Hi, hope you guys can help. I got a moisture trap for my Paasche D500 compressor that runs my Paasche VL airbrush about a year ago or so. It worked great and eliminated the moisture problem I was having previously to this point. But last night I was painting and in the beginning of the session it was intermittently spitting all over my Hellcat.
So I’m wondering, what has gone wrong? After I had continued blowing air through it for a while, the problem went away. I also tried tightening the trap to the compressor. I’m just curious why after a year of no problems, it would give me trouble?
Not to ask the obvious but…the trap is not full of water is it? If you have high humidity the trap can fill pretty quick and the water will come out the top into your hose.
The trap is not full and in fact, rarely ever collects more that a few drops. I can see condensation in the bowl but never very much that would need constant draining.
I do have a long hose, the one that came standard with the brush, so that’s about what?,3 feet or so?
I paint upstairs, the compressor sits on a piece of plywood on the carpeted floor.
I have not taken it apart, so I guess therefore I haven’t put it together incorrectly…unless there are gremlins about, or that meddling carpet monster…
When you push up on the drain you should feel air coming out while the compressor is running. If you feel air it would indicate that air is filling the drain bowl as intended.
If there is no air coming from the bowl that would indicate there is a blockage in the filter that is preventing air from entering the bowl and preventing the moisture trap from working right. In essence the air is bypassing the bowl and running straight to your brush.
I was thinking that if your hose was long enough, you may be getting condensation in the hose…also with the cement floor if the hose is on the floor, the cool cement will make condensation…
Is it better to have the trap attached to the compressor or have it fitted to the hose, closer to the brush? I’ve seen both but like the dual regulator/trap combo thingy so I got that one instead.
Ok, so maybe I need to get a shorter hose. On the other hand, its been fairly hot and rainy here lately, so maybe that contributed to the moisture. I guess my best bet is to test the trap to make sure air is passing through. If that’s fine, maybe run a session or two during better climate conditions and see if the problem persists. Otherwise, maybe I’ll buy a shorter hose.
The moisture trap works on the basis that the difference in temperature between the air and the metal “filter” causes condensation on the said filter in the trap. If this gets excessively warm, the effect is reduced and moisture laden air can pass through to the hose.You may consider a length of air hose to isolate the filter from the compressor or perhaps a secondary in-line moisture trap (they are dirt-cheap) somewhere downstream of the primary one on the compressor.
Larger compressor tanks have a moisture drain under the tank. Drain this before beginning your session.
Others have trouble shot the issues of how long the hose is from the trap to the brush. Mount the hose off the floor and add a second trap before the working end of the line.
Some traps have a replaceable element, try a new one.
Humidity levels if high may be the culprit. Avoid painting on days above 75% (100% is rain)
I’ve been having the same issue. Worked awesome all winter, once spring hit, it started squirting water. Figured it for the humidity in the air, it’s rained almost daily for the past month. Usually, if I do get water, it’s within the first few minutes, then everythings groovy for 10-15 minutes before I get it again.
Again, thanks for the tips. I checked to see if there was air flow when opening the drain valve on the moisture trap and there was, so that’s good. I guess I’ll wait for the rain to stop and lower the humidity a bit then try it again. Fermis, I noticed the same scenario as you…spits for a while then its dry, spits some more, etc. Frustrating. If worse comes to worse, maybe I’ll get a trap that is higher up the hose.
You want the regulator close to the airbrush so that it is convenient to adjust the pressure. In the more upscale setup such as the Iwata or Sparmax below, they put a 25 feet coiled hose from the compressor outlet to the moisture trap. It allows for the air coming out of the compressor to cool off before reaching the trap.
You can find similar setup with the Iwata Smartjet or Sparmax TC-2000. I copy it for my setup and it work very well. I use a 6-feet braised airhose from the regulator to the airbrush to allow for flexibility.
I have a water trap at the compressor along with the regulator, but I also have an Iwata trap mounted on the QD right at the Air brush. So I have two water traps and that seems to do the trick for me.
