Air Compressor Water Sep Advice

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 12:03:19 GMT, "Jim Bailey"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Please excuse my ignorance about air compressors.
>
>After doing some reading, I realize that my 3.5 HP 20 Gal. compressor is
>below, if not seriously below, marginal for any real spraying operations.

not entirely true.
accuspray makes a gun for small compressors. model 19c, IIRC. it's a
high end production gun with a price to match. I think they recommend
1-1/2 HP or better.

I have one and can recommend it highly.




>Given that, I'd still like to experiment a bit with some HVLP applications.
>I also realize that I should have added some sort of water seperator when I
>first purchased it, but instead I just drain the tank after each use.
>
>Looking through the Grizzly catalog (it happened to be handy on my desk)
>there are various types/stages etc. of these seperators ($12.00-$399.00)
>and I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at. What should I be looking for?
>Where do they attach ?
>
>Thanks.
>
>jim in orlando
>

Forget the 3.5hp and 20 gal tank. How many CFM and at what psi is what you need
to know for HVLP. You also need to tell us if you are a hobbyist or a
professional that does HVLP all the time. My 3.5 HP witha 20 gal tank works
fine with a Sharpe Cobalt HVLP conversion gun. the compressor produces about
8CFM at 45psi. "It is a non bleeder gun." You just can't spray continuously for
long periods of time. But most of us spray for 30 seconds and then stop to move
or to adjust the position of the workpiece. The compressor can easily catch up
in that time.

Len
---------

Jim Bailey wrote:
> Please excuse my ignorance about air compressors.
>
> After doing some reading, I realize that my 3.5 HP 20 Gal. compressor is
> below, if not seriously below, marginal for any real spraying operations.
> Given that, I'd still like to experiment a bit with some HVLP applications.
> I also realize that I should have added some sort of water seperator when I
> first purchased it, but instead I just drain the tank after each use.
>
> Looking through the Grizzly catalog (it happened to be handy on my desk)
> there are various types/stages etc. of these seperators ($12.00-$399.00)
> and I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at. What should I be looking for?
> Where do they attach ?
>
> Thanks.
>
> jim in orlando
>
>

The water separator is based on pressure and cfm, so you need the specs from
the compressor. Whatever you do, don't put it right at the compressor or it
won't work well. You want to put it down line at least 10 feet so the air
has time to cool a bit so the moisture will condense out. I bought a 25'
roll of copper. I opened up the coil just a little to give good air
movement around it. I connected one end to the compressor and the other to
the separator. That way, I can put the separator near the compressor, yet
there is 25' of line to allow the air to cool before it hits the separator.

Preston
"Jim Bailey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Please excuse my ignorance about air compressors.
>
> After doing some reading, I realize that my 3.5 HP 20 Gal. compressor is
> below, if not seriously below, marginal for any real spraying operations.
> Given that, I'd still like to experiment a bit with some HVLP
applications.
> I also realize that I should have added some sort of water seperator when
I
> first purchased it, but instead I just drain the tank after each use.
>
> Looking through the Grizzly catalog (it happened to be handy on my desk)
> there are various types/stages etc. of these seperators ($12.00-$399.00)
> and I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking at. What should I be looking
for?
> Where do they attach ?
>
> Thanks.
>
> jim in orlando
>
>