compressed CO2 cylinder Vs refillable storage tank ?

You won't need a moisture trap with CO2 since it is a dry gas. I've always used compressors so my experience with either is zero, but there have been numerous posts here about them.

A CO2 tank, and it doesn't have to be a large one, should last a good while since there is a lot of pressure in them that provides a lot of volume. I've read that some guys get away with only having it refilled once a year. A gas-station refilled tank is not going to last very long since you will probably not get more than about 100 psi from most gas stations (most of the fittings used for filling tires are limited to 90 psi). My compressor has a 5 gallon tank and is pressurized to 140 psi. If I shut it off after the tank has pressurized I can paint for about an hour before I have to crank it back up again.

Personally I'd go with a silent compressor or a CO2 tank. Either option is going to cost more than a gas-station tank but the convenience of not having to refill it all the time is going to be a big benefit.

how about something larger than 5 gallons? or will that be too heavy to schlepp to the gas station ?

I'm not sure you'll find air tanks much larger than 5 gallons. But, say you find a 10 gallon tank. That still means you're going to refill it every couple of hours of painting. If it were me, I'd rather have something I had to refill every few months rather than every few days. But, admittedly I don' t know how the difference in price is.

hmm, good point about the refilling. i reckon im going to go for the CO2 then

hey im going to the street here where all the hardware stores are and i have a rough idea of what im going to need for my CO2 setup, could anyone please tell me if this is right ?

2 stage regulator, one for telling me the cylinder pressure, one for adjusting the line-out pressure. the line-out regulator should have 1 psi increments, and i should have a minimum of 40 PSI available to me.

thankyou very much for your help in advance

QUOTE: 2 stage regulator, one for telling me the cylinder pressure, one for adjusting the line-out pressure. the line-out regulator should have 1 psi increments, and i should have a minimum of 40 PSI available to me.

I'm not familiar with the setups, but I would want a lot less pressure than 40 psi. That may be as low as they go though, I just don't know anything about them. If so I'd add a secondary regulator since I never spray at 40 psi except to clean out my airbrush. I normally spray at about 15, and frequently lower than that.

I have a single stage regulator on a 20cu ft CO2 tank....... the regulator will do way less then 40psi out of it.......

QUOTE: Originally posted by reggiethedorf how about something larger than 5 gallons? or will that be too heavy to schlepp to the gas station ?

I bought a 5gallon storage tank and all the filters, fittings, and regulators for about $50 usd ( with my employee discount) It doesn't weigh all that much , and the 10 g shouldn't weigh much more, though it might be a little awkward to carry. But the ten gallon ones are available, I bought mine at the local NAPA auto parts store. Personally I went with the compressed air rig because my wife would probably draw the line at buying a CO2 tank. My ultimate plan is to get a compressor for my garage and run an airline into my basement.

hmm, so how much PSI should i be looking for ? am i right about the 1 PSI increments ?

depends, the two stage regulators are usually industrial variety so the increments would be in 2 to 2.5 psi increments, it's doable.. I used one for the first month or so I had my compressor, just easier in 1psi increments. you could always take the second regulator off and replace it with a hobby style regulator. you might need a reducer of some sort, maybe someone here using CO2 could help you with that info (if you need to)... I know on the big tanks they usually have 1/2" connectors on them.

... if Singapore uses the metric system on their regulators (I don't know), they're gonna be in kPa or mmHg... so you would need to convert for whatever pressure you need. about 7kPa per psi, about 52mmHg per psi.

---edit---
the tanks are gonna come about 180 - 220 psi or so... if they are similar to O2. the first gauge will just reflect the tank pressure... if it starts dropping low it's time to refill... the second regulator will control the flow to your airbrush.. thats the PSI you need to watch for painting. most people paint at somewhere from 6 to 20 psi depending on what they are painting. if you are going to be using that Aztek you might look for some of the aztek users here and email them... I understand their low end starts off at a little higher pressures than the Badgers and others... but they can set ya straight!

I used to weld and the second regulator will go much less than 40psi... its been 25 years since I have, but I believe it starts from zero in 2psi increments.. (on the industrial flavor regulator)