Micro Line vs. Macro Line

[splat11756]

Me and my friend had a "dispute" over which is better macro line or micro line. i presonally say that the micro lint is way to small and that it constricts the air. This i beleive will leave to real fast velocity drops in firing bursts. he beleives that it will not and it is a sufficient amount of flow to fire a burst of 5 or 6 without a velocity drop. please let me know what you uys think.

Also If you would some how be able to tell me the flow rate of the maCRO AND MICRO LINE, THAT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

[a_malfunction]

Well, I dont know how much the two hoses can flow, but Obviously, the Macroline, being much bigger, facilitates a higher flow rate. Oh, and it has a higher pressure rating. Go macro, or better yet, steel braid.

[MikeCouves]

Micro can easily keep up with modern day guns. The hole in the center is almost as big as macro. And it won't burst if you have in there right.

[Butterfingers]

Mike:

Is this what you meant to say:

Macro can easily keep up with modern day guns. The hole in the center is almost as big as micro. And it won't burst if you have in there right.

If not I disagree :)

[MikeCouves]

Lol cheater! No seriously though micro does work, but I don't like it for long distances. Too flexible and it does kink pretty easy.

Go with macro, it can take the pressure and doesn't scratch up your gun.

[mrhooie]

Here are specs for the Macro and Micro line I am thinking of using at my store

Specs for the microline:
.086" ID
.156" OD
.035" wall
1120 psi working pressure (3360 psi burst)
0.25" bend radius

Specs for the macroline:
.150" ID
.250" OD
.050" wass
1000 psi working pressure (3000 psi burst)
0.5" bend radius

[Bwaites]

Micro and macro with a working pressure of 1000+!

Thats some good stuff, Parker Paraflex has a working pressure of 500, burst of 2500-3000 (I think).

Who make those?

Bill

[mrhooie]

I will find out for you - don't have it on the top of my head

[Tunaman]

Well I think that those Macroline specs are lousy. .050 Wall thickness Macro is proven to be unsafe. Is your Macroline UV Stable? The Parker is .062 wall thickness AND UV stable in Black. The .050 wall thickness plain nylon is the stuff that people are complaining about bursting. I wouldn't use it...

[Lone Gunman]

Where can I get some Parker Para-flex? My local store only has the cheap macro-line.

[Bwaites]

The Tunaman knows whereof he speaks, for he is the source of Parker Paraflex on AO.

I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, but he sells the best fittings I can find and the various colors of Paraflex. To my knowledge, though, only the black is UV resistant, and it is the only macroline I can find that is. Thats a big deal if you play outside in the sun a lot. (Most of us do!)

Bill

[mrhooie]

From the guy I'm looking at buying the MAcro and Micro line from


<cut+paste>
Well, I've never heard of anyone saying that .050 wall is unsafe - like I posted, the working pressure is 1000 psi. That's the highest I've managed to find! Perhaps he's confusing it with another wall thickness?
.030 wall from the manufacturer I'd be going with is only rated for 500psi, and tubing from other places is even lower. I think the working and burst pressures posted speak for themselves. - the only UV resistant nylon tubing offered by Parker that I can find only has a wall thickness of .040 in the 1/4" OD size (which has a working pressure of only 300 psi and a burst of only 1200 psi). The only .062" wall nylon tubing I see from Parker has working and burst pressures of 500 and 2000 psi in a 1/4" OD product. This is also their 'flexible' product - I'd rather use Parker's semirigid, high strength product with a wall thickness of .050" and working and burst pressures of 625 psi and 2500 psi, respectively. Neither the flexible nor the semirigid nylon tubing products are listed
as UV resistant.
<end cut and paste>

[Bwaites]

mrhooie,

Those are the best numbers I've seen. Who is the manufacturer and do you have the actual spec sheet?

If so, I'm interested. Feel free to email me if you don't want to post this here.

Bill

[Tunaman]

Well you guys use what you want. The semi-rigid and rigid stuff you speak of does not work well in the push-in fittings. According to Parker, any semi-rigid or rigid tubing is designed to be used with compression fittings only. That is why when it gets cold, you get blowouts. CO2 just makes matters worse. The Flexible Parflex is in my opinion the best stuff in the industry to use for paintball. And it IS UV rated in Black. I have used this line for a few years now, and have yet to have 1 complaint or failure. If you want to use the cheapo stuff, be my guest. I have already been there, and done that...

[Bwaites]

I have been very happy with Paraflex for paintball, but have a couple of friends who have some interesting work going on with hi-performance water drivelines and have had some problems with their flexible hydraulic lines, they need something bigger and are looking at different manufacturers, they have a few very short runs where the braided stainless won't work. The area is a wear area, so replacing the tubing every few days is ok, buy they don't want blowouts while operating and need flexibility due to the motion of the driveline.

Bill