Milton217 1/4" NPT V Style Coupler and Plug Kit - 6 Piece

Game changer for high cfm tools. I’m a retired mechanic. Had shop air for many years. Now I’m a very occasional weekend warrior. I have a modest 10cfm compressor setup at home, and it’s always been pretty sad when I bust out a 1/2 or 3/4 impact. Had to crank the regulator up to 135psi to get 90 at the tool with the trigger pulled, but even then the tool felt “starved” and weak. It was time to improve. I spent about $120 on these fittings and a 3/8” regulator/40 micron filter combo from HF. The difference is astounding. My snap-on impact hits harder than it did at the dealership. I’m running almost 75’ of 3/8” hose total and still need to set the regulator to 110 to get 90, but so what. Here’s the key. You have to increase everything in your air stream to benefit from these plugs. Your CFM will max out based on your smallest diameter orifice. These plugs (about .280” ID) should be the smallest port in your stream. For me, that meant increasing two 1/4” shut off valves to 3/8”, upgrading my 1/4” regulator (65 cfm max) and 5 micron filter (55 cfm max) to 3/8” (120cfm max) and replacing ALL the couplers and plugs. (Side note, try blowing through your tiny 1/4” 5 micron filter. You can barely get air through it) Anyone who isn’t seeing a difference has either not replaced all the couplers and plugs, or has a subpar regulator/filter. I was ready to run black pipe or get a surge tank. No need. I’m totally blown away. All it took was increasing all the .190” restrictions to .280”. Wish I had known years ago. Oh yeah, and the couplers interface perfectly with my m-style Milton-plug-equipped lower cfm tools. 5 stars for sure.

decent Chinese quality for the price--hope they dont source it out to another junky China manufacturer instead

These V-style are great - they do breathe a lot better than the usual fittings out there. I prefer the brass or steel version and have been busy replacing all my old fittings I have with these to keep the tool-end of my hoses from running out of air. Tools run much more consistently when they can breathe properly. Hose ends are getting changed too. You can't believe at how small the ID is on some of those fittings - even from big name makers! Try sticking a pressure gauge on the tool end of your hose and watch the hose run out of air as you try to work. These help nails go in the same every time and help your impact driver get lug nuts off where other fittings choke your air flow off.

I'm not a professional mechanic who turns a wrench for a living and my air compressor is a 21 gallon, 2.5 HP, 125 psi Central Pneumatic from Harbor Freight that I've had for the past 3 years. I mainly use my air tools for routine maintenance on my cars and yard equipment and my son and his friends use them for their cars. With the exception of a Matco MT1712 1/2 impact gun, all of my other air tools, air fittings and air hoses are Central Pneumatic from Harbor Freight. With that being said, I was never really impressed with the performance of my air tools, however, since I bought them from HF, I wasn't really expecting much. Recently, I needed a new air hose and also decided to change out my hose fittings. I Googled which would be the best hoses and fittings and consistently saw Milton V-Style fittings in my searches. As you can see in the picture, the fitting on the top is a steel Central Pneumatic air fitting from Harbor Freight, in the middle is a fitting from this reviewed package, and the bottom is a fitting from a Milton S-314VKIT Coupler & Plug Kit. After checking prices I decided on this package because it included the couplers and fittings. I had read the reviews regarding durability since these were made from anodized aluminum and wasn't too concerned because I don't really abuse the hoses or fittings. After installing them with Teflon thread tape I had a chance to use an air chisel and air hammer for a project. I could tell right away that the performance was much better. The air chisel was bouncing around a lot and the coupler and fittings were getting a good workout. There was no noticeable damage or defect at all in the fit or finish. Upon using my impact gun I was able to see a definite improvement in performance when trying to remove rusted bolts. These couplers and fittings definitely improved performance. I grease the internals of my impact gun regularly and also use an in-line lubricator but was never really satisfied with it until now. I had actually considered upgrading my impact gun to get better performance. The only "down" side to these fittings is that you'll use a lot more air and your compressor will kick on more often. The couplers are backwards compatible with other fittings but you won't get the increased airflow that you get when you have all V-Style fittings and couplers. The V-style fittings WILL NOT mate up to non V-Style couplers. I also use Marvel Mystery Oil to oil all of my air tools and Royal Purple Synthetic compressor oil in my air compressor.

Turned mine from Regulated 100 to 90psi, we'll see if its enough.Really like the push on fittings

I purchased 4 sets to replace most of my couplers and plugs. I purchased these as the plugs are plated steel and not aluminum for which there were a number of the poor reviews. This set was a great price (about 27cad).I also needed a couple of the male threaded couplers which I found much cheaper at PrincessA. They had free shipping for purchases over 25 during covid19 so I didn’t have to factor the shipping in. Note PA did not have this set at the time and the separate parts would have been more $.These brass V couplers accept the normal Milton M style plugs so I can have the V couplers on my 3/8” hoses but leave the M style plugs on my lower air consumption tools (brad nailers) and 1/4” coiled hoses and still connect them to the V couplers.Note the V style plugs DO NOT work with the M style couplers. Also IMHO these would be a waste on 1/4” hoses as the V plug’s diameter is bigger than the hose.My intent was to avoid upgrading my 6.0 SCFM@90psi 30gal compressor for my high consumption air tools because I have slowly gone to battery tools. Performance wise they seem better but I won’t really know until it’s snowtire season again. My air die grinder works very well.

I’ve used the V series couplers for years. They perform the best on flow; and the chucks have the added bonus of being backwards compatible with the common M fitting that is supplied with most tools (so if you’re not concerned about a lack of air flow, you can still stick an M fitting into your new V chuck). If you need full power/air flow, just mate a V fitting with a V chuck.

Right before I replaced my m style fittings i set my compressor regulator to 38psi and blew air out of a blower gun and the regulator read 25psi going out (so 13psi drop, which is normal). After changing the fittings I did the same test and got the same results. The fittings are definitely v style high flow because the internal diameter is larger, but shouldn't that mean I would drop to somewhere around 30psi instead of the original 25psi? Anyways I didnt return them because my old fittings looked worn out and needed replacement.

I bought these high flow fittings and couplers for my air tools at the shop. They performed very well for the first month, and then they started to stick. And then eventually leak badly. Not impressed, as all other Milton products have been great to me and last for years.

Of these fittings, one of the two brass female coupler connects leaked air. I needed to replace it. The other worked without a problem. All male and female tool/hose connectors worked excellent. Nice price.