuit limits the current. If you have one small fitting, it
contributes a certain resistance, but it is only part of the total. As
someone asked privately, if your tank fitting is 3/8, is there any point
in putting an adapter on and going to a hose larger than 3/8. There
definitely is. If you have one inch of 3/8 and 25 feet of 5/8, the
resistance is way less than if you have 25 ft and one inch, all 3/8.
All bets are off, however, if you go to extremes and say what if your one
inch of fitting is 1/16th inch in diameter. At some point, the 1/r to
the fourth starts to kill you.
WRG
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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