Air compressor moisture

[donnwy]

Now I'm pretty green at this type of asking questions, even greener at airbrushing, so please bear with me. I have a relatively small compressor with a tank, and moisture collecter, but am getting some moisture through the hose into the airbrush. I'm still in the practice phase so no great work of art has been damaged, I'm just curious what would cause the moisture, I have had the drain plug out, but very little moisture there. Would really appreciate any help/ideas.
Donn

[cat_meow2001]

You need to have another moisture tap. Take about 8 ft or so of hose and add a second moisture tap then connect your other hose or Airbrush from that. Hope it helps you out..

Originally Posted by donnwy

Now I'm pretty green at this type of asking questions, even greener at airbrushing, so please bear with me. I have a relatively small compressor with a tank, and moisture collecter, but am getting some moisture through the hose into the airbrush. I'm still in the practice phase so no great work of art has been damaged, I'm just curious what would cause the moisture, I have had the drain plug out, but very little moisture there. Would really appreciate any help/ideas.
Donn

[don johnson]

Thanks Cat for helping out.

Just as Cat said Donn should work for you.

[donnwy]

Originally Posted by cat_meow2001

You need to have another moisture tap. Take about 8 ft or so of hose and add a second moisture tap then connect your other hose or Airbrush from that. Hope it helps you out..

Cat, Thanks for the help,I ordered the parts this morning, hopefully that will take care of the problem. The original hose that came with the compressor is 6 ft long, I ordered a 10 ft one, and the air/water traps. Just guessing, but it sounds like the longer hose,plus another water trap, gives the moisture more time to dissipate before reaching the airbrush.
Thanks again,
Donn

[donnwy]

Originally Posted by don johnson

Thanks Cat for helping out.

Just as Cat said Donn should work for you.

Don, Thanks to you for your input too ! I really appreciate the help, it will be about a week until the parts get here, hopefully this solves the problem. Really enjoying the Airbrush Artist Magazine too, very helpful !
Thanks, Donn

[chucktx]

the cause of the problem is that the air in the hose is still warm, after it leave the first moisture trap. by adding a second one plus the extra line will give it a chance to dissipate..........

[donnwy]

Originally Posted by chucktx

the cause of the problem is that the air in the hose is still warm, after it leave the first moisture trap. by adding a second one plus the extra line will give it a chance to dissipate..........

chucktx, Thanks for your input too. Was even beginning to think it could have been all the rain and humidity we've had in Missouri here lately. But the warm air condensing in thr hose makes a lot of sense too.
Thanks Again, Donn

[fontgeek]

Water traps aren't made to capture steam, but water in it's liquid form.

The compressor super heats the air, so all the humidity of your environment gets pushed as very hot air through your compressor and hose, the water trap right at the compressor only catches the liquid, and that is usually when you just start up. While that helps, it doesn't solve your problem, adding the hose, and I would go for at least 25' if not50' of hose, lets the air cool down, and lets the steam turn back to it's liquid state (water), so that a second trap at the other end of the long hose can catch it. While running a longer hose will help on it's own, unless you are able to remove the water from the line, it will catch up with you.

The water doesn't "dissipate" within the hose, it has no place to go to. That hose and it's fittings create a closed environment.

I had a student who got the longer hose, but decided to forego the second set of traps and filters, when he first started this, it worked "OK" for a bit, but then he accumulated enough water in the hose, that as soon as he actually lifted the big hose to work on a new project, he dumped all kinds of water back into his compressor, and up into his airbrush.

The lesson?

There is no such thing as having air that is TOO CLEAN or TOO DRY.

So adding a a long hose, and second set of traps and filters at the far end of the long hose, emptying the tank and traps before and after EVERY paint session. cam save you lots of time, money, and aspirin.
Adding a second regulator at your work place will also help you keep much better control on your spraying. Run a much higher pressure at the compressor, and let the second regulator do the fine tuning. This keeps the pressure consistent, and lets you keep the moisture and gunk from accumulating in your hose.