Portable Air Tank for Airbrush?

keilau wrote:

You may be interested in what Steve Bamford did. Don't buy the airtank by mail order. The shipping is not worth it. You should be able to find one at Harbor Freight or Sears at much lower cost.

That's exactly what I'm talking about; 

Keilau, You're absolutely right about saving up for a real compressor...I live in an old house converted to apartments, and noise travels through the walls easily...I don't want to P/O my neighbors with a compressor yet...

I'm also back to the hobby after a long time; Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm starting to think that I'll plug along with rattle cans until I decide that an airbrush is justified...I can justify almost anything, though

HSteve wrote:

I've been thinking about getting an airbrush - paasche VL or H - but I'm stymied on how to power the thing... I came across  this while surfing - 5 Gal air capacity basic portable air tank. Buying the fittings is no problem, just a matter of going to a LHardwareS and picking up the pieces. I like the fact that it's totally silent, as I live in an OLD house, lots of noise tend to P/O my fellow tenants... I have a service station across the street to fill it up. Any comments?

You may be interested in what Steve Bamford did.

Don't buy the airtank by mail order. The shipping is not worth it. You should be able to find one at Harbor Freight or Sears at much lower cost.

HSteve wrote:

usmc1371 wrote: Check out the TC-20T by Airbrush Depot: http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/compress.aspx#abdtc20t . I have this compressor and it's the most quite compressor I have had. It's not silent but it is quite enough that I can talk to someone in the room without yelling. If I have the compressor running and I'm standing outside of the room with the door close, it sounds like someone is blow drying their hair in the room. Plus, with the small tank, it only turns on every 10 minutes or so for about 2 minutes. I've poked around their site before - I like 'em, but $200 is a bit much for my wallet to absorb at the moment... Maybe when I win Powerball..?

How does $200 compared to the amount you spend on model kits each year? If your model kit spending is less than $20 or $30 annually, you should do well with compressed air cans or a portable tank like you suggested.

Many of the modelers spend more than $200 on kits alone. Often, way more models than they have time to build. For them, the modest investment on a good quality airbrush and compressor set that could last a life time is well worth it.

Each time you buy a new model kit, put the same amount of money in a piggy bank. The time to save for a compressor may take a lot less than you think. Don't wait for the Powerball win. If you do not save the $200 in a reasonable time period, you do not need a compressor.

usmc1371 wrote:

Check out the TC-20T by Airbrush Depot: http://www.tcpglobal.com/airbrushdepot/compress.aspx#abdtc20t . I have this compressor and it's the most quite compressor I have had. It's not silent but it is quite enough that I can talk to someone in the room without yelling. If I have the compressor running and I'm standing outside of the room with the door close, it sounds like someone is blow drying their hair in the room. Plus, with the small tank, it only turns on every 10 minutes or so for about 2 minutes. -Jesse

I've poked around their site before - I like 'em, but $200 is a bit much for my wallet to absorb at the moment...

Maybe when I win Powerball..?

spuds 1 wrote:

I hope someone has had working expreience in this area.  I was very fortunate to pick up an Aztek AC 100 model air compressor which came with a pressure regulator & water trap too.  I'd like to get a portable 5 gal pressure tank & saw one at Sears for 24.99.  My question is will this Aztek compressor be strong enough to continually replenish the air in the tank as I spray my models??

The Aztek AC100 is one of the low power airbrush compressor on the market. It is an typical single piston design that has limited air flow and relative low pressure. It can work fine with a gravity feed, internal mix airbrush, but not much else. Take out your July 2008 issue of FSM and you can see how it compared with other compressors. Even the cheap BearAir single piston compressor ($120 retail) from China has better performance than the AC200 at 1/3 the price.

It will take forever for the AC100 to fill a 5 gallons tank to 25 psi, the maximum pressure under load that the AC100 is capable of. See the spec at the Testors site.

The Aztek AC200 is the AC100 with moisture trap. The AC500 is the AC200 with a 0.5 gallon tank. If you want a compressor with airtank, trade the AC100 for the AC500 for only a little more money. The compressors seem to be well made, but priced 2-3 times more than other equal performance compressors. There have been many posts here to suggest good compressor choices. You can do a search for "compressor".

You wil need a good "tools compressor" to fill the 5 gallon tank. When you are at Sears next time, look at the comprssor selection at the hardware section. They have a number of compressors for $100-200 that should work well for this purpose. You want to get one with at least a 1 horsepower motor, pumps up to 130 psi and provides 4 SCFM at 90 psi. But these compressors are too loud to keep domestic peace. Many posts here indicated that they were kept in the garage or a remote location with long air hose to the modeling room.

Be ware of cheap tools compressor at Walmart or similar places. Those with a small SCFM at low pressure rating are useless. They are even louder but not enough air for most jobs except, ironically, for airbrushing.

tyamada wrote:

Plan on making a lot of trips to the gas station.  A 5 Gallon tank won't last very long.

I used a tank for a while but I was constantly filling it up. I ended up buying a $25 tire compressor to fill the tank while I was airbrushing... just had to turn it off myself. That lasted about three months before the cheapo compressor launched the piston out it's behind.

Northern Tool and Harbor Freight sell (relatively) inexpensive airbrush compressors. Definitely worth the investment over the hassle of always filling a tank and if you're nice and slow like me, you will run out of air in the middle of painting. I bought my Northern Tool compressor online and it's been working like a charm for years.  

A CO2 tank will probably fit your needs.

E

HSteve wrote:

...Any comments?...

It works.  I used one for a long time until I bought my compressor.  When you head to the hardware store for the fittings, pick up an adjustable pressure gauge for output.

Plan on making a lot of trips to the gas station.  A 5 Gallon tank won't last very long.  You would be better off getting a silent air compressor or making one from an old refrigerator compressor.