Ed, our shop was hard plumbed with 1/2" black pipe back in 1969. We had water trap/filters at the end of every dump where the rubber hose plugged into. I always ran a good quality 50' hose (usually Goodyear yellow) I changed it out every 3-6 months on my paint stall to prevent hose failure. One small chunk of rubber in a clear coat will ruin your day
When we put up my friends parts house/mechanic bay, we used the RapidAir 3/4" master kit. I think it was around $170 in 2012. He needed more air for the 3/4" impact. No problems to date. I was going to put this RapidAir 1/2" master kit in my garage, but haven't got around to it yet
My 50' hose reaches just fine.
My neighbor at the parts house across from my shop plumbed in his back shop with 1- 1-1/2" PVC. Bad mistake, he was blowing joints all the time.