Hey everyone. Again, I’m calling on your infinite wisdom for a problem I’m having. So I invested in a Sparmax Windstorm air compressor from hobby lobby. I had an old Testor’s “black box” compressor and I assumed it had died on me, which it had not. It simply overheated and shut down. Well, I had a 40% off coupon, so I obtained a $280 compressor for about $170 dollars. Can’t complain there. I’m hooked up to a Badger 105 airbrush gravity feed dual action. Well, I’m having an issue with pressure. And I wonder if there’s an easy fix before I go and buy a tank to add on to it. I’m not too fond of spraying at higher pressures because it seems that paint just goes everywhere. But when I lower the pressure anything under 15 PSI, the air pressure goes up and down, up and down. You can hear it. It seems that the compressor doesn’t kick on until it’s “empty.” This leads to the paint not being consistently controlled. Now, I’ve thought of picking up a small tank I can pipe into the compressor, but if I could avoid that with an easy fix, that’d be great. Thanks for all your help.
You have to get a tank for the compressor. The ups and downs are due to the cylinder strokes from the compressor. This will solve the problem.
If I understand correctly, the up and down is due to the compressor starting and stopping. One simple solution might be to introduce a small air leak so the compressor has to run all the time. You could also plumb in a tank like I did. A length of hose between the compressor and regulator can also act somewhat as a tank.
Don
Your compressor may be slightly out of adjustment in the pressure control switch or it may be defective. In either case, you should be able to get it fixed under the 1-year manufacturer’s warranty. If you can afford a little more, consider taking it back to Hobby Lobby and exchange it for the Stormforce model for a little more money.
The Hobby Lobby Stormforce is identical to the Sparmax TC-2000. It is a powerful compressor that you should not need a tank nor shall it see startup pulse. The motor should be running constantly whenever you pull the airbrush trigger until you let go of the trigger. When you are not blowing air, the motor stops automatically. You can set it at low air pressure without have to worry about the pressure switch or regulator bleed. The problem you encounter can be traced to Sparmax cutting corner at the lower range of their compressors. The Iwata Smartjet is know to have problem setting low pressure too.
Well, I took the tank route instead. I think it works pretty awesome. The compressor fills the tank to about 45 lbs. and then shuts off. I have been able to turn the regulator down to 5 PSI and get consistent airflow, so I think it will be more than sufficient. Thanks everyone for your input. This forum is why I come to the experts.
Yes, that’s a cat tree. Little buggers run the house anyways so I’ll use their’s for something useful. They don’t use it anymore anyways. [:D]
Nice adjustment, Charles!
Nicely done.
Don
Very nice job. Nothing works better than what you build yourself.
I did something similar a few years back and it worked well over the years.
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/18/t/117469.aspx
I am trying to mirror your same hook up here for the Windstorm but I can’t find the right bsp? Plug for the pressure regulator that you have. Help please!!!
BSP = Bristish Standard Pipe which is used in UK, Europe and the rest of the world.
NPT = National Pipe Thread which is used in the US only.
They are slightly different, but is close enough that you can put an 1/8" NPT plug into an 1/8" BSP socket. You need to use sufficient telfon tape to avoid leaking.
Most of the hardware store sell pipe fitting parts in NPT. The pressure regulator is likely to have BSP thread.
After you are done and find leak problem, the leak is easy to find with some soapy water. Good luck with your adventure.
I took some close up pictures of my setup. Hope this helps. I got all the fittings from Home Depot.
I was about to suggest Teflon tape but I see you’ve adressed that