Hi, apologies right away for the long post but I can't make up my mind so thought I'd ask the collective to get some different points of view.
I'm new to modelling and am particularly interested in the airbrushing side of it. I figured my current compressor set up my shed would be ideal for this, but after just one evenings work I think it's way too loud, to the point of being anti social. It doesn't bother me but I'm sure the neighbours won't be happy if I'm working late into the night!
I'm running a 3hp belt drive unit on a 50l tank. This runs through 5m of airline for cooling, then to a water trap/filter/regulator. This works great for spraying car parts with full sized guns but overkill for airbrushing.
So I've thought of a few options:
1) Build a soundproof enclosure. This will take up even more space, make access to the compressor difficult, and may not even be that effective.
2) Ignore the current set up and get a dedicated airbrush compressor with a small tank.
3) Get a tankless airbrush compressor and plumb it into my existing set up.
I'm leaning towards option 3 as it'll probably be the cheapest, will be as simple as plugging the new compressor into my existing tank, and will make use of the pipwork/cooling/filter system I already have set up. I'll use a one way valve on the spare tank port to make sure I don't blow the little one to bits if I fire up the main compressor with it still plugged in.
My only worry is if the little unit will be OK filling such a big tank. I'm guessing it will have to go for a while but then it should get a decent break while I use such a big volume of air. Is that likely to be any worse for it than constantly cutting in and out as I spray?
Any thoughts or alternative ideas appreciated.
I'm new to modelling and am particularly interested in the airbrushing side of it. I figured my current compressor set up my shed would be ideal for this, but after just one evenings work I think it's way too loud, to the point of being anti social. It doesn't bother me but I'm sure the neighbours won't be happy if I'm working late into the night!
I'm running a 3hp belt drive unit on a 50l tank. This runs through 5m of airline for cooling, then to a water trap/filter/regulator. This works great for spraying car parts with full sized guns but overkill for airbrushing.
So I've thought of a few options:
1) Build a soundproof enclosure. This will take up even more space, make access to the compressor difficult, and may not even be that effective.
2) Ignore the current set up and get a dedicated airbrush compressor with a small tank.
3) Get a tankless airbrush compressor and plumb it into my existing set up.
I'm leaning towards option 3 as it'll probably be the cheapest, will be as simple as plugging the new compressor into my existing tank, and will make use of the pipwork/cooling/filter system I already have set up. I'll use a one way valve on the spare tank port to make sure I don't blow the little one to bits if I fire up the main compressor with it still plugged in.
My only worry is if the little unit will be OK filling such a big tank. I'm guessing it will have to go for a while but then it should get a decent break while I use such a big volume of air. Is that likely to be any worse for it than constantly cutting in and out as I spray?
Any thoughts or alternative ideas appreciated.
