Crompressor,tank or no tank?

[Roobarb]

Hi,

A question,who uses an airbrush/compressor combination without a tank,if so how do you compensate for the pulsing effect. I've been using an airbrush for over thirty years and have always used an air source supplied via a tank,I would of thought the uneven supply of air would of limited the benefits of using a duel action airbrush?I appreciate the brush could be used as a spray gun but for fine work how do you compensate for the pulsing effect. Richy C 's question on compressor choice had got me thinking,yes I know it's dangerous!

Malcolm

 

[Ian M]

Most tank free compressors have a small buffer, not enough to have any real effect at the airbrush but just enough to enable the pressure to build and feed out into a regulator. Its normally really no more than a couple of centimetre at the top of the cylinder.

So enough to keep a constant supply for the fine/detail stuff. The problem with this type is they run out of puff on lager jobs. This is what often kills them off. Trying to keep up with a high and sustained flow of air the poor little piston runs to long and to hard. The heat transfers to the clap valve and that melts and or falls apart. Bits of that fall into the cylinder and one very dead compressor.

Ian M

 

[Roobarb]

Ian,

Thanks for the reply.it's just that a few months back I'd played around with an old Micron compressor (the intention was to use it in the house instead of having to trudge tot he shed to paint) but I couldn't eliminate the air pulsing,in the end I simply bought a small compressor with an attached tank.

Malcolm

 

[tecdes]

Malcolm there are piston types & diaphragm types. When I looked about 12 months ago there were a couple of diaphram types about. These did have a pulsed out put.

The piston type is much better but must have a slight pulse as it has a slack & compression cycle of the piston but presumable taken care of by the buffer Ian mentions.

Started off with a piston type & it was fine but then died. I then got a piston tank type & found that it gave a marked improvement. The tank type also only runs the motor when it wants topping up. Both these were the ABS type & there may be differences in others which are more expensive.

Laurie

 

[stona]

I came to the conclusion years ago that a decent sized reservoir (tank) was the only way to ensure an even flow of air from a compressor. I know one person who eschews a compressor, preferring to use bottled CO2, presumably delivered by BOC.

I've even heard of someone using an inflated lorry tyre inner tube as a source of air! That must take up a lot more room than a compressor and wouldn't you need a compressor to inflate the tyre anyway?

Cheers

Steve

 

[Caledonia]

Malcolm, been using this for about 3 to 4 Years now, works perfectly and does not have a tank, the attached explains how - smart technology. Cheers Derek

https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=566