Thread: Water trap at the AB for an Iwata

Has anyone tried this water trap out? Even though I have a water trap at the compressor, I still get water drops every once in a while through the AB. I am guessing that it is from the condensation in the hose.

I also dig the feature that it acts as a secondary handle because I have monster basketball hands. It is only $30 so I may just give it a shot and report.

Iwata Regulators, Valves & Filters

I was thinking about getting one but I ended up going with the kind that is farther back from the airbrush, it is in the mail right now and I didn't even get it yet. The best thing would probably be to have both. That's what I'll do if I get into AB'ing more. Let us know how it works out for you.

Save your money, and try this;
Add a 50' hose between your compressor and your work area, add a watertrap, regulator, and filter setup to the work area end of the hose. Let this setup stay at your work area, and have your airbrush or manifold hook up to it rather than directly to the compressor. The length of hose lets the air cool down, which lets the moisture go from steam back to it's liquid form (water). It's the liquid form that watertraps are made to catch, not steam.

The second trap, filter, and regulator will give you cleaner and drier air, and let you have better control of your air right where you are working, it will also let you move your compressor further away, which means that it won't have to suck in paint contaminated air, so it will live a longer and healthier life too!
It also saves a lot of airfilters from an early death.

While initially this will cost a bit more than the one filter you were looking at, it will do a much better job for ALL your brushes, your compressor will do better and live longer, and you won't be fighting any noise or heat issues with your compressor not being next to you.

Those little water filters are neat, but like the one at the compressor, they are made to catch liquid, not steam, and because of the way their made, they tend to not do well with screwing and unscrewing from brushes.

If you want your air super dry, get yourself a big desicant dryer. You might look at DeVilbiss, they make several models, as does SATA and some others, be warned though, these aren't cheap, and you have to replace the filter material on a regular basis, and that stuff isn't cheap either.

Originally Posted by fontgeek

Save your money, and try this;
Add a 50' hose between your compressor and your work area, add a watertrap, regulator, and filter setup to the work area end of the hose. Let this setup stay at your work area, and have your airbrush or manifold hook up to it rather than directly to the compressor. The length of hose lets the air cool down, which lets the moisture go from steam back to it's liquid form (water). It's the liquid form that watertraps are made to catch, not steam.

The second trap, filter, and regulator will give you cleaner and drier air, and let you have better control of your air right where you are working, it will also let you move your compressor further away, which means that it won't have to suck in paint contaminated air, so it will live a longer and healthier life too!
It also saves a lot of airfilters from an early death.

While initially this will cost a bit more than the one filter you were looking at, it will do a much better job for ALL your brushes, your compressor will do better and live longer, and you won't be fighting any noise or heat issues with your compressor not being next to you.

Those little water filters are neat, but like the one at the compressor, they are made to catch liquid, not steam, and because of the way their made, they tend to not do well with screwing and unscrewing from brushes.

If you want your air super dry, get yourself a big desicant dryer. You might look at DeVilbiss, they make several models, as does SATA and some others, be warned though, these aren't cheap, and you have to replace the filter material on a regular basis, and that stuff isn't cheap either.

Killer info thanks!

My current shop set-up is space challenged and I am moving in the next 3-4 months so I just need some cheap ($30ish) and easy extra water protection.

A major air system upgrade would result in many a type of looks from the hawt wife. Especially after all the monies on the waterborne goodies and some other HVLP stuff.

I really like that two regulator trap set up that you described. We have a bunch of properties that we are looking at out in Tenn. once we are all settled down, the "Ultimate shop of painting killerness" will be fully operational.

I definitely want a better air system. Right now I have the smaller compressor for the AB and a 150 gal for the HVLP stuff. I eventually want to just use one compressor and one air system for convenience and to clean up the hose mess.

I aready use the filters that screw in between the gun and the hose on my HVLP guns. I don't shoot with out them becaue they work so well. Especially when shooting clear coat. I burn through them pretty quickly though. I end up replacing them after a full set of motorcycle skins. I probably go through them so quickly because of the lack of traps on my larger painting equipment.

Thanks for the info and advice+ fontgeek, you rock.

