Compressor Question Again...LOL

Hi, and welcome back to the hobby!  Answers to this post will be varied and based largely on personal preference and product availability where a person lives. 

The easiest one for me to answer is go oil less.  You're looking for a smaller compressor if you're only airbrushing, and there are a plethora of models to chose from that will do the trick.  Piston or diaphragm.  Well, depends on whether you want a tank or not.  There are benefits to both.  I have 2 compressors, 1 is a diaphragm model from harbor freight. 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93657

Works like a charm, but you do get a bit of surge in pressure when the motor kicks in, then it levels out through your spray.  Once you get used to it, it works well, and is very quiet.

I also have a Campbell-hausfeld which I got at Wally world!

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Campbell-Hausfeld-2-Gallon-Air-Compressor/9189092

It's a bit louder, but still reasonable noise level, and handles airbrushing perfectly.  No surge, and once the tank is full, I can spray quite a while @ 18-21 psi before it kicks back on.

Make sure, being in Florida, you get a good moisture trap.  As for the Iwata, they make excellent brushes, not my cup of tea, but that's a debate for another thread!

Oh, hose length.  I use a 10' braided line on my airbrush, and with the smaller diaphragm, that's about all I'd go.  With the larger piston compressors, you can get further away with a standard air tool hose and a connector to your airbrush hose.  It is more than powerful enough to push air that distance (50 feet +)

Good luck!

Chris

If you go the garage compressor route, you can expect some pressure drop. This link will show you what you can expect given the diameter and length of the hose, and the psi from the compressor.

I use a garage compressor, and feed the air at full strength (100 psi) to my spray booth, where I have a pressure regulator and water trap. Since I never spray over 20 psi, I don't worry about any pressure drop too much. I'm less than 10' away.

Fla Modeler

First...new to the modeling hobby after a 40 year layoff.  I've read so many posts about the newest airbrushes and compressors, my head is spinning.  Maybe I can put this question in a more structured format.  Here's some facts so far:

• I will only be painting plastic models.  Armor, ships and maybe planes.
• I am considering a Iwata Eclipse HP-CS
• I want a relatively quiet compressor

Based on the above, questions are:

1. Piston or Diaphragm

Piston for sure. Diaphragm compressor is a thing of the past, too little power and not cheap to make.

1. Oil or Oil less

If you go with the superquiet compressor, they are almost certain to be oiled refrigerator type compressor motor. Most airbrush/hobby compressor are lightly to be oilless design, cheaper but not as quiet.

1. PSI output

As a minimum, it should be 40 psi at 0.7 CFM or higher. A pressure spec without any airflow volume is meaningless and a trick used by manufacturer of cheap compressors. You are likely to airbrush at 15-30 psi and want a compressor with higher pressure capability to assure steady air flow.

1. Tank size

0 to 1 gallon. I assume that you will get a quiet compressor that will have enough power to drive an airbrush, but not designed to fill a large tank.  If you consider getting a tools compressor and turn the motor off during airbrushing, then, the bigger tank the better, 5 gallons at least.

1. A good quality compressor based on your answers.

I have multiple answers based on (1) how quiet and (2) how much budget.

 

Lastly, what would be the limitation of hose lengths? One of my options is to put a compressor in my garage and maybe run just the hose into the house.

Thanks much,

Mike in The Villages, Florida

A compressor in the garage seems to indicate a tools and not-so-quiet compressor. If you get a good quality one that have sufficient air at over 90 psi, 50-75 feet of 1/4" or 3/8" hose is no problem. Compressor with 3-4 CFM at up to 90 psi is easy to get at reasonable cost. Just shop carefully for reliability.

Also, the Iwata Eclipse HP-CS is an excellent choice for general purpose modeling.

Bgrigg

If you go the garage compressor route, you can expect some pressure drop. This link will show you what you can expect given the diameter and length of the hose, and the psi from the compressor.

I use a garage compressor, and feed the air at full strength (100 psi) to my spray booth, where I have a pressure regulator and water trap. Since I never spray over 20 psi, I don't worry about any pressure drop too much. I'm less than 10' away.

Might help if I actually PUT IN THE STUPID LINK, huh?

http://productionproducts.com/charts_pressure_loss_hoses.htm

Mike-when I started, I bought a garage type air compressor from Wal-mart.  Two gallon tank, thought it would work fine.  Too loud to use comfortably indoors, pressure drop when I hit the airbrush and trouble getting the air pressure down to the range I needed it without the pressure.  I ended up putting two regulators on it to try to keep pressure built up.  Also, there were several leaks that I couldn't track down.  I recently purchased a Sparmax two piston unit from BearAire-couldn't be happier.  Quiet.  Maintains pressure. Doesn't run continuously, which surprisingly, the Hausfield-Campell unit did (high min. pressure).  If you can go the extra for an airbrush only compressor, I think you will be happier in the long run with a air brush type compressor.

