I am looking to get an air compressor to mainly use with an air brush. Are the "pancake" style compressors good enough? The one I am looking at has a 6 Gallon Tank, Porter Cable. Any help would be great I am very new to taxidermy in general and have read many articles on this page. Thanks in advance
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The small ones work fine, but personally i think you are better off with the bigger ones, i bought a 27 gallon one at bi-mart and i am glad i did. i use it for alot more things than just painting.
lee
the pancake will work fine. You'll need a regulator to get the pressure down so it's useable with the airbrush. Mine works good at around 15 psi. You'll also need a GOOD water trap. You can find a regulator/watertrap combo near the compressors in Lowe's or Home Depot. The pancake will also have enough volume to run a pneumatic stapler if you decide to use one to staple the cape to the back board in the manakin.
Although it will work fine, for the price you pay, you may want to move up to a compressor with a larger volume tank. In the long run, you'll find you can use a larger tank for more applications.
Kevin
What is a water trap? For about the same money I can get a like a 27 gallon tank, I just looked today, but it dosent come with a hose and the acessories. When i get a airbrush do most come with a hose that hooks directly to the tank, or do you need to buy cupplings and such. Thanks again
I have one of the little 2 gallon jobs. It works fine for airbrushing, but even with an airbrush it runs all the time to refill. The only benefit to a large on is that it holds a lot more air, so the motor doesn't kick on all the time. Mine came with a built in regulator (pressure adjustment knob). There is a water drain at the bottom since compressing air makes it form condensation. You open the valve and drain the water after use so the tank doesn't rust. The water trap is a little device that screws into the air line and keeps water from getting pushed into your airbrush which will make it sputter. I don't have one, and haven't had any problems...yet.
is noise. I had a nice 6 gallon 2 hsp single stage compressor, belt driven, that was actually pretty quiet. Then I upgraded to a 5 hsp direct drive oiless Craftsman upright 25 gallon and holy cow is that thing loud. Not to mention it vibrates my whole house. I forgot to flip the switch on several occassions so it wouldn't turn on and it woke me out of a sound sleep in the middle of the night a few times. The wife wasn't very happy either! Noise level is one thing I will check before purchasing my next one.
I used the six gallon more than the larger model until the tank got a hole in it. Yes, I even had an automatic moisture release/separator on it and occassionally even manually released the moisture but it still rotted the bottom out.
Good luck with whatever you choose.
I bought mine at Schuck's Auto Supply for $89 by Trades Pro. It's 3HP, 5 gallon, and noise is tolerable, comes with regulator and tank for water, and air filter. I use it for airbrush painting, stapling, nailing, pump the tire etc.
It doesn't come with the hose, so you need to buy one and other attachments like the air nozzle, coupler, raccord connector, etc. You don't have to buy individually as they tend to be more costly. They usually have an accessory kit package, so you need to ask the sales clerk.
Hope this will help you decide.
I think I have decided to get something with around a 10-15 gallon tank. I am sure glad I just dident jump the gun and get the first one i saw. All of your Imput has been great. Thanks again
Compressor horsepower ratings are...well, overrated. It's impossible for a compressor motor that runs on 120 volt, 15 amp household current to produce more than 2.1 horsepower. Most are probably in the 1.2 to 1.8 HP range. (voltage x amps x motor efficiency [0.81 to 0.91 percent] divided by 746)
Air delivery (CFM) is the most important spec. 8+ CFM for heavy duty continuous use tools. Nailers and staplers are intermittent use tools that any 2-4 CFM compressor can handle with ease.
I know nothing about taxidermy, but for air brushing I'd consider a tankless air compressor. These use a flexible steel diaphragm to compress air, avoiding problems of water condensation and oil contamination that you'll have with piston-driven shop compressors.
The downside to the tankless compressor is that the motor needs to run continuously (albeit quietly) and these are useless for anything besides airbrushing and tire inflation.
I posted a little more about HP ratings here, if it helps anyone --
http://www.deadbus.org/archives/2005/04/hot_air.html