Hi all -

So I'm trying to finally get my AB/compressor setup up and running, as just bought everything and have it al together. However, I'm having trouble with air leaking out between the compressor and the AB.

As far as I can tell, its coming from the female coupler/quick disconnect that serves as the air outlet for the comressor, and the male connector (1/4" quick-disconnect). I threw some soap suds on the area and they bubbled up (a method I picked up on this forum) which, along with the hissing sound, is the main reason I believe this is the trouble area.

I've tried adding lots of teflon tape, but that doesn't seem to help much. So far the highest PSI I've been able to get it up to is about 65. After that it stops going up, and after I shut it off it obviously starts going down due to the leaks. Let me know if anyone has any ideas as to what may be the problem.

Here's a link to my compressor setup as I have it now:


Here is a closer look at the male quick disconnect that attaches to the regulator:


(Edit: I took the teflon tape off the last picture just for clarity)

Thanks!
Russ

Russ, is this compressor dedicated to your AB or for garage duty too? Me, I'd toss the quick dissconnect and run a brass 2"-3" pipe to clear the compressor tank, then use loctite red on all the threads to hard line it to the secondary reg.
However, if your trying to use the compressor for "double duty", I'd highly suspect the quick dissconnect as having a bad seal and get another. Before you toss it, is it screwed in far enough to seal the threads well...they should be tapered and you'll need to have it in far enough, with also adding a sealer of some kind too, to effectively semi seal it.
65 seems way too high for AB use but I'm simply assuming your trying to see how high it goes before it finally shuts off.

I agree. What Bob said.

Hey Bob!

Yeah, this compressor is dedicated to my AB use for the foreseeable future. I'll look into your suggestions. The quick disconnect was an Iwata - the same brand as my airbrush. I'd figure it would work fine. (Though no relation to the compressor ) When you're asking if it's screwed in far enough to seal the threads well enough, I assume you're referring to the connection to the air regulator? I checked the tightness of the seal and it l seems to be fine there - its really tight, and with the teflon tape its locked in pretty good. I keep going back to the connection between the male and female quick disconnects. You mentioned Loctite Red as a sealant...I take it thats an option for the disconnects? I also take it that teflon tape isn't going to seal these two together, considering there are no threads.

As for the pressure - you're right, 65 PSI is way too high to shoot at. The compressor has a max PSI of 100, at which point it shuts off. I wanted to get it up to that level, so I could have a full tank to practice shooting with. I have the regulator cranked down to 15 PSI, which would be the level that I would be actually shooting at.

Thanks for the help!

Russ

Ahoy Russ,
You really shouldn't have to put any teflon tape on the quick disconnet, this
may be preventing the connectors, M/F from sitting properly. The problem
may be with a faulty connector as mentioned.
Also do not use loctite........... it is a quick disconnect.
Cheers,

Probably not enough coffee yet today but are you trying to put anything between the connection on the male and female quick dissconnect? For clearification, nothing goes on the quick fittings inner connection...where they "thread in" is fine as well as any other "threaded area", but never on the slip fit area. Not saying you are, but just in case.......
Any "threaded" area will always be needing some kind of sealant on the threads...your choice or loctite red or blue, or teflon tape...your choice.
How many wraps of tape are you using on each threaded area?....2, 3, 1, 10?
Maybe take it apart and retry sealing it and see what happens...let us know the results please -

Thanks Joe. I was kinda figuring the teflon tape was getting in the way - it was becoming increasingly hard to even get the M QD to even go into the female end. I'm also reaching the same conclusion as you. I'm going to go pick up a male QD aimed at pressure washing and see if there is any difference. I can only assume that the one I bought is not sitting well, as you said. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bob - thanks for the clarification the quick disconnects. I actually was putting teflon tape on the non-threaded areas of the QD, which it sounds like was not a good idea. I'll refrain from doing that in the future. It sounds like my M QD is not sitting well, and when I first encountered the problem, my first reaction was to put teflon tape on it. In hindsight, not a good move. As for the threaded areas, I usually only go over them a couple times. It seems to be enough to get a good seal. I'll be going out to get a replacement, so hopefully this problem will be fixed by this afternoon.

Thanks!
Russ

Put a standard pipe nipple between your tank and regulator. The quick disconnect goes after your regulator.

Good news everyone! The problem is fixed. Huzzah! High fives all around! I went out and bought a couple new 1/4" male couplers (one labelled automotive, the other was for water pressure usage) and got one to work. Went a little overboard with the teflon tape, but hey, I wanted to be sure. Anything can be solved with a liberal application of high explosives (and teflon tape it seems).

