Thread: Need Air Cylinder Advice

The lease/rental on a bottle will be close to the same whether you get a small scuba tank sized bottle or one of the larger 200lbs guys, and the setup for the regulator and hose would be the same too. Because of the pressure and volume of gas you are going to use, I would go with the larger tank, it may be a bit more cumbersome, but it's better to have too much than not enough, especially when you are going to pay out about the same bucks. You might talk to the school or school district, they may already have CO2 tanks in their arsenal. You may also find that a local gas or welding supplier may be able to help you out too.
They are wonderful to use, no noise, no heat, no worries on water in the lines, though I still run my water trap and regulator rigs, if for no other reason than to be able to tweak the air pressure right where I'm working, and keep the air clean from rust or dirt that may be in the tank.
You will probably want a furniture or refridgerator dolly, and some straps to secure the tank and dolly in an upright position. That's a lot of weight to come crashing down.

Originally Posted by aixguy

The tank would be filled with CO2 not Air as Font said. This is done by a welding supply shop. The pressure in the tank is over 2000 psi when full.
A silent compressor would be a better option for portability as long as you will always have power to run it. This is where the tank of CO2 would excel .. no electricity needed. Storage and transportation is where the tank losses appeal to me.

There seems to be some confusion here. I never said it would be filled with air, I stated that it would be a CO2 tank, Scribbler thought it would be air, and that he could refill it from his compressor at home.

But the pressure the CO2 tanks is in the 2-6 thousand PSI range, more than the normal air regulator could deal with/handle.

Instead of doing the wild fabrication, you might look at a welding cart from Harbor Freight. It can handle two bottles, and it has a rack or shelf that can be adapted to your needs.

The gas suppliers deliver and pickup bottles of gas, so for thos remote locations, you may find it cheaper and easier to have them rented from somone local to the location, and let them deliver and pickup the bottle(s).

I love my silent compressor (a JunAir Maxi 6), but for doing bigger shows, or classes where I have a whole bunch of people painting all at the same time, you have a tough time getting that kind of capacity in volume or pressure out of any of the silent compressors. I'm talking about having 20-30 people painting at once, and even at low psi (20-25 psi), it's still way more than those compressors can handle. The CO2 tanks don't have that limitation.

If you do take a silent compressor on location, make sure you bring your own HEAVY DUTY extension cord and duct tape or a mat to cover it up from foot traffic. I used a standard weight cord on locations a few times, and found that the compressor was straining and overheating because of the drop in conductivity in the extension cord.

Scribbler, I do the same trick with my manifolds. I keep quick-connects on the hoses and regulators so that I can use the manifold for multiple airbrushes for personal use with one regulator between the main hose and the manifold itself, or if I'm doing a group I put a regulator on each line out of the manifold so that there isn't the fluctuation in pressure for each painter. New painters have enough challenges and frustrations to deal with without having to deal with wild air pressure peaks and drops.

As far as using PVC goes, the pressure needed through a main hose or line for a group of people is basically the working pressure multiplied by the number of potential painters. At 65psi times maybe 10 people, that means you have at least 650psi to deal with. Schedule 40 PVC might handle the pressure, but I wouldn't trust it for long, Schedule 80 or heavier would do better, the problem with using PVC is it gets brittle, and the lack of flexability is a real issue if your setup or layout changes from venue to venue. When a hose breaks it just whips around 'til you shut it off. With PVC it explodes, and it doesn't leave you an quick and easy mend like hoses do.

Welding carts typically have two large wheels, but unlike a "dolly" they are made to hold bottles and welding supplies in a work environment and for storage. They are referred to as carts in their industry. The larger wheels make them easier to move around, they also make it easier for you to lock up using a bicycle lock or cable lock.

The typical two wheel dolly for moving boxes or appliances are known as dollys, hand trucks, etc., alot depends on what part of the country or even what country you are in.