Sorry to hear of your disappointment with the TC910. I’ve had mine for 6 months now and it works just fine. That said, the TC910 isn’t the only AB compressor around and, as Kei Lau said, the Sparmax TC-2000 is a nice, well made and very quiet compressor. Friend of mine has one and is delighted with it. You can get one for $199 with free shipping from:
If you want a tank, the Sparmax TC-620X is also a great compressor but $100 more expensive. I have no relation to Dixie Art but have purchased from them and have always had great service. Hope you find one to your liking.
Go to Lowes or a real hardware store & look at their units. Get at least 1/2h.p. with tank,regulator, filter etc. For the $$ ya’ll are talkin’, you can get a GREAT set up for that kinda $$'s.
I have a Campbell-Hausfeld, 1/2h.p. for over 20 years, use it to air the tires on my Jeeps,riding mower & paint with. Check 'em out!!
The twin obviously offers more power, but as the pistons are 1/2 a stroke away from each other pulsation while not removed is dampened & is generally not noticeable.
For modelling, if I had the choice of single with tank or twin without, I would opt for the single with tank - no matter what you do with a tank-less twin, the auto on/off is going to kick the compressor in every time you demand air & at lower pressures & constant demand it may even cycle on/off in quite a frustrating manner. Another couple of benefit of having a tank is that during the compressors life time it will go through far less on/off cycles (less wear) & the tank also assists in cooling the air & helps remove any moisture which may be present.
I agree with Martin (Milairjunkie) that the auto-on-off without a tank can be distracting. But I still prefer a twin piston over a single with tank. The twin piston runs cooler and quieter, thus, probably last longer. Even with a tank, the compressor motor still kicks on and off, but less frequent. Because it does not synchronize with my trigger action, it is even more distracting. I can live with either.
I started out with a twin piston compressor without a tank. It worked perfectly. But just out of curiosity, I added an airtank myself. It makes no difference to the compressor performance. But the auto-on-off is different as mentioned above. If the compressor is quiet enough to begin with, it really does not matter.
Martin has a business selling airbrush equipments. He is very knowledgeable about compressors. He may have a very good point about the low pressure setting problem. But I have not experienced that.
I love this forum which provides a wealth of information from a lot of knowledgeable users.
Contractor type compressors from hardware, DIY stores: I have a Husky with a 3 gal tank which I bought at Lowes. Don’t remember but I think it was $70. It works fine as an AB compressor IF noise is not a problem. Adjustable pressure to over 100 PSI and down to zero but so noisy that it scares the bejeezus out of me when it turns on. Works fine, just noisy. Works great for light duty air hammers and filling your tires too.
Harbor Freight compressors: I have the 1/8 hp model and have used it for over three years with no problems. It is quiet enough (you can hold a conversation while it’s running) but, depending on AB pressure, depress the AB trigger and it cycles every fraction of a second or so. With the regulator and a 10 ft AB hose I didn’t notice any pulsing. It’s still working fine. Mine does not get hot with normal (me normal?) use.
BUT, for the reasons mentioned by Milairjunkie I wanted an AB compressor with a tank. I thought about adding a tank to the HF compressor as KeiLau has done with his compressor but when Amazon had the TC910 for $180 less than MSRP I went for it. So,what did I get? A compressor that meets my WANTS. It’s quiet, fills to capacity in a little over a minute, sits quietly on the bench until I use it, cycles every few minutes rather than seconds and has been working fine.
BUT now, I think I want a twin with a tank and Dixie Arts price is tempting. The quest never ends!
I have another Badger TC-910 ordered up and should be here mid-late next week. Keeping my fingers crossed & hope it’s a winner this time
I wanted to note that I spoke with Badger support via email a few weeks ago and I informed them and sent picture of how/where the box was damaged in shipping (even though their compressor was well packaged). They noted that they were seeing some issues with gauges etc on these models. I told them that is exactly where it took the hit so maybe add more protection there.
Nice to hear that you have a new TC910 on the way. Hope this one arrives without damage!! Mine’s still chugging away with nary a hiccup. BTW, since mine seems to have passed a more the six month test with no problems I decided to replace the 0-100 PSI regulator gauge with a 0-60 PSI one. It was an easy swap (remove case, remove old gauge, screw on new gauge, replace case and done) and I really like the 0-60 gauge. Hasn’t made any difference in how it works but I can read pressures that I use more accurately. If I have a problem before the 1 yr guarantee expires I’m not concerned and will tell Badger what I did. Can take a pic if interested.
I, too, bought my gauge from Ebay. Don’t remember the seller but it’s a U.S. Gauge 1.5" diam, 1/4"NPT bottom (side) stem so it’s drop-in replacement for the original. IIRC I only paid $5.00 + shipping but the seller only had 3 in stock when I bought. Photobucket won’t let me upload pics right now so I’ll try later. There are several in the link that Keilau posted.
New Badger TC-910 unit arrive yesterday afternoon.
Out of the box with 10’ hose and Iwata Revolution CR connected it filled up to about 60PSI. Good sign!
I first noticed when turning this one on, it was a tad quieter than previous unit but once it gets cranking to fill up the tank, noise was about the same. The motor dose seem a little warmer on the new one, but it’s been a while between the two and I could be wrong or maybe because the old one was not working properly.
Will try and run it a few more times this week, but looks like a winner for now.
Glad the new TC-910 arrived and seems to work as it’s supposed to. BTW, my TC-910 is also very quiet when first turned on but does get louder as pressure rises. Enjoy the new one. Also, just curious, did yours come with the 1/4" to 1/8" BSP adapter? Manual says ‘yes’ but mine didn’t. No prob since I had a spare.
No adapter. What page of the manual are you looking at? the last? #40 says “Adapter” but that looks like the part coming out of the tank to the regulator.
Sorry, I misspoke - wasn’t in the manual but in Amazon’s description (see below) - I got mine from Amazon and expected an adapter. Mine came with 1/4" part 38 so I needed an adapter to connect my Iwata style hose. I see you also have an Iwata hose and wondered if you got and an adapter - from your picture it looks like you use one.
From the Amazon TC-910 description:
“Badger Air-Brush Co.TC910 Aspire Pro is a Quiet, maintenance free, no lubrication, portable compressor, providing an Automatic shut-off switch activated by the use of an attached airbrush. sturdy metal outer case with handle, Adjustable air regulator, and pressure gauge. Built-in moisture filter and two airbrush holders, 1-gallon (3 litre) air storage tank, 1/8th-inch hose connection, including a 1/8th to 1/4th-inch hose adaptor. 1/5 Horsepower 110 vac 1.0 A motor with a on-off toggle switch, Maximum pressure 57 psi (4 bar), weighing only 18.08-pound (8.2 kgs). Distributed by Badger Air-Brush Co. One year Warranty from date of purchase against manufacturer defect, repair, or replace as deemed necessary.”
