Air compressor choice

Have you thought about ordering a compressor online?  Dixieart has some really good compressors and the shipping will be free.  I use a Badger 100G (which is the same as the 100LG except it has a smaller cup), and I bought a Paasche D200R compressor from Dixieart.  It includes a compressor, regulator and moisture trap for $139.00 with free shipping.  It's an great compressor, the best I've ever owned.  There is no pulsing.

Jesse

Hi Jesse

Thanks for the response.

Unfortunately living in South Africa precludes the purchase of major equipment on line as, although local shipping might be free, overseas shipping would cost a fortune, not to mention import duties etc etc.

The idea is good, but in practice it just wouldn't be financially viable.

David

David,

There is an area on the profile page where you can enter your location. It helps us to help you if we know where you live. I presumed from the three compressors you listed that you weren't from "around these parts" as only the Tamiya had a recognizable name.

Tamiya spraywork set:

Looks lightweight, I found a site that showed the compressor itself (rather than the case) and it's PLASTIC (same as the case). I'd avoid this one!

Puma model 6L (MA2006GA):

This one I couldn't find a specific model. I found what I think might be it's bigger brother with a 12L tank, but the model number you specify shows no returns. Puma makes industrial compressors, so this would be one to consider. I would expect it to be a bit noisy!

Werther X1 or X1AS:

I found these at the Jeffrey Stein site in South Africa, so I would imagine this is where you or your LHS would get it. I would go for the AS one with the moisture trap and regulator pre-assembled. If you had the money go for the Werther 2 compressor, as it's quieter.

So which one?:

I would avoid the Tamiya, looks like a toy and I would expect a short life span. 

The Puma I would like more information on before I would lay the money down. The tank will help with pulsing. Does it come with a regulator and moisture trap? Will the LHS let you run the compressor in the shop to hear how loud it is?

Any of the Werther's would be good, but the tank on the Puma is a big draw, but pulsing can be overcome by using a 10' braided hose.

See if the LHS will let you operate the compressors and make your decision based on noise and ease of operation.

And what do you have, Bill?:

I have a Husky branded "garage" style compressor with a 3 gallon (12L) tank, probably similar to the Puma. It's LOUD, but as it lives outside of my house, I barely even hear it. I couldn't tolerate it in the same room! I drilled a hole through my hobby room exterior wall and have a short (6') hose to pipe the air inside my spray booth.

I hope this helps!

Bill

Hi Bill

Thank you for the detailed reply.

First and foremost I have found where to insert my geographical location on my profile, which I have done (I think). Thanks for that piece of advice.

I have been doing some digging myself in relation to the Tamiya I originally asked about. As far as I am concerned it is a definite non starter. It appears to run off of a pair of rechargable batteries, which are not included in the price. I can just imagine being in the middle of a painting session and the batteries die. Not a pleasing thought.

The Puma 6L is the one I am drifiting towards, having a 4 Bar (56psi?) max pressure, 34L/min, built in moisture trap/filter and what appears to be two pressure gauges, one for the tank and one for the outlet pressure. Needless to say one of the distributors who I contacted said that a number of their clients used the compressor in the same room as they were working and didn't find it intrusive. I shall visit my LHS to see if they can fire one up for me, or better still see if I could take it on approval, (fat chance),

David

David,

I didn't stick around long enough to realize the Tamiya ran off batteries. Egad, what a horrid system! The fact that the compressor was plastic was enough for me to dismiss it.

The Puma sounds like a winner. Different folk have different tolerances. The compressor I have was bought so I could also run pneumatic tools for the ongoing house renovations SWMBO has planned, and it's loud enough that you have to shout to communicate when it's running.

Good luck with your purchase! Don't forget to come back and give us your review.

Cheers,

Bill

Hi David,

I suffered the same problem a couple of years ago. Living in Eastern Europe is not easy for a modeller like me, may be it`s the same for you in South Africa. We have a few importers for airbrushes /mainly for european and far eastern manufacturers/ but only one imports compresors and the prices are brrrrrrrrr. We have a few producers of comresors in my country but they all make loud, heavy duty machines wich are capable of destroying the house with vibrations and awfull noise. So i took another approach, i`ve constructed my own compressor from scratch /with a lot of help from one of my best friends and my dad/. I`ve used the compressor of an old refrigerator /russian ZIL some 35 years old, but it works like new/, an empty tank for recharging heavy duty freezers with freon, a presostat, filter-moisture trap and other small pieces. It cost me less than 100$ /a decent compressor from the importer would`ve costed me arround 500$/. Actually it was quite easy to construct it, the tuffer part was to find where to test it safely /i dont want anything that will blow right in my face while i`m painting/, but this problem was solved too. It`s not at all prety and it`s not light either, but it provides steady presure up to 5 atm /i can repaint my car if i want with it / and it`s really silent, actually my airbrushes make more noise. Here are some pics of the compressor, look at pages 3 and 4 /the presure valve and the filters are not present at the pictures since i was changing them with a valve-filter-trap combo at the moment/. I hope this helps you even if it may seem a little OT.