Badger 200NH air not getting past trigger?

Wilbur

Have you tried pushing down on the trigger without the needle in place? When you clean the brush make sure it seats back onto the valve when you press it down.

Thats where I would start with it just make sure the air is being triggered.

Phil

Phil ,

Additional info.......the problem seems to be in the 50-036 valve assembly which controls the air going into the brush....the little pointy valve in that assembly which the trigger pushes down to let air in.... it moves freely as it should.......

I have just that assembly alone at end of my hose (off the airbrush).....hooked up to air source and then manually push down the pointy valve as the trigger would.....and no air comes through.

So there must be some kind of blockage doing this in this 50-036 assembly, although I can't image what.

Hope that helps in trouble shooting advice, maybe I should soak this in something.

Thanks again for any advice

Wilbur

There shouldnt be anything getting there as its just air being pushed in. Silly question but you are getting air through the hose I take it.

If you have a was to magnify have a look in the hose end and see if you can see anything. I wouldn't drop it into anyting get to clean it our as there are some small seals in there that could react to any solvent.

Phil

Hi Phil,  Yes the air is coming through the hose,  if I unscrew the assembly from the hose the air blasts out of the hose as it should, so something in the assembly is stopping the air.

The hose also works well with my other badger 150's.

I have a few hoses and all work well.

OK if you are getting air then yes there is something stuck/wrong with the valve. Try using windex or an amonia based window cleaning product and drop the valve in for 10 minutes then try it.

Thanks all I can think of for a start, after that if it doesnt work you can try a harsher cleaner but it would be at your own risk

Phil

I cleaned the assembly in Windex for ten minutes, then un-assembled the thing and soaked it in CLR.....for an hour.........the thing is clean and the little plunger with rubber washer is clean I can't understand what is causing this to happen all parts look as new. Since I have been having this problem on and off  since I bought this AB I am going to assume a manufacturing defect and buy the new 50-036 part for around $16.

If that doesn't do it I'll never buy another Badger again. Keep in mind this has already gone back to Badger once.

I'm surprised as Badger are pretty good with customers and if they have worked on it I'd expect it to be working fine. Still it could be an issue inside the part and no matter what anyone says a bad experience can put you off a brand

W.W.

I have several Badger's, and have had several other types as well. The only valve failure I experienced was with a Paasche, the symptoms seem much like yours as I recall. The problem was with a swollen "O" ring, probably my fault as I had likely allowed thinner to enter the valve during cleaning. You may already know, but it's important to keep the airbrush pointing downward when cleaning, to prevent anything from entering the valve area.

It may be possible to use a little airbrush lube, or even chapstick if you have none, to help the mechanism function sufficiently. Worth a try.

If you haven't checked it out yet, I heartily recommend a look at Don's airbrush website. Just Google it that way, you'll find all kinds of info that may help you diagnose and fix your problem.

The Badger line is my favorite overall, I use all four of the 200 models, plus a 155 and 100G. For the most part they remain trouble free and reliable as a hammer, with LOT'S of use. Don't give up on it yet, once it's sorted you'll get many years of good quality service.

Please let us know how you make out with it, good luck.

Patrick    

I lubed the set up with a minute amount of WD-40 to see if it would do anything...it was smoother yet no air got through. Probably a mistake as WD-40 is petroleum based. Anyway...

I called Badger and they suggested the O ring may be swollen as well, so I bought two O rings online just to have 2....cost $3.70 for 2............shipping $8.............nice huh?

I'll report when they arrive, Thanks for all the input, much appreciated guys.

Wilbur- You've suffered enough already, $8 bones for shipping is not at all realistic or fair. When they arrive, if you don't have it fixed let me know. I bought several of the new valves on ebay, dirt cheap, if you still have problems I'll send you a whole valve assembly free. Ideally nothing should ever be allowed to reach the valve, but some have said they do sometimes use a dab of Badger Regdab, their proprietary airbrush lube on the valves. I use it ONLY, and all of my AB's work very well with it, but I have never found the need to use anything on the valves.

Let us know how you fare, this sort of thing is really good info to share with fellow modelers. Hope you get it sorted soon.

Patrick

That's a really nice gesture Patrick! More people should be as thoughtful toward others. Well played!

Modelmaker66 - I've received much the same treatment several times, always appreciate it and enjoy passing something on to someone else when I can. I feel somewhat disappointed, when I read of a person who has a problem that isn't resolved by the support people who service items.

