Bam! It just hit me. I just need an air tank. (but now looking at a compressor)

I pick-up this one from Sears yesterday for $18.99:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915200000P?keyword=air+tank

 13 minutes usage between fill-ups should be fine by me.  I still need to get a regulator and moisture trap for it.  The ones at Sears were super expensive.  I think I've located cheaper ones at Northern Tool.

I always felt I wasnt getting enough spray time with my air tank and so I finally broke down and bought a small compressor.  Hearing how infrequently you guys had to fill you tanks, I was curious to see exactly how much time I was getting.  So, I filled up my tank (7 gallaon...thought it was a 5) to 95 psi (all my compressor could get up to).  Attached my Vega 600, set the regulator to 20 psi, then pushed the trigger while starting my timer. It went 13 minutes before the pressure dropped below 20 psi.  I'm kind of surprised, because before this I would have guessed I was only getting 5-7 mins.

2000-redrider wrote:

So how many minutes of spraying (@20 psi) would you guys guess you get out of your 5 gallon tanks?

If the tank was filled to 120 psi I would guess 20-30 minutes, maybe a bit longer.

I have never tried this so this is a guesstimate.

As the tank pressure drops you have to watch your regulator though as it may need to be turned up higher as tank pressure decreases.  

So how many minutes of spraying (@20 psi) would you guys guess you get out of your 5 gallon tanks? 

Not sure what kind of tank you are looking for but this place sells them for 4x4's and I bought the 5 gallon one and hooked it up to my Jun-Air silent compressor. It works great.

They don't have handles though so I am not sure if that is what you would want.

http://www.kmwperformance.com/products/AirTanks.aspx

Here is my 5 gallon one that I put a pressure switch, regulator/moisture trap, pop off safety valve, tank pressure gauge, and drain cock on the bottom to drain the moisture. 

Oh yeah, I forgot you said you had a compressor in the garage!

Bgrigg wrote:

. . . One of those Harbor Freight compressors, combined with their 5 gallon air tank, a few bucks worth of hose and fittings and you can have a tanked compressor for about half of one from Airbrush City. It would be as pretty, but will still be useful. It would take a while to fill the tank, but would last a couple of weeks. While water build up in the tank is a concern, I find that it's not as bad as it sounds. . .

Thanks for your comments Bgrigg.  Your comments are making me lean back to just getting the 5 gal tank.  If it lasts a couple weeks, then I can just take it to my garage and fill it up where I have a Craftsman compressor.  The tank will make no noise, other than the hiss of course, and there is no pulsation.  I don't really want both a compressor and tank because space is at a premium.

 

If you really want quiet, get a CO2 tank. They cost a bit to get setup, and there is the requirement that they need to get refilled, but I've heard of people using them and they swear by (as opposed to at) them. I've also heard that (depending on your use) they can last months before refilling. All you hear is a hissssss. And CO2 is "dry" as in no moisture formed.

The major reason the smaller compressors are more popular is due more to the fact that people often live in small houses, or in apartments, where the large stand along "garage" type compressors are just too big and too loud. And air tanks alone still need to be filled, and for many people that means a trip to the local gas station for air.

I use a garage type compressor, though a fairly small and inexpensive version, and which was an upgrade from a small hobby compressor. The tank settles out any pulsations and I'm lucky to be able to plumb a hose into my house (benefit of ownership vs. rent!). Another way of dealing with pulsation is to use a 10' hose (which the compressor you linked to has!). While it doesn't completely eliminate the pulsation, the length of hose minimizes it to a manageable effect. The noise is another matter. I've heard they are comparable to a vacuum cleaner, and who wants to run one of those while painting?

One of those Harbor Freight compressors, combined with their 5 gallon air tank, a few bucks worth of hose and fittings and you can have a tanked compressor for about half of one from Airbrush City. It would be as pretty, but will still be useful. It would take a while to fill the tank, but would last a couple of weeks. While water build up in the tank is a concern, I find that it's not as bad as it sounds. I dutifully emptied my 3 gallon tank after every use for a year and never had a drip of water come out. Now I just drain it off every couple of weeks and still haven't seen any moisture. However I live in a fairly dry climate. Somebody in Louisiana or Georgia might have a different story to tell!

