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Choosing the correct fitting for your hose and air compressor can be confusing. There are four different types of fittings to choose from, and wrapping your head around the working of each is no easy task.
Below is all you need to understand fittings and what you look for when buying one.
Hoping to cut right to the chase? Below are the best air hose fittings:
Comparison of the Best Air Hose Fittings
Product | Our Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|
Milton Industries S-765  | ||
Prevost PRVURC061201  | ||
WYNNsky Air Hose Fittings  | ||
SunGator Air Coupler Set  | ||
Milton 5 in ONE Universal Safety Exhaust Quick-Connect  |
What Size of Air Hose Fittings Do I Need?
Air hose fittings come in various sizes. These sizes all greatly affect the rate of air flow provided. In the following section, you’ll find some key information that’ll help you understand fitting sizes a bit better.
What Is The Standard Size For An Air Hose?
Fittings are most commonly made from just a handful of metals, including aluminum, steel, zinc, brass, and bronze. The most common sizes for these fittings are either ¼ inch or ⅜ inch. They come as male or female types. You can get several different sizes like ½ or ⅛, but ¼ and ⅜ are the standards.
How To Measure Air Hose Fittings
The most common way to measure your air hose fitting is by taking a string and wrapping it around the hose until both ends are touching. Measure the length between the two points by using a measuring tape.
You'll now have the circumference of the hose, divide this number by pi (approximately 3.1416), and that will give you the diameter, allowing you to find then a fitting that suits.
Air Hose Fitting Types
There are quite a few different types of fittings currently on offer. Air hoses utilize three main fittings, swivel fitting, coupler and a plug. We’ve explained what they do in more detail below.
Air Hose Swivel Fitting
When you're operating a compressor hose, you'll constantly be moving around and twisting the hose to get into different positions when working. These twists, which seem harmless at the time, can, in some cases, decrease your hoses life expectancy by 90%. With a swivel fitting, your hose can turn 180 degrees without detachment to help accommodate for all those twists and turns.
Air Hose Coupler
A coupler is a connection fitting at the end of a hose. The coupler allows the users to connect to pneumatic tools, other hoses, or compressors. Couplers are made from various materials, including brass, bronze, steel, zinc, and aluminum.
Air Hose Plug
Plugs are used to connect on to couplers to maximize airflow from the hose to the pneumatic air tool. They come in different styles, such as Automotive, Industrial, V-style, and ARO. The most common sizes for these are ¼ or ½. The larger the opening, the more air that can flow through it. The sizes of these aren't referring to fitting but the amount of airflow that the plug can handle.
Review of the Best Air Compressor Hose Fittings
In the previous section, we explained the various fittings and how to accurately find what one suits your needs. In this section we will show you some of our favorite hose fittings and go into detail about their various features, as well as pro’s and con’s.
Best Overall:
Milton Industries S-765
PROS
CONS
Our Review
These fittings are a great "fit" for an air compressor for a few reasons. The solid brass material is what limits the risk of corrosion compared to other materials. The 16-piece brass fittings are built to last and provide the user with an assortment of options when operating a compressor.
The 300 PSI working pressure is another reason it's best coupled with a compressor as these fittings can be used alongside most pneumatic tools. The only downside is that they're not universally compatible as they only work with M and D type.
What Makes This Product Stand Out?
The brass fittings are what makes this product so special. Without this material, the lifespan of the fittings would be significantly reduced. Materials like aluminum, bronze, zinc, and steel corrode faster than brass.
Runner-up:
Prevost PRVURC061201
PROS
CONS
Our Review
Our runner-up coupler is a female Truflate style safety coupler operating with an automotive basic ¼ airflow. The simple blue body and red button connection make this coupler a lot easier to connect. The coupler can accommodate PSI between 0 - 174, which will allow most pneumatic tools except a few.
The coupler is best used in temperatures between 5F and 158F, which is suitable for most times throughout the year, the apparent downside being winter. The protective high-quality plastic casing is another feature as this protects against scratches or everyday accidents.
What Makes This Product Stand Out?
The connection mechanism and design are what makes this coupler stand out from others. With most couplers, it would be a push or pull motion to either connect or disconnect. With this, you need to hold the red button-down, and you're disconnected while safely releasing the pressurized air.
Best for the Money:
WYNNsky Air Hose Fittings
PROS
CONS
Our Review
The 14-piece air compressor accessory kit is excellent value for money. You get a whole range of universal ¼ couplers and plugs. The universal fittings all have a red coating, which means they stick out like a sore thumb if they ever get lost.
