J
johnpipe108
Guest
A quality airbrush wants a good, clean, dry, regulated air supply. An air-compressor, all by itself, only supplies the air; clean, dry and regulated must be added-on, though when purchasing new equipment, one can sometimes find almost everything in one package. I found an old (1984) Badger Model 180-11 compressor (35PSI Max), but before I could begin to use it with my Badger Model 100LF side-feed artist & illustrators air-brush (fine tip is default on this model), I would need to provide the add-ons. My "knowledge source" for this is a fellow retired electrical-engineer, whom became something of an authority on the general subject; Don's Airbrush Tips provides most of the basics, and his iwata-smart-jet-compressor-review shows where I got my setup from.
Basic Setup
I have added a coil-hose with standard 1/4 pipe connectors between the compressor output and the moisture-trap (inline air-tool type), a 90deg street-elbow to connect (via a short 1/4 nipple) to a tee, thence through a 4" nipple into a low-cost 5-gallon portable air-tank.
Here is a close-in view at the tank-end, regulator mounted off the center of the tee:
For initial testing, I have temporarily had to jury-rig the air-brush braided hose connection and compressor-hose connection with an excessive amount of Teflon plumbing tape (to prevent cross-threading, as I do not yet have the proper mating adapters between the USA NPT threads, and the BSPP threads used by braided 1/4" airbrush hoses and some compressors). The Badger has a 1/4NPT to 1/4 BSPP adapter on the compressor-head; it was loc-tited at the factory 28 years ago, else I would just remove it and couple it to the regulator, and just connect the coil hose to the compressor-head directly, however removing a loc-tited connector after that many years and I'm afraid it would twist in two, and then I'd be up a certain well known tributary with insufficient means of locomotion :tongue:
Although it will be a few days before the proper adapters arrive, I've been able to do basic testing of the setup for general soundness. The 25-foot coil-hose provides for cooling of the air before hitting the moisture trap, as compresssing air makes it hot, and these moisture filters work best on cold air. Also, these inexpensive air-tanks do not have internal rust-proofing, even have a "discard-after" date due to this cheapo construction, so the line-filter helps protect the tank as well. As a general rule, a moisture-filter will be desireable wherever the humidity goes above 60% relative.
The compressor is left in its factory-default setting, auto-off, and once the tank fills, it should take a while before the compressor needs to run again while using a fine-tipped air-brush, which means not much compressor noise time while painting; this oldie is in good condition, and delivers the rated output.
A better solution, especially for an apartment dweller like myself, would be a 1-gallon tank, but over here these are only available as Automotive Grade air reservoirs, really top-quality and conveniently small tanks, but 3x the cost of the 5 gallon low-pressure tank! If I had the dosh to spare, I would have got one of those smaller tanks instead.
HTH, John
Basic Setup
I have added a coil-hose with standard 1/4 pipe connectors between the compressor output and the moisture-trap (inline air-tool type), a 90deg street-elbow to connect (via a short 1/4 nipple) to a tee, thence through a 4" nipple into a low-cost 5-gallon portable air-tank.
Here is a close-in view at the tank-end, regulator mounted off the center of the tee:
For initial testing, I have temporarily had to jury-rig the air-brush braided hose connection and compressor-hose connection with an excessive amount of Teflon plumbing tape (to prevent cross-threading, as I do not yet have the proper mating adapters between the USA NPT threads, and the BSPP threads used by braided 1/4" airbrush hoses and some compressors). The Badger has a 1/4NPT to 1/4 BSPP adapter on the compressor-head; it was loc-tited at the factory 28 years ago, else I would just remove it and couple it to the regulator, and just connect the coil hose to the compressor-head directly, however removing a loc-tited connector after that many years and I'm afraid it would twist in two, and then I'd be up a certain well known tributary with insufficient means of locomotion :tongue:
Although it will be a few days before the proper adapters arrive, I've been able to do basic testing of the setup for general soundness. The 25-foot coil-hose provides for cooling of the air before hitting the moisture trap, as compresssing air makes it hot, and these moisture filters work best on cold air. Also, these inexpensive air-tanks do not have internal rust-proofing, even have a "discard-after" date due to this cheapo construction, so the line-filter helps protect the tank as well. As a general rule, a moisture-filter will be desireable wherever the humidity goes above 60% relative.
The compressor is left in its factory-default setting, auto-off, and once the tank fills, it should take a while before the compressor needs to run again while using a fine-tipped air-brush, which means not much compressor noise time while painting; this oldie is in good condition, and delivers the rated output.
A better solution, especially for an apartment dweller like myself, would be a 1-gallon tank, but over here these are only available as Automotive Grade air reservoirs, really top-quality and conveniently small tanks, but 3x the cost of the 5 gallon low-pressure tank! If I had the dosh to spare, I would have got one of those smaller tanks instead.
HTH, John