I'm starting to shop for a compressor.

smeagol the vile wrote:

I have decided to sell a few things to buy a compressor for my airbrush, im killing these cans of air that I got with it...  I'm not looking to spend more then $150.00 on it, because I dont think I can make more then that, two I am looking at are http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=84127 http://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/Airbrushes_and_Supplies/TES00050204/product.php?s=3&t=0&u=6 Are these any good, which is better, or do you know of a better one, for that price?

The Paasche D500 is a good starter compressor. It has more than enough pressure for the gravity feed, internal mix AB's. You may need a more powerful compressor for the external mix, siphon feed airbrush. And you should get it with the filter/regulator.

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/pad5co.html

I got the Paasche DA400 myself. It was tested as the one "holding constant pressure" over the widest range among all units in the July issue of FSM. But the total will be slightly over your $150 budget after adding the postage. It is worth the extra bucks if you can afford it.

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/padaco1.html

In the undre $300 airbrush compressor, most of the name brands are made by Sparmax of Taiwan. You can find the Sparmax brand at Hobby Lobby.

http://www.sparmax.com.tw/

Most of the cheaper no name brand come from China. FengHua is the biggest supplier. Most review think that they are good value too. You can find some of the models at Harbor Freight or Ebay.

http://www.china-airbrush.com/min_air_compressor.htm

The "quietest" shop compressors that I found are the DeWalt D55140 and Senco PC1010 at 69 dB. Both have a 1 gallon tank and enough air for a bank of airbrushes. Other air tool compressors, particularly the cheap oilless type, are way too loud for in-room use. By comparison, most cheap (under $300) airbrush compressors have 55-60 dB noise level, and most cheap air tool compressor at 75-80 dB.

I got the DeWalt at Home Depot for $120 last week. It is much noisier than the Paasche DA400. You can still hold a normal conersation in the same room if you talk loud. Some users described the DeWalt and Senco as quiet. I disagree. But it may be tolerable to some. For airbrush use, the motor is off most of the time. The construction of the DeWalt and Senco are very good. Other cheap shop compressors, NO WAY. Don't get the cheap shop compressor from Harbor Freight or Campbell Hausfeld. It's not worth the trouble. Noisy and un-reliable.

If you want to try the shop compressor, get it from a local store and make sure they allow return when your family or neighbor complain about the noise.

Thanks for the info.

Im not quite sure how a compressor works, if it only compresses the air when its turned on or if it stores it after its compressed for use while its off.

As far as noise, Its just in my room, and im only going to use it in small incriments, but, with that said, I tend to paint as late as 5 am, so I cant have it loud enough to wake people up. 

I am honetly only looking for something thats strong enough to power a internal mix airbrush.  Thats all I have at the moment, and it works fine for my needs. 

I would suggest this one.  I have it and I like it quite a bit.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95630

Very quite and works great,  I would get a aditional Pressure regulator to make things work a bit better.

Greasy wrote:

I would suggest this one.  I have it and I like it quite a bit. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95630 Very quite and works great,  I would get a aditional Pressure regulator to make things work a bit better.

Greasy, this is a good recommendation for her (his?) need. The compressor has the pressure regulator on the filter bottom. (See pages 13/14 of manual.) Why is it not good enough to need an additional pressure regulator?

http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/95000-95999/95630.pdf

I don't have this compressor. But I think that it is a fine, complete package as is for first time ABers. The airbrush is a Badger 155 clone of reasonable quality.

If the compressor has a tank equipped......it will fill the tank and shut off. Once you use a certain amount of air by spraying (or leakage)....the compressor will kick on and bring the tank up to level.

HTH 

This question might sound kind of dumb, but will any compressor work? I have a small one from sears I use for my nail gun. Things like noise are a non-issue for me. Is there anything I need to lookout for? Maybe something I should avoid?

thanks,

Scott

Yep.....a nailer comp will work......but adding a regulator and a moisture trap (if not equipped).....is very important! Chances are your nailer is better than many compressors! 

Which reply are you responding to STV?

smeagol the vile wrote:

I dont need a compressor airbrush combo.  I already have an airbrush, and its alot better then what that is a copy of.