You've got a simple connection mechanism built into the coupler as it's just a simple push to attach. The fittings are made from aluminum, which isn't the best when it comes to being corrosion resistant, as after time, they begin to wear.
What Makes This Product Stand Out?
The value for money that comes with this purchase is incredible. You're getting a 14-piece universal fitting set with an easy attachment mechanism for such a low price. The quality you're getting on these couplers is of the highest but for a price that doesn't reflect the quality.
Best Air Hose Coupler:
SunGator Air Coupler Set
PROS
CONS
Our Review
These fittings are a great "fit" for an air compressor for a few reasons. The solid brass material is what limits the risk of corrosion compared to other materials. The 16-piece brass fittings are built to last and provide the user with an assortment of options when operating a compressor.
The 300 PSI working pressure is another reason it's best coupled with a compressor as these fittings can be used alongside most pneumatic tools. The only downside is that they're not universally compatible as they only work with M and D type.
What Makes This Product Stand Out?
The brass fittings are what makes this product so special. Without this material, the lifespan of the fittings would be significantly reduced. Materials like aluminum, bronze, zinc, and steel corrode faster than brass.
Best Air Hose Quick Connect:
Milton 5 in ONE Universal Safety Exhaust Quick-Connect
PROS
CONS
Our Review
These fittings are an outstanding five in one design, offering everything you need to operate your compressor safely. The simple push connection requires just one hand; when you're done, you can safely bleed any excess pressurized air from the hose, limiting the risk of any dangerous whipping.
They come as a set of five and operate pneumatic tools that require a 120PSI or less. The fittings are all female ¼ which are universally compatible. The only downside is they can't operate any tools over 120 PSI.
What Makes This Product Stand Out?
This product's standout feature is the ability to safely release any built-up operation pressure by bleeding the hose first and then disconnecting and eliminating the common problem of dangerous whipping.
Hold up, are you interested in other topics related to air hoses and compressors? If so, these might be something to check out:
Perks of Getting Some New Air Hose Fittings
Air hose fittings are an important part of running an air compressor. When you buy a decent quality fitting or kit, you can certainly look forward to various benefits which we’ve outlined below.
You Feel Safer
Safety is always important, especially when you work in an industrial or construction environment where accidents can be expected. With a quality hose fitting, you'll remove the risk of dangerous accidents like hose whipping by bleeding the hose first.
You Won't Have Leaking
Poorly made fittings aren't as secure. Tight fits are always essential because if they're loose, then it'll just leak far too much-pressurized air, meaning you'll lose quality time and effort on trying to fix this problem. High-grade fittings are reliable enough not to leak as they're made from materials like brass.
You Can Operate Any Pneumatic Tool
Suppose you're looking at getting new fittings. Always know what tools you plan on mainly using. If you have air tools that require a lot of PSI, try to get fittings to withstand 300 PSI as most pneumatic air tools require less than this. With 300 PSI Max working pressure, you'll be able to operate any tool you want.
Conclusion
Fittings can first be confusing to wrap your head around. There's so much jargon involved. Hopefully, we've given you all the information along with enough recommendations you need to make a decision. Remember, brass is best, and try to get universally compatible fittings to make life easier.
People Also Ask
With all the information above, you should be able to make an informed decision. However, as an extra, we've also answered some of the most commonly asked questions on air hose fittings below.
How To Connect Air Hose Fittings
Most air hoses come with a male fitting already attached.
If this is the case, wrap some sealant or tape around the threaded male fitting to limit Leaking
You then fit the female part to the other end of the hose and wrap that with Teflon tape
Now all you need to do now is attach the male side of the hose to the female compressor coupler
What's The Difference Between A Manual And An Automatic Coupler?
An automatic coupler is a lot easier to use as it doesn't require you to pull or push on the coupler to make the connection. You push it in, and it makes the connection itself. However, with a manual coupler, you have to pull back the collar to make the connection.
Why Are Some Fittings Color Coded?
Some manufacturers understand that many new fittings can get confused about what the different fittings can be used for. So, they came up with a color-coded system to help make things easier for people to wrap their heads around.
What Is The Color Coding System?
Like we mentioned above, the system is designed to make people understand the different fittings and plugs.
ARO (A-Style) is green
Industrial (M-Style) is red
V-Style is purple
Automotive (T-Style) is blue