The compressor doesn't have to be 50' away, it is the length of the hose that acts like a radiator, and gives the air a chance to cool down. I always suggest keeping the compressors as far as you can from dust, dirt, and overspray so that the compressor will work better and live longer

A lot of the little watertraps that screw to the airbrush have a plastic cap with the threaded female recepticle, it may be painted or colored like metal, but that plastic doesn't do well with the screwing and unscrewing onto the brush and hose. Like the brass your airbrush is made from, it stretches and distorts with usage, making it harder and harder to fasten correctly to the brush or hose.
You might try adding a quick-connect or G-MAC between it and the brush, that would let you put the fittings on once, and leave it there, but still let you disconnect the airbrush without the wear and tear on the brush or the filter because of the quick-connect. You could put male quick connects on any or all brushes so that they could just click onto the setup and be ready to go.
Use bee's wax to seal the threads on all the pieces concerned, that will keep them snug, but without doing the damage that Teflon tape will do.

I was given three of these, I used them and they do work well as a water trap. What I like about them is, I hold the trap in my hand and is much more comfortable and I can air brush much longer without getting the dreaded hand cramps.
Waycool

If you are getting hand cramps, the real problem is probably the way you hold your brush, try this hold.

The first photo is of my open hand with the knurled nut that fastens the hose to the airbrush resting on the pads of my middle finger and ring finger. I have my pointer/index finger curled so that you can see the other fingers without confusion.
The second and third photos show me holding the brush with my index finger in a relaxed, extended position, this lets me use the normal range and motion of my finger to control the trigger. By not holding the airbrush in a fist, I avoid the cramping issues, but I also find that you get smoother lines and better control. Working with your airbrush held in a fist means that you are starting with the muscles already gripping tightly, and now trying to squeeze them even tighter just to move the trigger, that taughtness or tension makes your muscles overwork, and shake with fatigue.
You don't need to have a deathgrip on your brush. Relax, and let your hand work in a normal relaxed hold. You'll find it will change your brushing skills and times a great deal.

While the little traps may help, the problem with them and the typical traps is that they are made to catch water in it's liquid form, and running a short hose between the compressor and airbrush is only going to give you moisture in the form of steam.

For all who have these problems, try the following steps, these are in order of least expensive to most expensive.

Get in the habit of checking and draining water traps/filters, and tanks at the start and end of EVERY paint session, more often if you are working in really humid conditions.

Add a 50' hose between your compressor and your work area, even if the compressor isn't kept 50' away. This gives the air a chance to cool down, and let the water go from it's gaseous state back to it's liquid state.

Add a second watertrap/filter setup right at your work area, this will help catch the remaining water. The cost on these is about the same as one of those little Iwata water filters that screws onto your brush, but it will filter the air for all your brushes, not just the one on that hose.

Add a desicant dryer, this uses an absorbant to dry the air, it catches the moisture whether it's liquid or gas. The cartridges are replaceable, and aren't cheap, but if it is a choice of replacing a filter or losing a job or piece of work... DeVilbiss and Sata both make some excellent setups, whatever you buy, make sure you get some extra cartridges at the same time, and that you can get more easily in the future. You need to keep track of how long you have had the cardridges in the trap.

Originally Posted by OzDesigns

Has anyone tried this water trap out? Even though I have a water trap at the compressor, I still get water drops every once in a while through the AB. I am guessing that it is from the condensation in the hose.

I also dig the feature that it acts as a secondary handle because I have monster basketball hands. It is only $30 so I may just give it a shot and report.

Iwata Regulators, Valves & Filters

I picked up an identical trap from Harbor Freight Tools for 3.99. I'll let ya's know how it works. So far no problems with it. It's looks like a clone of the iwata

I was gonna say the same thing that HotRod posted... I bought 2 of the filters from harbor freight and have had them for over 6 months.... I also have the 50' of hose with filter, trap, and regulator at the end of that.... It works well for me......

Bill

I dont like those little moisture traps, I find them so uncomfortable.

as many have said before, a water trap screwed directly to the compressor is less than useless. I don't know where the idea came about from to be honest. perhaps people see the photographs of the compressors in the catalogue and assume thats where it's meant to be.

the key is to ghet the trap away from the compressor. I just have a large coiled hose coming from mine onto a wall mounted trap / manifold. all my equipment plugs into that.

the point is that you should not need the AB mousture traps if you deal with the moisture at the source.