The Harbor Freight package is priced lower than any compressor (alone) of equivalent quality. You can keep the air hose and just give the airbrush away or keep it for non-critical secondary job. Your original choice of Paasche D500SR is fine too, but costs a little more and without a hose.

The Badger 155 is a fine AB. Just cuirous, what is your AB that is "a lot better than" the 155?

well, maybe not alot better, but is better.  A badger 200 (dunno why I keep thinking its a 300)

Also, sorry if I sounded hostile,  Had a bad bought of crap, shit falling, pieces breaking, pieces getting lost, computer problems.  I have days of nothing, then avalanches of crap all at once. 

smeagol the vile wrote:

well, maybe not alot better, but is better.  A badger 200 (dunno why I keep thinking its a 300)

The Model 155, "Anthem" is a bottom feed double action, internal mix air brush. The two angle needle tip precisely mates with the Anthem's cone shape nozzle enabling a single needle/nozzle variations. The Anthem's body design provides exacting balance and long term user comfort. It is popular among the users in this forum. The Badger 200 is an older design. A single action, internal mix air brush and costs a bit less than the 155. I am not a Badger user. I have a Paasche, an Iwata gravity feed and a "Badger 155" clone bottom feed.

Granted, the HF one is a clone, not a real Badger. But you may still find it an "upgrade" over the single action AB for some tasks.

Hope that you have better luck with your compressor shopping.

Ok, I really need some help here.  because I have no idea what I am looking at with your suggestions.

What I honestly need is a compressor that I will beable to use, and not need to replace because its not good enough, or not powerfull enough, for a good while.

now, let me ask 

Is this better then

http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/pad5co.html 

This 

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=84127 

Are either of them better then this one or is it to powerfull 

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83856

Also, does anyone know what kind of adapter, and if that Chicago airbrush supply company has the adaptor for a Badger airhose so it is compatable with non badger compressors

( like this one http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83856 )

Also, those blue passhe compressors, do they have tanks on them, do they store air? or how does that work? 

smeagol the vile wrote:

now, let me ask  Is this better then http://www.chicagoairbrushsupply.com/pad5co.html  This  http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=84127  They are the SAME compressor from Paasche. Paasche sells it with (D500SR) and without (D500) filter/regulator. The D500SR with filter/regulator from Chicago Airbrush is cheaper than the D500 without filter/regulator from MicroMark. You don't need any help to figure out which is the better deal.  Are either of them better then this one or is it to powerfull  http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83856 This one is a shop (air tools) compressor with good spec. It uses an oiled compressor which is much better than the cheap oilless compressor sold at Walmart. You can use it to power a band of 10-15 airbrushes in commercial use. It is also good for "Use for power nailers and other air-power tools; inflation of tires, pools, balls, mattresses, and rafts; air-blast cleaning; painting by spray gun". But it is too powerful and too noisy inside a house. Call MicroMark to ask the noise rating which is not on their description page. You want something less than 60 dBA for indoor use. If they don't know the noise level, you should not buy it. Also, does anyone know what kind of adapter, and if that Chicago airbrush supply company has the adaptor for a Badger airhose so it is compatable with non badger compressors ( like this one http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83856 ) Almost all airbrush compressor sold in the US use 1/4" NPT thread for output connection. As far as I know, Iwata, Badger, Paasche and all other garden variety airbrush airhose also use 1/4" NPT connector. No adapter should be needed. Of course, if you buy a larger shop compressor, it could use other size than 1/4". Also, those blue passhe compressors, do they have tanks on them, do they store air? or how does that work?  The only Paasche compressor that has an air tank is the D3000 model. Neither the D400 nor the D500 use an air tank. Check it out at the Paasche web site. http://www.paascheairbrush.com/cgi-bin/store/search.cgi?category=Compressors+%26+Regulators You will need to budget over $200 to get a good airbrush compressor with tank. Since you use only one airbrush, the air tank if nice, but not necessary. Here is one good example for aircompressor with tank. http://www.bearair.com/prodinfo.asp?number=120122

Many of your questions had already been answered at airbrushing web sites. You should check them out. Here is one example of helpful informaiton.

http://www.howtoairbrush.com/compressors_for_airbrushing.htm

Good luck shopping.

