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So, new to airbrushing. Have a Badger Khrome on the way.

Was gonna buy this compressor (with the free pair of airbrushes cause I figured I could use them for basing) foe €130 delivered....

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/FoxHunter-AS-186-Complete-Airbrush-Kit-Compressor-With-Tank-Nail-Tatoo-Art-/200600974912?hash=item2eb4bff640:g:QRQAAOSwxH1UGATN

However just saw one of these in my local aldi, has a 24L tank and I can use it to pump up car tyres if i need to. Its €110
https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/hurry-while-stocks-last/hurry-while-stocks-last/ps/p/25hp-air-compressor-1/

Which should I go for?

I'm not worried about noise really as I figure that I can just fill the tank during the day if i want to use it at night.

The compressor doesn't need to be uber portable.

I'll be using it primarily to repaint my 40k army but also on full 6x4 boards and a whole hose of terrain and buildings that I have.

I just want the best compressor for the money.

any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.!

You've pasted the same link twice there.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
You've pasted the same link twice there.

fixed it thanks

Get the Aldi one. Virtually the same specs, and you can return it locally if you have issues. Also they offer a warranty, which you may find evaporates with an online sale.

The aldi is more of a workshop compressor. You can use it, but it's going to be large and noisy. Hobby compressors like the first one you posted are designed to be small and quiet, but are far less powerful and have smaller tanks (which makes sense because us hobbyists typically don't need a lot of air).

As to which one to buy... well I don't have any specific info on those to know how reliable they are.

Assuming they're both reliable would you rather something big, noisy, and powerful that you can use for other tasks (like air tools) or do you just want something small and quiet and is sufficient for airbrushing but doesn't have the power to do other things?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
Get the Aldi one. Virtually the same specs, and you can return it locally if you have issues. Also they offer a warranty, which you may find evaporates with an online sale.

Wha? Virtually the same specs?

The FoxHunter one is 1/6HP (0.124kW), 3L tank and 5.2kg.

The Aldi one is 2.5HP (1.8kW), 24L tank and 30kg.

The Aldi one is 15 times the power, 8 times the volume, 2 times the pressure and 6 times the weight

Yeah I hear your points but I just think its the same money for the Aldi one (once I add moisture trap, pressure reg etc) but it can do another tasks.

I will be using the airbrush in my studio where noise really won't be an issue and with a 22L tank surely I'd prob only have to turn it on once a week anyway.

I just hear a lot about these generic compressors going after a while, I suppose my real question was CAN i se the Aldi compressor with the Badger Khrome without any issues.

I was tired and forgot it was the same link twice.
Despite pointing it out.

Still, I go for buying in person when I can.

I loved my AS186 when I had it, very quiet and nice. Very competent for airbrushing. I also loved that I could airbrush with the BF in the next room without disturbing her, even though the compressor was running.

The shop compressor will be loud as hell, I don't know how long the 24litre tank will last in actual painting but perhaps someone can do the numbers. But also, it would be nice to have 8bar for other shopwork though

Only you can decide however what you want and what you need.

I suspect you could even run a splitter on the Aldi one and use two alternating airbrushes. I did for a while on a far smaller compressor.

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
I suspect you could even run a splitter on the Aldi one and use two alternating airbrushes. I did for a while on a far smaller compressor.

Yeah I had a look at a 50L one from aldi on youtube and it was REALLY loud. Now this wouldnt be an issue if I was going to get a few hours out of a tank at a time.

Is there any way that I can work it out, also if I fill the tank and then just plug out the compressor will I still be able to use the air in the tank?

The other thing I've just noticed is that this is an oil compressor reviews I've seen have said to avoid this. Is this only in the smaller models or does it apply to this one.

I'd really like this one to work but if its going to be coming on every few minutes then its a no go over the noise, if I can fill it and then get a few hours silent work out of it then I think its a go-er..

If you got a regulator, then it can work from the tank alone, yes.

emmetkt wrote:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
I suspect you could even run a splitter on the Aldi one and use two alternating airbrushes. I did for a while on a far smaller compressor.

Yeah I had a look at a 50L one from aldi on youtube and it was REALLY loud. Now this wouldnt be an issue if I was going to get a few hours out of a tank at a time.

Do you have a link to the 50L one? You need to know both the tank volume AND cut off pressure to get an idea of how long a tank will last.

