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A compressor without a regulator


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Caveat emptor

 

I bought myself a small compressor online, it appeared to be a re-badged version of the AS-18 model I've read about as a suitable entry level machine. This one came with two airbrushes so it seemed like a deal for £60.

 

Here is the outlet assembly:

1074354349_2019-10-0918_32_11.jpg.9abd4924368c9192bb4a0c98e7f1e2cf.jpg

 

Looking closer, the machine has no regulator. It delivers about 1 bar, with no way to get more or less. I feel cheated - the supplier is clearly unwilling to engage in correspondence, and the machine does match up with the photos in his eBay listing. Not having had a compressor before, it didn't occur to me anyone would sell one with a pressure gauge but no regulator.

 

Anyway - a self-contained regulator / moisture trap / pressure gauge assembly will cost me less than the return postage, so I've ordered one up. Maybe I can have the regulator fixed to the back of my bench and the compressor by my feet. This would be neat.

 

I don't like being ripped off but with this I just feel cheated. Maybe there is a real-world use for a compressor with no regulator? The answer probably doesn't matter.

 

- Richard.

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Many years ago I bought a Holding CP102 compressor purely for paint spraying purposes .  This worked perfectly well without a regulator but, because I was told I ought to have one, I bought one.  I found it was more trouble than it was worth and I have never used it.  I suggest you try using your compressor without and see how you get on before you spend more money and end up like me.

 

Chris Turnbull

 

    

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I've been taking things to pieces. I think my compressor does have a regulator, but it is a fixed output. Essentially, a machined block of metal with a hole through it.

 

I was hoping to use the compressor with an air tool for cleaning, and I imagine this needs 2 or 3 bar not 1.

 

I should say, on the bright side, my compressor is pretty quiet.

 

- Richard.

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4 hours ago, Chris Turnbull said:

According to the manual you should get a maximum of 60 psi or 4 bar.  If you are only getting one then check the regulator, see

 

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1008437/Airbrush-Heaven-As18-2.html?page=8#manual

 

Chris Turnbull

 

It's not an AS18-2 Chris, it's an AS18-1. Different animal.

 

Richard, you could control the airflow with one of these, but you won't be able to boost the pressure:

 

https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?cPath=400_14_412_414&products_id=20652

Edited by Mick Bonwick
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9 hours ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

It's not an AS18-2 Chris, it's an AS18-1. Different animal.

 

Richard, you could control the airflow with one of these, but you won't be able to boost the pressure:

 

https://airbrushes.com/product_info.php?cPath=400_14_412_414&products_id=20652

 

Yes I saw something similar on eBay but as you say, it will give me less but not more.

 

Thank you for pointing out the difference between an AS18-1 and an AS18-2. Mine claims to be a mere AS18, I guess this equates to an AS18-1.

 

My first task for the machine is to clean out nooks and crannies on my layout, which gathered a bit of dust during the summer. The compressor has a pressure switch, I cannot get this to operate yet but it seems (if the instructions are correct) to cut the motor at a high pressure say 4 bar and let it restart at a lower pressure say 3 bar. It does seem bit of a waste of time to have this and build a cylinder mechanism able to create 4 bar and then fix the output far lower. I don't really understand the design of the machine I have, but I imagine the volume of air in the moisture trap acts as a small reservoir, to smooth out the pulses from the piston. It all seems a bit naff, but the regulator was on order when I posted the topic and I can report back when I have had a go with this.

 

- Richard.

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Sorry for misleading you.  Good luck with your compressor, Richard.

 

If you want to clean your layout may I suggest a vacuum cleaner?  Empty or remove the bag or dust container first so that any items sucked up can be easily retrieved.  If you use compressed air you are only moving the dust around and may lose some items completely.

 

Chris Turnbull

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I should explain - the "layout" is an open frame baseboard with no scenics. Just track, points, point motors and occasional bits of  bare plaster casting, foam board and so on. I want to give it a "deep clean", apply its dust cover (recently acquired) and then set about building the scenery, painting the track (airbrush I hope) and generally turning it into a model railway. Fortunately, all the buildings and trees have been stored safely in a box.

 

I'll have another go with the vacuum cleaner all the same :-)

 

- Richard.

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A further point about the compressor, Richard, just for interest's sake. The 'advertised' cut-off does not always work, in my experience. The compressor that I saw and used did not turn off at all when using it to drive a cheap airbrush and started running hot after 10 minutes and was turned off 10 minutes later when it was too hot to touch. This is experience with only one sample and, of course, they may not all be the same. These machines are manufactured by the thousand and I'm not sure how much quality control is involved on that production process. I used to stock and sell AS18-2 versions when they cost about £60, but when the price dropped to £40 and I had two failures out of a batch of 6 purchases I stopped selling them. I know this is of no help to you now, but it might help others reading this thread if they are considering the purchase of a compressor. 

I hope that your separate regulator solution works.

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I am keeping an open mind. Many years ago, a local mechanic told me a source of compressed air was one of the most useful things to have around, because the tools are simple and lightweight and cheap to buy. So from time to time I think about buying a "power" size compressor, perhaps the Hyundai HY7524 or similar. The difficulty is finding somewhere in the house to keep one. If it goes in the hobby room, the noise may go through the party wall into the neighbour's bedroom. If it goes downstairs in the utility cupboard, I've got to run in a length of hose to get the power into the hobby room. It is too heavy for me to carry upstairs more than once. So I've gone for this rather cheap and cheerful thing, knowing it won't have enough grunt to drive a drill or a grinder, but hopefully will have enough to give me a blast of air for cleaning, and of course able to drive an airbrush.

 

- Richard.

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Two steps forward, one step back. The  regulator / moisture trap / pressure gauge has arrived in the post, but with the glass of the pressure gauge cracked. The whole assembly uses the industry-standard QR air connectors, which is good, but they are completely incompatible with the "AS-18 style" compressor I have. I have also discovered, the hose supplied with the compressor is leaking.

 

It is sensible to have a moisture trap at the end of a long airline. The way this is heading, I'll get a full-size compressor and put it in the downstairs utility cupboard. Run an airline to the hobby room with the new regulator fixed to the bench. Put a manifold on the compressor so I can connect another airline when I want to work on the car or in the garden or whatever.

 

It is interesting, a small industrial compressor like the Hyundai HY5508 costs barely more than a "cheap" rubbish one. The only real extra cost is the space needed to keep it in the house.

 

- Richard.

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On 11/10/2019 at 08:44, Chris Turnbull said:

Sorry for misleading you.  Good luck with your compressor, Richard.

 

If you want to clean your layout may I suggest a vacuum cleaner?  Empty or remove the bag or dust container first so that any items sucked up can be easily retrieved.  If you use compressed air you are only moving the dust around and may lose some items completely.

 

Chris Turnbull

 

I have bought another compressor, the smallest one in the Hyundai range:

1098806964_2019-10-2519_02_28.jpg.4021550da3a1d9bab30e326728afea86.jpg

 

This seems ideal for me. With the blow gun in one hand and the hose of the vacuum cleaner in the other, I cleaned my "Fairport" layout to a near clinical standard in 20 minutes. The blow gun found only one loose part, a corner of the model crane had come undone. It also tried to put a plastic model car into low earth orbit but no harm came.

 

My vacuum cleaner is a 'Henry'. I put in a new bag but nothing was lost. In practice, the blow gun finds loose things quite easily.

 

I know, many people have had success with the AS-18 models for airbrushing but I think this machine will be more useful to me. My next step is to plumb in a separate regulator to reduce the pressure to whatever an airbrush needs.

 

I have started to build a dust cover for this part of the layout :-)

 

- Richard.

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