Best compressor to go with an Iwata Eclipse HP CS or HP BCS

About 4 years ago I bought one of the small 2 cyl compressors from an online place.  Small compressor with a 1 or 2 gal tank.  Is very quiet, almost can't hear it ouside the room it is in.  Cycles fast and pumps up quick.

Have a water trap/regulator on the outlet and a water trap about 3 inches from the airbrush in the air line. (Pasche hose) then a valve to fine tune air flow at the brush.  Never have a problem with it.

A note about "water traps:" I have what I consider to be an elaborate filtration system. From my 20 gal. tank, I have about 15 feet of hose to a rather large filter/regulator setup:

Central Pneumatic (Harbor Freight) Industrial Air Filter/Regulator

This is then plumbed to a Parker coalescing filter, which is supposed to be doing all the air/water seperation. Air then goes to a Harbor Freight Desiccant Dryer with Oil Removal Filter.

No water is seperated at the coalescing filter. The bowl remains dry. However, the desiccant does change color over time, indicating it's pulling moisture out of the air.

Living in NE Florida is like living in the tropics 10 months of the year. We have very high humidity, so the compressed air is saturated with steam. This hasn't given me much problems with most paints, but my favorit model railroad paints (SMP Accu+Paint, now sold as Star Brands and Tru-Color) are acetone based, which is very hydroscopic. The paint will absorb moisture from the air used to spray it. As the solvent evaporates, the paint cools rapidly, and the moisture in the paint condenses into clouds. This is called blushing.

The paint manufacturer recommends adding a retarder to slow the drying, allowing the water to evaporate with the acetone.

My point is, not all water seperators are the same, nor effective. While I haven't had any problems with acrylics such as Testor's Acryl or Tamiya paints (alcohol is also very hydroscopic), if you do see problems with blushing, your water seperator is suspect.

This can all be avoided by using CO2, Dry Nitrogen, or many other compressed industrial gasses.

I've been using an Iwata Smart Jet with a Sparmax tank and couldn't be happier. The Smart Jet is very quiet and absolutely reliable. I really didn't need a tank but found a great deal and added one.

I use a $70 Campbell-Hausfeld compressor with a 2.5 gallon tank on it that I bought from Wal-Mart almost 10 years ago. It comes with a pressure guage & regulator, and all you have to do is add a water trap. If you don't mind some moderate noise, it's the way to go.

Jeff

I use a small, separate tank as a water separator, always have. When I used the smaller diaphragm compressors, they worked so hard and ran so hot with lengthy sessions, that they did indeed condense a good bit of water that exited the drain after use. Actual water, not just a bit of mist.

Just my own thoughts, I suspect the CAT may not require a trap, when I drain the compressor tank after use I get ZERO water droplets, the pressurized air in the tank does produce just the slightest amount of a fog, but not enough to even wet my finger when placed in the air stream.

I think that is due to the fact that the twin cylinders refill the tank so fast, and the tank allows several minutes of continuous spraying, the cylinders don't run long enough to produce much in the way of heat. When I touch the cylinders, they are not much more than room temperature. As I stated earlier, heat is the enemy of cylinder life.

Since I do have the smaller separate tank anyway, I continue to use it. In your case maybe you wouldn't need a separator, but using one couldn't hurt anything either. Good luck with your efforts.

Patrick 

Patrick,

That is a brilliant idea! I never thought of a compressor like this one. One final question, does it requie a moisture trap?

Thank you!

Jeff

CO2 tank and regulator is the way to go.....initial cost can be $100. To $150......refills about once a year are under $15. Quiet.....no moisture trap needed....

If you want quiet, consider a CO2 or Dry Nitrogen cylinder filled at your local welding supply store. Relatively high initial cost, but silent.

An alternative may be to get a 5 or 10 gallon air tank, and fill it up at your local gas station. Fill it to 100+ psi (whatever the tank is rated for or as high as they gas station compressor will fill it), and regulated it for your air brushing. When I lived in an apartment, this is what I did. You can get a suitable regulator/filter assembly from Harbor Freight cheap.

20 years ago, I bought a "6 HP" compressor from Sears with a 20 gal. tank. I rebuilt the compressor last year. Should last another 20 years if the tank doesn't rust out first. That's my biggest fear right now. Tank weakened by rust and exploding. There's a lot of condensate in that tank, even though I empty it regularly. I'm under no illusion  that the compressor actually has a 6HP motor. 110V power with a 15 Amp plug is, at best, just under 2-1/4 HP. Peak is not the same as continuous. But it runs my air tools in my shop, and of course, the airbrushes. Complete overkill for airbrushing.

In the past 50+ years I have owned several compressors, none very expensive, all diaphragm types, all worked OK, none failed. Some major names, Binks, Badger, etc., some el cheapos from the car parts stores. One thing they had in common, NOISE.

A couple of years ago I decided to look around for something quiet, since I built new indoor work area for winter modeling and painting. I was referred to California Air Tools and other brands by a friend that owns a contracting company, CAT is the brand they are sticking with, very rough use and they hold quite well.

Checking on line reviews showed all good customer input, I pulled the trigger and bought the CAT 1610A, powerful, big tank, guage, regulator, etc. So quiet it's amazing, one minute to refill tank from empty, stays extremely cool. Heat is the enemy of compressor life, this is a real plus.

$180 at Home Depot, order on line and it includes delivery to home, best compressor buy of my life, money well spent. According to my contractor friend, this is the last one I'll ever need to buy.

Above all else, you want a compressor that's easy to live with. Compared to the past compressors I've owned, the low noise level and performance of this one makes it so worth the price.

Patrick

I bought my compressor thru TCP Global website. I also got an adapter as well since there I have both the NEO and Paasche airbrushes There is really is no correct compressor for either airbrushes you have. Pick one that you can afford. Mine cost me $80 and it's money well spent.