Beginner Airbrusher Needs Help

[VegasAWACER13]

Air is leaking at both ends of the plastic tube.

Do the tubes have to be on the fitting all the way?

I had hose clamps on both ends. On the compressor side, the clamp cut through the tube. It's leaking there. I did make an effort not to over tighten it.

On the filter side I can feel air escaping. Again, with a clamp on it. Are the clamps I'm using too big? They're rated 1/4" to 7/16" but I feel like tightening them fully may be damaging the tubes. But I don't see any damage to the tube on the filter side either.

What's the reason for using the 1/8" plastic tube versus just another standard airbrush hose? Seems like that would be easier and more leak proof.

 

[urumomo]

You can use whatever type of hose works .
the clamps are too large if they go up to 7/16

You can get tubing at the hardware store / Home Depot if you want to see if you can get a better fit -- Amazon is horrible with improper dimensions on products so that tubing may not be as described on the product page .
Take one of the barb fittings with you to check the fit .

Glad that's the only points leaking air -- Almost there !!

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Okay, so I could go get different tubing or I could just get another 1/8" adapter and use a standard airbrush hose on both sides of the filter?

 

[urumomo]

Slightly larger tubing and smaller clamps or ,
to use an AB hose you need to replicate the fittings that are on the output side of the regulator to accept that 1/8" BSP thread on another AB hose .
You have another AB hose on hand ?
Be aware that airbrush hoses don't all have that BSC thread if you will purchase another one

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I did buy another hose with the 1/8" BSP thread. I would just need another 1/4" to 1/8" adapter for the other side of the filter. Seems like that would be a much simpler way to go? Uses less parts and less capacity for leaks.

 

[urumomo]

I would have specd that if I had known .
I went with the tubing since it's much cheaper , and transparent so you can see any condensate building in the line .

I don't know what you have near you but you may be able to get those fittings local

 

[VegasAWACER13]

All good man. Appreciate the help and your reasoning makes sense. Seems like there's way less potential points of failure with the standard hose. I'll run down another adapter and hopefully then I'll be in business.

This has all been good learning for me.

 

[urumomo]

Yes , a good training evolution ,

who knows , you might need those other fittings in the future for something .
The filter bowl drains might accept that clear tubing as drain lines -- that's how I have my filter drains set up .

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Yes , a good training evolution ,

who knows , you might need those other fittings in the future for something .
The filter bowl drains might accept that clear tubing as drain lines -- that's how I have my filter drains set up .

That's a good idea on the tubing.

Additional parts arrived and I reconnected everything with a second airbrush hose and tried it out. Unfortunately, air is still not making it to the brush. Kind of at a loss. I made sure all the connections are tight and there should be fairly low margin for failure with this set up. Is my compressor just not driving enough air pressure?

I'm wondering if it's that or if the filter is just damaged/defective.

 

[urumomo]

You cranked the regulator knob clockwise to raise the output pressure ?

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I did. The drain valves close but no air gets to the brush. I'm wondering if the compressor is not driving enough pressure to fully seal the drain valves.

 

[urumomo]

Are the drains leaking ?
the air has to be going somewhere -- you should be getting air to the AB

 

[urumomo]

Unscrew the airbrush hose from the outlet of the regulator -- Air coming out of regulator ?

 

[urumomo]

you DID push the regulator knob down to actually engage the screw , yeah ?

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I hate to say this buddy but this is getting comical

 

[urumomo]

nothing funner than remote troubleshooting

 

[VegasAWACER13]

It does feel like a comedy of errors at this point...

The regulator knob is pushed in (as in, not pulled out towards the floor).

 

[urumomo]

Yes , toward the regulator body to engage the screw inside .

We know air is making it to the filter bowls ,
did you remove the AB hose from the regulator outlet ?

 

[urumomo]

Knob pushed in and cranked down . screwed tighter to raise output pressure

 

[urumomo]

is this a clockwise / counterclockwise confusion deal ?
it will be a counterclockwise rotation as seen from above since the regulator in inverted

 

[Rockin' Rob]

I don't know if this will help? Sometimes stuff comes with a little plastic insert to keep things clean. Did you take it out before you screwed in a hose? Just a thought trying to help

 

[urumomo]

you can't screw the fittings in without removing those plugs

 

[VegasAWACER13]

I verified that no air is passing through the regulator. I've also confirmed that air is escaping out of the first release valve. Either it's defective or the compressor just isn't forcing enough air to close it.

 

[urumomo]

What do you have the compressor set to ?

did you hold the drain valves shut until pressure builds up in the filters ?
you must have the AB hose going to the airbrush connected to do this .

What is the position of the regulator knob ?
did you screw it in a couple of turns ?

 

[VegasAWACER13]

Tried the compressor at max power (only about 30psi; it's a little guy). Fully tightened the regulator knob and held the valves closed to allow air pressure to build. With all lines connected and tightened appropriately. Valves sealed but obviously not fully. Loosened the regulator knob in an effort to get the air flowing. No joy.

 

[urumomo]

NO - loosening the knob decreases the output .

The drains or one of the filter bowl drains is leaking air ?
That might be all it takes with the low volume output of that compressor .
How long did you pull the drains shut , cuz it might take a 1/2 minute to build enough pressure

we can remove the leaking filter assembly if necessary -- so it will be just the reg and one filter --- or even just one filter alone

 

[urumomo]

it says max output is 39 psi
https://www.gaahleri.com/products/g...pIBpWwOUJbHVqT6eNFp5GWTA7IcuwGtM915MouczR0Dty

 

[urumomo]

pull the 2 clear plastic bowls off and make sure the gaskets , or o-rings , on the drain valves are good and there isn't some debris of any kind in there that is preventing a proper seal .

 

[VegasAWACER13]

How do they come off?

 

[urumomo]

turn them , counterclockwise like you'd unscrew anything else , but only maybe a 1/4 turn .
They have tabs around the perimeter that lock into slots