 Have you considered a Co2 bottle? They are cheaper, totally quiet and you don't need a moisture trap. A 20# bottle will run you around $65-$75, and a refill cost around $10.00. You can get one at your local fire extinguisher shop and get refills there also.

                                                                          Charlie

While CO2 is an option, remember what you are dealing with. CO2 is stored at much higher pressure than air from a compressor. As a result, the storage tank is built to different specs and the  valve is going to be more expensive. Additionally, you need to consider how much airbrushing you do. At my company, we refill many CO2 cylinders. The cost doesn't come from the CO2, but from the labor. If you can get a recharge done for $10.00, it won't be a big tank. You may find that even at that price, the cost of frequent refills outweighs the cost of a decent compressor, regulator and water trap.

Finally, a safety note. We sell fire suppression systems. CO2 is a great one. But it suppresses fires by displacing oxygen, as do other inert gases such as argon and nitrogen. So, even if you're using it to run and AB, there will be some oxygen displacement. If you're working with CO2, make sure that it is in a location that provides ample amounts of fresh air coming in and allows the CO2 to be expelled. CO2 has a tendency to "hang around" in the room it is discharged into. If using CO2 (or other inert gases) do so in a well ventilated room. The EPA is cracking down on the use of CO2 systems in the fire suppression industry. This is not only due to safety issues, but because it is also a "greenhouse" gas. I would suggest using regular air instead.

My compressor set-up has cost me about $110, with a 3 gallon air reserve tank and a water trap. I works great and I don't have to worry about recharges at inconvenient times. 

smeagol the vile wrote:

I just got a WICKED deal on a Badger Cyclone II compressor 180-11 (http://www.hobbymasters.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2266) for reference. I got it on ebay for 190$ shipping included.

Very interesting. What attracted you to this auction? At 1/12 horsepower and 30 psi max pressure, the compressor is very low power and NOT very versatile.

Everything you mentioned up to now had more power, more pressure capability and costed a lot less (as new with manufacturer's warranty) than this one.

smeagol the vile wrote:

the auction is brand new, with a warrentee.  Plus, It was recomended by a friend who has had this one and used it, for some amazing things, for a good 12 years +

Badger is a very reliable brand and the Cyclone2 is a good starter compressor for light duty tasks. The compressor does not come with the filter/regulator. You may be able to use it without a regulator because it does not exceed 35 psi, but is good to have one if you want to paint finer lines at low pressure. A filter is definitely need to be added.

The 180-11 is an older model that had been discontinued awhile back. You may want to check with Badger on its warranty before opening the box. Better yet, you may want to check with the seller if he will exchange it for the current Badger 180-12 model, which is slightly more powerful at a lower price. Otherwise, the features are the same with the exception of an on-off switch on the Badger 180-12. The 180-11 does not have an on-off switch on it which requires you unplug it when not in use. 

Here are some recent sales of the 180-11 on Ebay.

http://search-completed.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=so&sbrftog=1&fcl=3&catref=C6&from=R2&satitle=Badger+compressor+180-11&sacat=134554%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=63017&sabfmts=1&fis=2&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1%26fsoo%3D1

It gives you some idea on how much people are selling used Cyclone2 on Ebay.

scrambler8 wrote:

Go the the Campbell Hausfed website at www.chpower.com. They have a decent compressor with a three gallon tank and a regulator for about $65.00. I believe the part number is FP209400RB. I've been using one of these compressors for a few years. It works welll, isn't too noisy and is very affordable.

will that compressor run on 110 volts? I need a small one for use in my garage, and maybe run a small die grinder from time to time.

gary

doc-hm3 wrote:

I agree about the issues of o2, and this is how I use my co2. Crack open a window in an adjoining room for air flow, then I have a 465cfm exhauast fan in my paint booth. And no matter how you paint as long as your in a closed inviroment (indoors) use an appropriate face mask filter for your health. I use a 20# bottle which will paint approximately 5-6 kits/builds.

not trying to hijac the thread or anything, but whatkind of spray booth is that? I really like it.

gary