It's hard to pin down exactly how long a tank will last because it depends on what pressure you spray at AND how much air the airbrush uses (not all airbrushes use the same amount of air to lay down the same amount of paint, it depends on the geometry of the air cap).

I can tell you for my compressor/tank (3L tank, kicks in at 3 bar, cuts off at 4 bar) spraying a bit above the pressure I normally spray, from a full tank charge I can get 45 seconds of continuous air before the compressor kicks back in (so assuming my cut off/on switches are working, that means 45 seconds to go from 4 bar to 3 bar in the tank). However there is still enough pressure to spray, watching the regulator it takes about 120-150 seconds before the pressure starts to drop because there isn't enough air in the tank.

You can pretty much scale that to the tank size and pressure of a different compressor. So the 24L aldi one is listed as 8 bar max pressure (ASSUMING that is the cut off pressure and not just a fanciful number) that means the aldi compressor is 8 times the volume and 2 times the pressure of my little compressor, 8x2 = 16 times the mass of air in the tank when fully charged.

That means FOR ME, I'd expect to get 30 to 40 minutes of continuous spraying our of that tank. That's continuous blowing air, when I'm painting models I probably spend less than half my time with the trigger down.

Of course it goes without saying YMMV depending on your own spraying pressure and your own airbrush and whether that 8 bar max pressure is genuinely the cut off pressure.

Also note you probably don't want to spray until the air runs out otherwise it will be very difficult to clean the airbrush!


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Buttery Commissar wrote:
I suspect you could even run a splitter on the Aldi one and use two alternating airbrushes. I did for a while on a far smaller compressor.

As long as you don't have any leaks you can connect a splitter to any compressor. If it can power 1, it can power 2 when alternating between them. It's only if you want to run 2 simultaneously that you have start increasing the compressor to match your output.

You want to make sure you have quick disconnects that let you remove the airbrush without losing too much air as well if you're trying run solely from the tank.

Splitter is great. I use one so that I can have two different air pressures, without adjusting the regulator -- I actually have 3 taps set at 60 psi (for cleaning), 25 psi for certain, thicker paints and bigger needles, and 18 psi for general use.

However, in most cases, a quick connect takes up less space, doesn't require taping, is easier to do, cheaper, and all that.

would this regulator/water trap be okay?

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Pneumatic-Air-Filter-Regulator-Moisture-Trap-Pressure-Gauge-AFR2000-Compressors-/190836467553?hash=item2c6ebd6761:go8AAOSwo8hTpBIx

emmetkt wrote:
would this regulator/water trap be okay?

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Pneumatic-Air-Filter-Regulator-Moisture-Trap-Pressure-Gauge-AFR2000-Compressors-/190836467553?hash=item2c6ebd6761:go8AAOSwo8hTpBIx

Yes and no. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but this is not a regulator manufactured for airbrushing. The device adjusts between 0-1 MPa (megapascal); to give you an idea of what that is in PSI, each notch of 0.2 MPa (black marks) or 2 kgf/cm2 (blue marks) is approximately 30 psi. Since your useful range for an airbrush is 8-30 psi, that regulator will need to be controlled using just that first little centimeter on the dial, making it more difficult to set accurately.

The ones that are made for hobby will usually read PSI on one of the dials (so it will say, 10, 20, 30, 40, etc.), and not go as high as 150psi, or the equivalent in MPa. Plus, most of us are more used to saying 18 psi than 0.12 megapascals.

The other consideration you need to keep in mind with these cheaper regulators is that it the quality can be hit and miss a little. When you start the air tool, unless you have a $400 regulator, the pressure will always drop a little. So, it might read 20 psi at rest; then when you start it, it will drop to 18psi. That's pretty normal. However, I've had some these hobby jobs drop 5-8 psi, which makes it a little less useful, because I'm not really confident of what the PSI is coming out of the airbrush, AND, I'm worried that the pressure at the start is significantly more than the pressure afterwards.

Ideally, it doesn't matter good practice is to start the air flowing, then the paint, then move it across the model in order to get a consistent line, but this isn't always possible depending on what we're working on (or it would require excessive masking).


Here is an example of one with markings for airbrush, and a range that's more ideal -

http://www.amazon.com/PointZero-Airbrush-Compressor-Regulator-Water-Trap/dp/B004KNAHE2/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1445708458&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=aibrush+regulat

Thanks dude I really appreciate it. So if I get that one then basically I'm set yeah?