Thanks much guys for the information.  Seems like a little more evaluating yet, but now I have some good baseline data.

Mike in The Villages, Florida

Bob,

Couldn't locate Bearaire company, but did find the Sparmax line.  Which one did you get....TC2000 or 5000?

It's just Bear Air, not Aire!

http://www.bearair.com/

Rigid pipe will lose less pressure than hose ,either copper or black pipe .We would use black pipe to plumb the booths at sign shops.I also found two good compressors at the pawn shop(!) for less than $100 each ,compared to the mini one I got from micromark at $80.I ran to a splitter block with 8 ports for the air brushes all with taps for port selection.Something that may interest you guys is the fact that in a sign shop ,painting illumuinated faces I had 5 spray guns : 1 for white only , one for reds , one for blues ,one for blacks ,one for clears. No other colors were sprayed through these guns.Always wet the area around with a spray of water ,I also mist myself and my little booth. I would always have an air dryer (perhaps exrtreme for modeling) and sometimes run 2 regulator /water traps. this also applies for automotive custom paint works.

Fla Modeler

Bob,

Couldn't locate Bearaire company, but did find the Sparmax line.  Which one did you get....TC2000 or 5000?

Here is BearAir. They used to have the best Sparmax price, but stopped carrying it and replaced with their own Polar Bear line of compressors. The prices are excellent, but the long term durability is TBD.

If you have a Hobby Lobby store nearby, you can find the Sparmax TC-2000 compressor there. The price is very competitive using their 40% off coupon.

keilau

 

Fla Modeler:

 

Bob,

Couldn't locate Bearaire company, but did find the Sparmax line.  Which one did you get....TC2000 or 5000?

 

 

Here is BearAir. They used to have the best Sparmax price, but stopped carrying it and replaced with their own Polar Bear line of compressors. The prices are excellent, but the long term durability is TBD.

If you have a Hobby Lobby store nearby, you can find the Sparmax TC-2000 compressor there. The price is very competitive using their 40% off coupon.

Oops...I really need to go back and research what I bought and check my spelling before I post. 

anyway, here is what I purchased from Bear Air

http://www.bearair.com/Polar-Bear-2000-Twin-Piston-Compressor/productinfo/120315/

Couldn't be happier.

Wow that's alot of money for a little diaphragm compressor!  I bought one of these about a year ago.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93657

I love it!  Quiet, strong enough for all my applications, and I even got it on sale for $59.00 instead of the listed $79.00.

Give one a try, you won't be disappointed.

Chris

Killjoy

Wow that's alot of money for a little diaphragm compressor!  I bought one of these about a year ago.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93657

I love it!  Quiet, strong enough for all my applications, and I even got it on sale for $59.00 instead of the listed $79.00.

Give one a try, you won't be disappointed.

Chris

This little Harbor Freight compressor and the Polar Bear 2000 may both be sourced from China, but their spec are worlds apart.  The Polar Bear 2000 is a twin piston (not diaphram as you said) design that was spec to 1.1 CFM at 45 psi.  I suspect that it would be less than its Harbor Freight Big Brother. But interestingly, both of them, an 1/8HP and an 1/5HP compressor were spec at 0.5 CFM at 20 psi. (I just take any HF manual with a grain of salt.)

Heat is the worst enemy to the long term survival of small hobby compressors like these. The cylinder head (with all those cooling fins on the top) should not get more than slightly warm to the touch after extended (30 minutes or longer) use. If it feels hot to the figure tip, it is a sign of a cheap design that will not last long. Can you tell how hot the HF compressor got?

I rarely shoot for 30 minutes non-stop if ever!  I am doing 1:35 cale and smaller, so it's a few minutes, then switch bottles or clean the color cup.  (Badger 100LG or 155 Anthem)

Even on longer sprays, I have not noticed the compressor getting hot.  Maybe I'll go run it for 15 minutes or so and see what happens. 

Mainly my point is I am almost a year into using this compressor without any problems, and at the price, I could buy 3 for what the Polar Bear costs.

Killjoy

I rarely shoot for 30 minutes non-stop if ever!  I am doing 1:35 cale and smaller, so it's a few minutes, then switch bottles or clean the color cup.  (Badger 100LG or 155 Anthem)

Even on longer sprays, I have not noticed the compressor getting hot.  Maybe I'll go run it for 15 minutes or so and see what happens. 

Mainly my point is I am almost a year into using this compressor without any problems, and at the price, I could buy 3 for what the Polar Bear costs.

The hobby compressor should have an auto-on-off switch so that the motor will not be running all the time. Every modeler works differently. The motor may be on 20% of the time to 80% of the time during a half hour session. If the cylinder head does not get hot to the touch then, you get a pretty good compressor.

It is wonderful that your HF compressor holds up well.