I’ve been looking for a compressor but decided to price up a co2 setup as well and discovered that I can get a full bottle and regulator for $150 cheaper than a good hobby diaphram type air compressor (with no air tank.).
Add the advantages of no water trap needed (completely dry), no noise, no electricity needed, no air pulsation , no breakdowns (if you buy a new regulator) and cheap to refill (you may have to do this once a year depending on use) you’ll see that CO2 hands down.
Just something to consider if you’re thinking of getting a compressor.
Just make sure you strap the bottle to a wall so it does not tip over, or it will become a lethal flying object with 3000 odd psi propelling it if the regulator is broken off.
What’s the capacity of the tank you are thinking of using? Health and safety here stipulates cylinders are secured as you rightly state so if anyone is going this route follow Molenz’s instructions, these cylinders if suddenly depressurised will go through solid walls let alone unsuspecting bodies.
As mentioned, you absolutely, positively want to secure those tanks so that there is no chance whatsoever of them falling over and breaking the regulator off.
My first day in college machine shop the instructor showed us two places where the concrete block wall had been patched. One was a small patch where someone had forgotten to engage the magnetic vise of a surface mill and fired a piece of steel through the wall. The other was a spot about the size of a refrigerator where someone had knocked over a tank and it punched a whole section of wall out.
If you want to see some funny reactions, walk into a machine shop some time and yell “TANK!” as loud as you can. But be ready to run afterwards.
Just for informational purposes, carbon dioxide cylinders are held at lower pressures than standard gas cylinders (~835 psig at 70 degrees F. compared with ~2,200 psig for gases like argon, nitrogen and oxygen). Depending on temperature, carbon dioxide may exist as a solid, liquid, and gas inside the cylinder (its triple point). In addition, to control expansion due to temperature, cylinders are never filled to more than 68% of the cylinder’s volume. Because of the relationship between temperature and pressure, it’s not always easy to determine how much CO2 is left in the cylinder. That’s why they’re weighed.
So, while it’s definitely important to secure the cylinder to keep it from falling and the valve breaking, the risk of a bottle going through a wall is significantly diminished due to the lower pressure differentials.
While CO2 toxicity is low, it is important to spray in a well-ventilated area. Increased levels of CO2 in the air can cause headaches and some irritability.
As far as the FSM staff goes, Paul Boyer uses CO2, and I have a nitrogen tank.
When I shopped around, nitrogen was easier to come by at a nearby welding-supply shop. I take in the empty tank and they swap it out for a full one. The whole transaction takes 10 minutes and costs about $20. One gauge on the regulator indicates the line pressure to the airbrush, the second dial indicates how much is left in the tank.
Here’s a shot of it:
(Note that it’s chained to the built-in workbench.)
Yes noise is an issue for me thats why I went the CO2 route and no chance of water in the line is a bonus, plus it’s cheaper than a good quiet hobby compressor.
Thats pretty much the same setup as I’m getting Mathew, the bottle is about 500mm high.
Noise was my main issue, too. I went with nitrogen when we were still in an apartment and I was doing a lot of modeling late at night and early in the morning.
The other thing I love is the ability to throttle the psi from barely a whisper to (relatively) wide open. It makes a whole lot of effects possible.
I don’t think I’d ever go back to a compressor at this point.
