Adding air tank to compressor

[Lyndon]

Good day all,

I just have started this new hobby and bought a Mr Linear Compressor L3 recently, quite expensive for a small compressor. Standard pressure is 7 psi and maximum is at 12 psi and air volume is 3 liters per minute. It has a working time of 30 minutes only

I am planning to buy an air tank and connect it to my compressor, would it be feasible to do it? During airbrushing periods, do I always need to leave the compressor on for continuous refilling or can I turn off the compressor and let the tank do the job? Are there any required pressures for the air tank? How long does it takes to fill a 5 gallons air tank with 10 psi air pressure supply? And how long does it takes to empty the air tank if the release pressure is at 32 psi?

Thank you for the answers in advance!

[Snake45]

You might find that 12 psi isn't enough. About the lowest I ever run my airbrushes is @20, and I ususally run about 25 psi. I crank it up to 40 to blow lacquer thinner through it to clean at the end of a session.

Regarding your question about a tank, if you get a big enough tank and get enough pressure in it, yes, you can turn the compressor off and just run off the tank. My tank is only 2 gallons I think (maybe 3, I dunno) but when I get it filled to @ 100psi, I can do a 10-20 minute airbrushing session and cleaning without turning the compressor back on.

[Chief Joseph]

Is it too late to get your money back on that little compressor? It's really not at all suited for your application. If you need really, really quiet operation, get yourself a CO2 tank. If you need just "sort of quiet," there are several small compressors with tanks from Badger, Paasche, and Iwata that will serve you much better.

Also, a tank pressurized to 12psi cannot output at 32psi.

[Lyndon]

  On 6/5/2015 at 12:49 PM, Snake45 said:

You might find that 12 psi isn't enough. About the lowest I ever run my airbrushes is @20, and I ususally run about 25 psi. I crank it up to 40 to blow lacquer thinner through it to clean at the end of a session.

Regarding your question about a tank, if you get a big enough tank and get enough pressure in it, yes, you can turn the compressor off and just run off the tank. My tank is only 2 gallons I think (maybe 3, I dunno) but when I get it filled to @ 100psi, I can do a 10-20 minute airbrushing session and cleaning without turning the compressor back on.

Thank you for the reply!

How long does it take to fill the 2 gallon tank to 100 psi? And what is the pressure used to fill it?

Edited June 5, 2015 by Lyndon

[Lyndon]

  On 6/5/2015 at 2:18 PM, Chief Joseph said:

Is it too late to get your money back on that little compressor? It's really not at all suited for your application. If you need really, really quiet operation, get yourself a CO2 tank. If you need just "sort of quiet," there are several small compressors with tanks from Badger, Paasche, and Iwata that will serve you much better.

Also, a tank pressurized to 12psi cannot output at 32psi.

Thank you sir, I am so torn on buying a tank or a new compressor. Most of the compressors locally available are made in China,and i just had a bad experience regarding the quality of their products. I have to order online for the suggested compressors and the spare parts.

Sorry for the confusion, the 12 psi is the pressure used to fill the air tank.

[Jon Haigwood]

When ever you are filling a tank watch the cycle time (the time it runs/the time it stops to cool down). If you run a small output compressor to long without giving it proper cool down time you might overheat it and burn out the motor. I couldn't find a cycle time for that compressor but it may be listed in the paperwork that came with it.

[Snake45]

  On 6/5/2015 at 10:18 PM, Lyndon said:

Thank you for the reply!

How long does it take to fill the 2 gallon tank to 100 psi? And what is the pressure used to fill it?

Not more than a couple minutes. The compressor kicks back on when the tank drops to I think 50 or 60, and it only takes about a minute to run it back up again. But these days after the first fill, I often turn it off to keep it from startling me when it comes on. I bought the whole compressor/tank and an adapter kit at Walmart for well under $100--have had it for 13 years now and couldn't be happier with it.