Tests for TK’s new Minni Compressor? How to "break"
In case you have not been following a paintballer has introduced a new mini compressor for 390$. You can get all the details here:
Look under info and what not. There are also several threads on it on:
automags.org
Anyway I have one on the way (as I think one or two other forum members do) in the next week or two and I wondered what you all would like to see done to the thing? What tests beyond the obvious “how long to fill my tank?” can you blow it up etc. would you like me to try? I am thinking it will be worth attempting some upgrading, filling scubas etc.
Anyway if anyone is in the Tacoma WA area and would like to get together some weekend I am dieing to get out and shoot and testing the compressor would be a good excuse.
Thoughts?
All Replies
The fill rate should stay fairly linear.
Tom Kaye
well, my scba adapter from Joe arrived today( a beautiful piece of work BTW) and i fired up the shoebox about an hour ago. i put it on a timer set for 3 hours. when it stops, i will lube the piston rods and turn it back on. so far it has put about 500psi into the empty tank and everything seems to be working fine. man, I LOVE THIS THING( KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED). the gauge on the scba tank is reading the same as the gauge on my fill line. looks like it will fill the scba tank in 9-10 hours unless the fill rate slows as the pressure increases. i was wondering what other folks experience had been as far as whether or not the fill rate slows as pressure increases. just curious.
The fan and guard came from McMaster-Carr.
1976K14 AC Equipment Cooling Fan 3.62″ SQ, 52 CFM
19155K95 Steel Fan Guard for 3.62″ (92 mm) Fan
It is an AC fan so one side goes directly to the incoming AC and the other side is connected to the switch.
Not worried about crud getting into the Shoebox as I keep mine in the downstairs ‘man’ room. But just in case I do have a media filter on the way to put under the guard.
The fan is very quiet and adds no noise to the running compressor.
Carl
If you know someone as ITI and work on the server side, they can give you a good fan, if you use external AC adapter, you can adjust the fan speed from low up to 5000 RPM.
Another way to get good fan is from ebay.com, you just need to modify the 2 wire and mount it up. the best effective way to cool the box down without open up the case is 1 fan to suck the air from outside, other fan blow the hot air out, but please keep in mind, your internal shoebox will collect dusts and may create problem other problem, unless you run this machine in a clean room 😆
Prolly Radio Shack and 12V power supply.
that looks very effective. where did you get the fan and how did you wire it into the shoebox?
Here are a couple of pictures of the small whisper fan I added to my Shoebox compressor. Sure keeps the cylinders mucho cooler whether you run with the cover on or off.
Carl
And a DAMN good one I think! Or just make a cut out and put a “window” in the front.
Could you make a cover out of plexiglass? Then you could watch and have the air move through the unit as designed. Just a thought.
thanks for the info!. i had seen several posts elsewhere(AutoMag Forum) where a small fan blowing across the open housing dropped cylinder temp 15-20 degrees. guess not. i don’t have an infrared temp gun to check it out.
It will actually run cooler with the cover in place. The motor fan will move the air through the compressor more effectively than if the cover is removed.
I cannot bring myself to put the cover on cause I like watching it! 🙂
Walter…
saw those when i bought mine( which cost more and didn’t include the brad nailer) but since it didn’t put out the magic number of 1 cfm, i opted for the slightly more expensive Air Scout. had i seen Tom’s post prior to purchase, i would have saved some money and gotten the brad nailer to boot!!!!! that’s what i get for erring on the side of caution. i am realizing that a lot of the warnings about the shoebox operation are an unfortunate necessity to keep the lawyers out of this- too many suit happy folks out there. along the same line- is anybody REALLY operating these things with the cover on. since heat is the ultimate killer here, no way am i going to take a chance on frying something when all i had to do was remove the cover and put a small fan nearby to cool it off!!!!!!!!!!
I am using a small Home Depot kinda compressor that you buy as a kit with a brad nailer. More than enough and it only kicks in every 10 minutes or so.
[quote=”powderburner”] and i have been around auto painting for over 15 years. and there is o tolerance for oil or moisture in the air for auto painting .[/quote]
I saw a program on Ferrari cars… I think their painters (living breathing people) have to have 5+ years painting experience before they can work in their factory!
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Tom Kaye
Welcome Tom,
Big fan of your automag back in the day.
The shoebox looks to be a big hit!