I have recently bought a new compressor with a three-litre air-tank and moisture trap, however, whilst doing the camouflage on my 1/48 Panther minor disaster struck when a few droplets of water spat out. What is wrong, or most probably, what am I doing wrong?[*-)]
Cheers!
The problem with many compressors, 'especially smaller ones, is that the moisture trap is attached directly to the outlet on the compressor.
Why is this a problem? Because as the compressor warms up, the moisture trap warms up, and as the trap warms up, it becomes less able to separate water from the air passing through it. Moisture in the air then condenses in the hose and spits out your airbrush.
You can connect a length of regular air hose to the moisture trap and add an additional inline moisture trap (about $12.00 at Bunnings) to the end of this, before connecting your airbrush hose.
I’m paranoid about water in the airline so I have a water trap attached to my compressor, another mounted on my spray booth next to the pressure regulator, and my airbrush hose has the inline style. This way I can insure that any disasters created during painting are mine and mine alone.
Maybe I should re-think that? It would be nice to have something else to blame! [;)]
Thanks Phil. But I am a bit confused about your solution - You can connect a length of regular air hose to the moisture trap and add an additional inline moisture trap before connecting your airbrush hose.
What is the order of connection? Thanks again.
Ok, what I meant was to run an air hose from the moisture trap on the compressor to a second moisture trap and then connect your airbrush hose to the second trap.
I only have the one on the front of the compressor alone and never have any water in the airline.
I even blow the dust out of my computer case with the airbrush and have never seen any water.
I do use the Badger Million-Air compressor though and I don’t think it gets warm enough to create water vapor in the airlines. The person asking though is in an entirely different climate being in Australia!
You also might consider the location of your compressor. If your compressor is high on a shelf it is in a warmer location than on the floor. Heat and moisture rise and your compressor is drawing in that warm moist air.
If you keep your compressor on the floor, the air temp is more constant as is the moisture level. You want your compressor at the same level or lower than your spraying location.
Also are you draining your bulk air tank frequently? Draining daily when using it is a safe practice.
The only 100% way to keep water out is the combination of a refrigerated air dryer and moisture traps. It is an expensive option however.
The cheaper route to go if moisture continues to be an issue is a CO2 or Nitrogen system.
Mike and Gerald,
I ended up with three traps by accident, not design. But my paranoia stems from before I had any. I started off with a very small compressor and had no regulator or trap. I eventually had a single issue with water, and so got a trap and regulator. Then I switched compressors, which came with a built in water trap. Then I upgraded my air hose, which came with the inline trap.
I could remove the one mounted to the booth, if I was inclined to get out my tools and bother. However, I kind of like the triple redundancy, especially since my compressor lives outdoors!