Do I need an air bleed hole?

you shouldn't need a bleed hole with a regulator Karl, and based on those pressures I would suspect you had a leak somewhere in the couplings.

Try dripping some soapy water over the connections and see if you get bubbles. (with the bleed hole taped shut)

You might need to use more teflon tape, 3 or 4 wraps of the threads usually does it. If you haven't got teflon tape on there, then there's the problem I suspect. You can get it at any hardware store in the plumbing department.

Are you using a water trap? If so make sure the valve at the bottom is screwed tight as well.

Good luck!!!

A bleed hole doesn't have anything to do with a regulator as such, they allow outlet pressure to bleed down on compressors that do not have a tank. If there is pressure on the outlet side, in the hose for example, many compressors have a difficult time starting because they are unable to overcome the pressure. This causes them to draw a lot of starting current and overheat quickly or just not create any airflow.

You might be able to get by without one or by using a smaller hole to allow pressure to bleed down more slowly. It should also not be a problem if you remember to trigger your airbrush to allow it to bleed down before starting the compressor. To be certain I'd check with the manufacturer of your compressor.

Guys thanks for the feedback.

Since I got the regulator and associated connector last week, i haven't had a chance to fully assemble everything, hence all the components have only been screwed up finger tight.

Before doing some work this afternoon I took the time to tighten everything up. This has seen the unrestricted airflow at around 25-30 PSI, with the bleed hole taped up.

So far the compressor appears to be fine with this set, and the pressure bleeds off automatically after each burst of spraying.

Once again thanks for the advice.

Karl