Air compressor for cleaning

[Alex97]

Hello, does anyone else use an air compressor to clean their rc's? If so what one are using using or what brand would you suggest to get?

Thanks Alex

Edited August 17, 2015 by alex97

[HYPER-BOY]

I use the missus' old mans when we go out bashing, fast and easy! - it's a Clarke one - It's far too big for just being an RC one, he uses it for other stuff though.

 

Machine Mart do good ones, prices vary massively.

 

eBay is a good shout to have a look, doesn't have to be too big for cleaning RC's..

 

We use the thin nozzle end.

Edited August 17, 2015 by HYPER-BOY

[arogon1235]

I use a 2hp 24litre wolf air compressor, similar spec can be had for about

[mond]

I use an AS196. I got it for airbrushing but an air compressor is an air compressor so does the job.

[Tamiyacowboy]

depends, what you wanna do. 

 

if its just the odd blowing out and likes, dont bother. 

 

got kiddies, wife , car. something small in the garage like a clarke is ideal

not a huge res holding tank but its enough to check and fill the cars tyres, kiddies bikes.

etc etc, its NOT going to run many hi power air tools, so forget the impact gun etc etc, but the small nailgun

or touchup gun its gonna be fine. 

 

long nose nozzle trigger gun , it looks like a long thick needle on the end of a trigger gun. its ideal for blowing out stuff

BUT DO NOT USE IT ON ELETCRONICS. 

 

Bigger the air res tank, the less power the compressor uses. it means you can work for longer before the pump auto kicks in.

compressors these days auto shut off and auto start when the reach a min/max pressure, more air you store the longer the compressor sits not running.

 

Water-oil traps and a regulator. 

 

these are needed, when air is compressed it heats up, so the res tank tends to fill with condensation and water ( its why they have a drain plug in them)

this water air mix when fed through an airgun makes your paint come out blotchy and lumpy same goes with oil ( most res compressors will need topping with oil every now and then)

so we use a water/oil trap. its a glass/plastic clear bulb that collects the water/oil before it comes out of our hose and gun. 

 

the regulator is a clever piece of kit. we can set the regulator to dispense only a set volume of air ie in PSI , airbrushes are a low psi down to 12psi (your push bike tyre is around 25psi to 30)

so with the airbrush or your blowgun trigger fully pulled in your will adjust the psi via the regulator lowering it untill your at what you require.

now everytime that trigger is activated we know the regulator is feeding whatever the psi is set to, no more than that. 

 

 

thers lots of things to think about when looking at compressors, tank size and what you get, does it come with a filter and reg or do your require a seperate filter

also  the jobs in hand it may come across. small is good but they will not give enough constant air if trying to power something like an impact driver or an air powered snippers

[Alex97]

I will only be using it to clean my rc's.

[everclear1984]

I use cans of keyboard cleaner. Perfect for blowing dust and water from nooks and crannies.

[Gaz!]

Future proof yourself Alex, get something that will clean rc, airbrush and spray etc.

I made the same decision but went for one with enough grunt to power all the air tools, (just in case) and now bought a 1/2 drive gunn for removing and fitting wheel it's on my truck to make life easier. Glad I di now for a extra

[Tamiyacowboy]

gaz is right. 

 

i had both a large'ish clarke 2hp , ended up not getting much use just from my airbrushing, so i sold it on.

 

now i own a small hobby like chinese airpump compressor, no res - a cheap regulator and trap fitted , and its a pain in the rear.

always running 24/7 so ends up getting very hot when running 24/7. 

these are more used for finger nail bars and kiddies face painting-fake tattoos

 

 

go with 24lt to 50 lt for your storage of the compressed air ( more you hold the less the pump kicks in )

 

look at the CF/m you want this up high , above 4 better off around 6

this means the speed at what the compresser fills the tank ( cubic feet of air per min ).

air tools are rated by the cfm  flow, if your pump can only do 4cfm but your tool needs 5cfm

your going to find the too initally works but then stalls out because pump cannot keep up with the flow it requires as a constant.