Iwata Smart Jet Compressor Review

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I have added a review of the Smart Jet compressor to my site. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Don

2

You should have told Gary Glass that an Iwata Powerjet Pro would work much better in your setup. [;)]

As always, a very informative and unbiased review.

3

Thanks, Kei.

Honestly, I didn’t even know it was coming, and it’s perfect for me.

Don

4

Interesting read as always Don!

As far as a can see virtually all airbrushing oil-free compressors now use this piston & seal assembly as per the patent diagram - the only noticeable difference is that the piston seals are now somewhat heavier than that in the diagram.

Curiosity got the better of me a while ago, so I stripped my own compressor to see what made it tick - I was expecting to find something more like an internal combustion type piston swiveling on the connecting rod by a pin & using flexible seals rather than rigid rings - so was quite surprised to find a shallow piston tilting in the bore;

The extent of the tilt / wobble is slightly exaggerated in this image as the cylinder sleeve has been removed for a better view of the piston - the short stroke of the piston results in less tilt than you would imagine.

5

Thanks for the comment. That’s a great picture. It’s neat to see what one really looks like.

Don

6

The Iwata Smartjet compressor is one of their best seller, and not positioned as a low cost item. I never understand the logic of Iwata leaving out a true pressure regulator and substitute it with a bleed valve only.

From Don’s review, a regulator add-on works very well. A Sparmax pressure regulator costs £31 in retail in England. It should not cost Iwata more than 1/4 of that to add the regulator to Smartjet. But…

7

It’s a marketing decision, Kei. All companies have to make them.

I suspect I’m not the only one to add a regulator to a Smart Jet.

Don