I have a Badger 360 that I am soon going to use for the first time and will use it with a Badger Cyclone compressor. Since I am new to airbrushes and such, should I invest in a filter or moisture trap or both?
Badger makes a combination filter/regulator/trap (BAD50054) that sells for ~$90CAN and also makes just a moisture trap (BAD50051) that sells for ~$60CAN. Anyone have any experience with these and if so, what do you recommend? I like the idea of regulating the airflow but want to ensure if I buy the BAD50054 it will also trap moisture/dirt.
I have used some of the older Badger compressors with moisture traps and regulators, and my thoughts were that the mosture trap was great, but the regulators could have been better, then again I am really REALLY picky about my regulated pressure. Also I cant really speak to any changes made in the past few years to their products.
Go to your local cheap hardware stores (do they have Princess Auto in NFLD?) and buy a cheap regulator and moisture trap. My set up cost me about $20, but they were on sale. You should easily get setup for less than $40.
These aren’t fabulous tools, but mine have been working for 2+ years now with no trouble.
They also make AB hoses with in-line moisture traps…but some kind of trap is necessary. The prices on the Badger ones you list seem to be very high. I would shop around.
For regulator/filter, I used something like this from Airbrushdepot.
But replace the pressure gauge with a side-ported, 60 psi, 2.5" unit from Ebay for better low end control and easy reading. The Ebay gauge section always has good selection.
Thanks for the great info guys. General consensus is that a trap is certainly needed and that cheaper alternatives are indeed available. Thanks for the Princess Auto suggestion Bill, I will drop by the store this week and see what they have.