Dave, thanks for the suggestion - I think you're idea would be ideal if the female quick disconnect wasn't apparently caulked to the compressor. That would have made sealing everything much easier.

Matt - since you have the exact model of compressor I have, do you fill yours up to 100 PSI before shutting it off? Does it shut itself off automatically when it reaches it's maximum volume? Do you drain your tank after every use?

Thanks a ton everyone for all your help. I am super excited to finally start painting. I can now finally take the next steps on my Pz Kpfw IIIl and StuG IV.

Russ

Hi Russ,
I took the QD off of my compressor and put a 1/4" male/male coupler (with teflon tape) between the compressor and regulator. Works perfectly.
Yes, the compressor shuts off when it gets to 100 PSI. It will come back on at 80 PSI unless you turn the switch off. I don't purge the air until I'm done with a model. I drain the tank once a month. You will also be able to see any moisture in the clear bulb of the moisture trap.

Awesome, thanks Matt. I picked up a standard 1/4" pipe nipple as per Dave suggestion above, but the female quick disconnect seems to be literally caulked onto the compressor. I'd be concerned about removing it myself, else I'd go that route, as sealing threads is a lot easier in my mind than sealing QDs.

Thanks for the info on the compressor. I wanted to make sure I wasn't sitting next to a bomb. Just to clarify: you purge any excess air from the tank when you are done with your model, leaving none in the tank for any extended period of time?

Thanks again!
Russ

Yes, I purge the air out when I am done with the model, since I won't be airbrushing for a long time until I complete another build.
It's no big deal removing the QD from the compressor. It's just liquid thread sealer you see. Two adjustable wrenches and a quick twist will do it.

Cool{high five!}...anything to help a fellow modeller and fellow Illinoisian!
Now, if you ever want to loose the QD simply remove the QD and get a double female brass piece{got a napa auto store near you for that?} to put a short double end male on and thread the reg to that...if you ever so desire to.
Also, note the lil red knob on the compressor...that's your pressure adjust for the "compressor reg". Check your external reg specs to see what the "max in put pressure" is and adjust your "compressor reg adjust" to that or just a tad under if it's less than 100psi. You don't want to over pressurize your external reg or it'll blow the inner seal and trash it. I'd guess it can take 100, "but", let's have you error on the side of caution and check anyway just in case! That spec may be on the external reg's side sticker or stamped on it...or find the reg's spec sheet in or on the box it came in. Even if the external reg can take 100psi you might want to consider dialing the compressor reg down to 40 or 50 or so...if you ever shoot at 30 you'll still have some reserve pressure in the tank. I've shot down as low as 5psi with my Iwata CR{for washes and fine lines} and 15-20psi seems the norm for anything else.
BTW...what AB[s} are you going to use...just curious.

Bob - thanks for the heads up on the external regulator specs. I definitely would not have been pleased, nor most likely all in one piece if that thing that turned into a glass frag genade in my workspace. I don't think they give out purple hearts for things like that. It can handle up to 135 psi according to the spec sheet, but the compressor controls the air going out to around 40-60 PSI (I can't recall which). So hopefully I won't have to invest in any body armor anytime soon. I tend to shoot between 10-15, so far, as I've been practicing my basecoats (striving for the perfect evenness), but I'll be sure tone it down to 5 or so for the fine stuff, as per your recommendation.

As for what I'm shooting with, I just picked up a Iwata Eclipse HP-CS. It's been great so far, though I'm still a little intimidated by it, especially the disassembly and cleaning. I feel like I'm disarming a bomb when I pull the needle out - one wrong move and the whole thing is ruined!

Cheers,
Russ

Russ, you'll like the Iwata! When doing fine lines and washes you'll need to add more thinner than usually required....experiment and see how each brand of paint needs what in the way of thinner to get what you want, and try use the paint's reccomended thinner for compatibility. Fine lines are an art!
As far as the cleaning, you'll get used to that. I keep my AB stripped of the needle and rear cap when not in use. When done with the painting I use lacquer thinner to clean out the bowl and shoot thru to clean the inner tip, then I pull the needle and wipe off and set it in a dixie cup with my cleaning Q-tips...but that's me.
Oh, I should probably explain why I use lacquer cleaner - I shoot anything from acrylics, enamels to lacquers thru the AB for my autos or trucks so I just use lacquer cleaner as an all purpose, cleans anything, cleaner...gets any dried up paint on the bowl that I might have missed too.