It seems a thorough inspection and function test should have identified this anomaly, we shouldn't have to spend money on shipping only to get the same problem back, and then pay such unrealistic charges for sending parts so we can fix it ourselves. I spoke with Don Wheeler, he thinks there is a good chance the o ring will fix it, if not I'll send Wilbur a whole new valve, my pleasure.

Thanks for the compliment.

Patrick

Thanks Patrick,

I'll report back.

Problem solved: I received the O-rings today and that was indeed the problem.  The new one was literally half the size of the old one.  I ordered 2 so I have a spare. The air comes through and the valve works as it should

Question: After an Airbrush session should I open up that valve to let any possible moisture or condensation from my air source dry up?  It seems like a pain but if its going to save me from this headache happening again I'll do it.

Do other 200 users completely disassemble after each use?

Thanks again!

Glad to read that you're fixed up and running. It's been so long since I removed an air valve from any airbrush, that I can't recall when it was, years for sure. After painting session and rinse spraying, I remove the head set and needle. Carefully I use cotton buds,  tiny dental brushes and even toothpicks with an appropriated thinner, for a thorough clean up of the airbrush forward body interior and needle. Then with the front bits disassembled I give them the same treatment, once everything dirty is out of the AB and front bits, I use a tiny bit of Badger's AB lube to coat all threaded items, a dab on the needle where it sits in the bearing surface. That's it.

Assuming you didn't clean the AB with the body facing down, nothing should have entered the valve area. Hence no need to pull the valve, unless you have the desire to inspect it. As I wrote, I don't go in there unless there is a functional need.

Patrick

Solvents will cause an o-ring to swell like that.  I suspect the o-ring is what Badger changed to repair your airbrush the first time.  The lesson here is to keep solvents out of the air valve.  As Patrick wrote, the air valve is something you should almost never have to mess with.  The only parts of the airbrush that normally need cleaning are the parts that contact paint.  That excludes the air valve and the rear section of the airbrush.

Don

Thanks Don and Patrick.

Don I've seen your terrific sight on airbrushes.  My 200 has the bottle on the bottom and not the little cup on top. That said,  in the past I would place a model on a stand to paint (particularly large models) and at times would get down on my knees and spray up to get the lower sections. Should I not do this as the AB would have the nose up and body back when spraying?

Or is it just when cleaning with pure thinners that I have to keep the nose down?

Thanks again.

Thanks for the comment on the site, Wilbur.  As long as paint doesn't spill out, it doesn't matter how you hold the airbrush while spraying.  The air path is separate from the paint path, and there should be no chance of paint backing into the air valve.  And even when cleaning with thinners, there is little chance of it unless you soak the airbrush, and you shouldn't need to do that.  Just clean it like Patrick does, and you should be fine.

I'm glad you got it working.

Don

Wilbur_ I mis-typed on last reply, suggesting which way to face the AB body when cleaning. I feel you only want to clean with the nose pointing DOWN. With front bits and needle out of the brush for cleaning, nothing would prevent fluids from passing back to the rear section of the body through the bearing hole, and then into the air valve, if the body was pointing up.

With the needle in the bearing hole, the fit would be so tight that nothing would be allowed to pass back through to the rear of the body. Therefore when painting, having the brush pointing upwards would not pose a problem. My 200, 200-NH, 200-G, 200-SG and 200-20 all have the same basic front end, all are very easy to clean thoroughly as suggested. You should now have many years of good, trouble free service from your 200. I doubt you'll find any need to remove the air valve again, any time soon.

Sorry for my earlier poor writing accuracy, glad you're fixed up now.  

Patrick

Thanks Don,

I'm wondering how on earth that O -ring blew up to twice its size.  I never soaked an airbrush, and I'm usually very careful and neat about cleaning.  I've used canned air before, I wonder If the cold from that method would affect the O-ring.  Maybe I should stick to the compressor.

The only thing I know of that can cause the o-ring to enlarge is exposure to solvents, like lacquer thinner or mineral spirits.  That's what I assumed happened to yours.  If you've never gotten solvent on it, I don't know what would have caused it.  Cold might make it brittle, but I've never heard of it changing dimensions.  Canned air is not very effective and it's expensive, but I've never heard of it causing o-ring damage.

Don