[Shop-talk] question about cheap air compressors

[Randall]

> I don't know which type
> of air connector it needs.  It comes with a female fitting and from the
> appearance it must need a short male fitting,

My _guess_ would be 1/4" "Industrial" as shown here:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#about-quick-disconnect-hose-couplings/=fp1i7z

HF sells a "starter kit" that you might be interested in:
http://tinyurl.com/6relhw3
or just the fittings for cheap:
http://tinyurl.com/85vo2jv

> 2.  For light duty home use, does it matter which type of hose I use?

My limited experience is that the quality of the hose is more important than
the material.  Cheap hoses fail within a year or two, while the better ones
(even PVC) seem to last much longer.  My hands are usually greasy (I mostly
use air tools to work on cars), and apparently the grease degrades the cheap
hose materials.

-- Randall