I will also state that once my compressor goes to the "big garage in the sky" I'm replacing it with a Silentaire or similar super quiet compressor that can run in my hobby room, without waking the dead!

 

I was just looking through the old threads and found this one:

/forums/635523/ShowPost.aspx

It talked about inexpensive compressors available at Harbor Freight, so this had made me reconsider the purchase of the air tank.

 This is the compressor I'm looking at:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=93657

 However, as I read further into the post above it talks about maybe getting a tank later and with a tank you don't have air pulsation.  I always assumed these these hobby compressors had a small tank which was large enough to do light airbrushing without the compressor running continously.  Am I mistaken?

I don't have a lot of space so the size of a small compressor is appealing but this air pulsation doesn't sound very good.  Small compressors seem more popular than stand alone air tanks on this forum.  Even though these compressors are quiet, they can't be as quiet as an air tank.  Any suggestions?

 

 

Thanks Fred.  That's great info.  I think I will probably go with a 5 gallon tank.  I am thinking that is big enough that I don't need to keep refilling it very often, its cheaper, an I can keep the noise out of the house.

Hey Stu,

I junked the plastic hose for a nice braided hose that I got with my airbrush.  That being said, the hose is always pressurized, but only between 8 and 15psi.

Honestly, I don't drain the tank after every use.  The compressor is indoors at a fairly constant temperature.  In the 3 years I've been using it, I never had any water vapor come out when I drained it and I never get water in the trap.  I drain it every once in a while, just to play devil's advocate.

-Fred

 

Gigatron wrote:

Well, I have a craftsman compressor that I run my airbrush off of.  It has a 3 gallon tank and fills in under a minute.  This is it, here  http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915310000P?keyword=air+compressor It's noisy when it fills, but just fill it when noone is around.  After it fills, it's just feeding from the tank.  With the built-in ajustable regulator, it's perfect for airbrushing.  It has a drain on the bottom, so you can release the air if you're concerned about condensation.

 Fred,

I have this very compressor out in my garage.  I release the air out of the tank after each use.  I think it said to in the instructions.  It may have to do with the cheap hoses which come with it not being able to hold the pressure for extended periods of time.  So because of the noise and the having to drain it after each use, its not a good solution for me.  But I am wondering if I really need to drain it.

Do you keep air your compressor for extended periods of time and if so do you have continually have air pressure in the hose?  Of course I understand the pressures will be much lower because of the regulator.

 Stuart 

 

Well, I have a craftsman compressor that I run my airbrush off of.  It has a 3 gallon tank and fills in under a minute.  This is it, here  http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00915310000P?keyword=air+compressor

It's noisy when it fills, but just fill it when noone is around.  After it fills, it's just feeding from the tank.  With the built-in ajustable regulator, it's perfect for airbrushing.  It has a drain on the bottom, so you can release the air if you're concerned about condensation.

It's the best $100 I ever spent.

-Fred

 

 

Gigatron wrote:

Go with as big of a tank as readily available.  The bigger the tank, the better.

 Thanks Fred for your comments but I've been thinking.....

 5 gallons seems to be the smallest available and the largest I want because I don't want it take up a lot of space  Filling up a 5 gallon tank with my garage compressor is going to take some time.  This is okay if I can leave it filled and can get multiple uses out of each tank.  If I get a couple weeks out of each refill, that is fine.  However, if I have to refill prior to each use, then forget it.  Its not worth the effort.  What do you think?

Go with as big of a tank as readily available.  The bigger the tank, the better.

Northern tools will probably have the biggest selection of regulators and may even carry moisture traps.  If not, check airbrushing sites for the traps.  I have an Iwata specific (or so they say) pistol-grip trap from dixieart.com.  Check there, bearair or airbrushdepot.  Any of them should have moisture traps.

-Fred