I have been searching through the boards here and didnt seem to find what i was looking for.
Im confused as I set my compressor to 30-35 psi and press the Airbrush the psi drops to about 15, If I drop it to 20 or so the Airbrush will drop it to about 9-12. I though an Airbrush would only drop it about 2-3 psi when in use. And I kinda noticed that as i tried to do fine lines the paint would stop but air was still coming out and had to go “wider” to get it spraying again. Ive checked all the fittings and such and there doesnt seem to be any leaks. The airbrush used for practicing and such is a knock off of the Badger 350, I dont intend to use it for fine detailing or anything. So is it the Compressor? Its not a major brand name or anything.
Kinda strange - im having the same issue. I set my compressor to 80psi (practically as high as it goes) and when i operate the brush, having pressed the trigger down completely it will drop to 12psi, while moving the trigger up and down after the initial press will make it jump up and down 5-10psi. I did find someone who had the same problem who had posted on the forums, but unfortunately no one could figure it out - have a look.
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Will definitely be watching this post if anyones got an answer.
It isn’t a big mystery. In both cases you are nearing the limits of the compressor.
Compressors are rated at a specific PSI at a specific flow volume in CFM. In other words they can provide the rated PSI up to the rated flow volume. Above the rated flow volume the PSI will start to drop, sometimes dramatically and sometimes more gradually. If you hook a garden hose to your home water supply you will get pretty good pressure when you open the valve. If you hook a fire hose to your home water supply you are only going to get a small amount of water coming out at a relatively low pressure. Same situation with air compressors.
I have no doubt that both of you are using compressors without a tank. A tank will eliminate that problem since it effectively isolates the compressor from the load. Small compressors may take a very long time to pressurize even a small tank, however, and the demand may empty the tank much faster than the compressor can repressurize it so a tank won’t solve all problems.
The bottom line is that your compressor is doing all it can do and there ain’t no more.
[#ditto] In fact, my compressor tank is 2.6 gallons. However, I kept my old stilling tank and put it in line with my new compressor. Now I have a capacity of about ten gallons. So it is entirely possible to scavenge or buy a tank and increase your capacity.
Well I got the Craftsman 1.5 hp 3 gal tank, added a moisture filter and hooked up the airbrush. It seems to work alot better, with the airbrush button fully depressed it only drops like 5 lbs. Now I take it most of the time the button on the airbrush is not fully depressed all the time?