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I need a steady, silent supply of low pressure air. I don't know what the pressure or volume of what i need is but its something like half what a small aquarium air pump puts out so not alot! As it needs to be silent i was thinking about using a small compressor to charge a reserve tank then regulating the output from that. I have no idea about this stuff though.
I don't mind if the compressor is noisy. If it takes 5-10 mins of noise to fill a tank to supply 5 hours of constant silent air thats fine.
What i have no clue about is what size compressor i'd need, what size storage tank, how to regulate such a low supply of air with fine control, how much pressure id need to last for a few hours etc.
Anyone know how i could work out whats needed, or how i could guesstimate whats likely? I'm hoping this can be achieved with a small air brush compressor or similar but i don't know how much stored air at what kind of pressure would be needed. Although the supply i need is small, i need that supply to last quite a long time really.
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Oct 25, 2019 10:07:07 GMT
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Hi, Dentists used to use Binks Bullows compressors but I'm sure they use a more modern version nowadays. They do come up on ebay, there's a couple on there now, they tend to peak at about 40 to 50 psi and will run a spray gun. They're very quiet in operation, they are a hydrovane type and so deliver on demand, they have small storage capacity built in and are usually kept in a cupboard by the surgery. A good regulator will be able to control output. In the spirit of the forum they are of course retro.
Colin
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Oct 25, 2019 10:07:08 GMT
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I have had a look at a few aquarium pump specs and i think i may need something like 75 lph at 2psi max. I may get away with 50lph at even lower 1psi? The output from the storage tank needs to be constant in both flow and pressure. It can change as the storage tank looses its charge.
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Oct 25, 2019 10:09:35 GMT
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Hi, Dentists used to use Binks Bullows compressors but I'm sure they use a more modern version nowadays. They do come up on ebay, there's a couple on there now, they tend to peak at about 40 to 50 psi and will run a spray gun. They're very quiet in operation, they are a hydrovane type and so deliver on demand, they have small storage capacity built in and are usually kept in a cupboard by the surgery. A good regulator will be able to control output. In the spirit of the forum they are of course retro. Colin This is on facebook marketplace... picture upload
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Oct 25, 2019 10:11:18 GMT
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I guess i just need to know how to work out what size tank, at what psi, will provide 375 litres of air at 2psi?
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Oct 25, 2019 10:29:29 GMT
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I have found out that a 10L tank at 200 bar holds 2000L of air. Not managed to make that a useful fact yet though. So, just a randon example, this has a 6L tank at lets say a max of 100psi... How can i work out how long that would supply 75lph at 2psi if ive switched it off once the tank was full?
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Oct 25, 2019 10:41:13 GMT
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The aquarium pumps supply constantly and has a rule do not have receivers / tanks - new technology over recent years has enabled virtually silent running compressors the 'Bambi' range is excellent and either come with / without receivers - I would have thought it best to invest in a small receiver model with air pressure controlled via combined air regulator / water separator - most models come has a package and are simply plug & play - link below (My wife has run a Bambi for several years and uses it to power a air stapler for her upholstery / retrimming work) www.airsupplies.co.uk/air-compressors/bambi-silent-air-compressors
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Oct 25, 2019 10:54:49 GMT
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The aquarium pumps supply constantly and has a rule do not have receivers / tanks - new technology over recent years has enabled virtually silent running compressors the 'Bambi' range is excellent and either come with / without receivers - I would have thought it best to invest in a small receiver model with air pressure controlled via combined air regulator / water separator - most models come has a package and are simply plug & play - link below (My wife has run a Bambi for several years and uses it to power a air stapler for her upholstery / retrimming work) www.airsupplies.co.uk/air-compressors/bambi-silent-air-compressorsIf thats the amount of money id have to spend, this is a non starter. Silent pumps and compressors etc are not going to cut it. I need the air supply to be completely sound free, hence needing the air supply to last without the compressor running. I need to charge the receiver, switch off, use the air supply for that session then recharge the receiver before the next use. No need for the initial receiver charging to be quiet though. I currently use a cheapo £10 air pump but they are waaaay too noisy. Ive tried sound proof boxes and even having it in another room but its not ideal. I'm just trying to find a way of having completely noise free low pressure air supply. I have considered trying to run it from a spare tyre!
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Midas
Part of things
Posts: 505
Club RR Member Number: 14
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Oct 25, 2019 17:23:11 GMT
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I seem to remember the Hy-flo pumps we used at school were pretty much silent..
Caveat.. School was a long time ago
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Oct 25, 2019 17:52:21 GMT
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a compressor from a fridge maybe more like it... connect it to something like a propane bottle
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Oct 25, 2019 18:31:58 GMT
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I seem to remember the Hy-flo pumps we used at school were pretty much silent.. Caveat.. School was a long time ago I have one, a double pump 4 outlet one. I had to open the pistons and tighten them up a bit but i think it struggles to provide quite enough pressure. Its also not silent enough. Its close, but there is still a faint tap tap noise that is too regular to ignore.
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Oct 25, 2019 18:34:31 GMT
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a compressor from a fridge maybe more like it... connect it to something like a propane bottle Interesting thought. I do have a noisy, crappy compressor in the garage i could use to charge a suitable receiver but i don't know enough about compressed air to be messing with home brew stuff. Id like to be able to keep it all in the same place too so recharging is just a matter of switching it on for a while. This will all be kept in the living room btw, but in a cupboard.
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Oct 25, 2019 18:51:16 GMT
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right, if you have an old compressor to start with it ll make it a lot easier. itll have a pressure cut out switch on it already, so all you need to do is remove the old motor, connect the fridge one, and it should be quite silent.
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Oct 25, 2019 19:05:25 GMT
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right, if you have an old compressor to start with it ll make it a lot easier. itll have a pressure cut out switch on it already, so all you need to do is remove the old motor, connect the fridge one, and it should be quite silent. The receiver may be a bit big, not sure it would fit in the cupboard, but it would do for testing. Ill have a look at regulators and see if something that will meter the air supply down to such a low level reliably.
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Oct 25, 2019 19:14:33 GMT
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isnt there one on the compressor now? if nt you can buy a simple air regulator and water trap on ebay for like £8-10
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Oct 25, 2019 19:30:13 GMT
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isnt there one on the compressor now? if nt you can buy a simple air regulator and water trap on ebay for like £8-10 Yeah, its super basic though and i doubt it will reliably meter air at the levels i need. If for arguments sake i need 1.3psi i will need it to stay at 1.3psi, all the time, not 1.4, not 1.2. The exact amount of air flow i need will be a very fine setting. I wouldnt even be surprised if the difference bewtween 1.2 and 1.15 psi would be significant.
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Last Edit: Oct 25, 2019 19:30:35 GMT by VW
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Oct 25, 2019 19:56:03 GMT
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that wont be the regulators fault exactly, you would need an inline regulator right by the device you are using. My mate is a painter and on his spray gun he has fitted an inline regulator on the in on the gun. again not a lot of money on ebay.
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Oct 25, 2019 20:11:01 GMT
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Sounds perfect, ill have a look. At the moment i can adjust the air pump and use a line clamp like you would for a fish tank. I can always use a few varied regulators rather than trying to go from full pressure to final pressure in one hit.
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Oct 25, 2019 20:36:11 GMT
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what is it you are tying to do, air brushing then?
have a look on youtube about about the fridge compressor and how quiet they are.
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Oct 25, 2019 20:43:35 GMT
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what is it you are tying to do, air brushing then? have a look on youtube about about the fridge compressor and how quiet they are. No, its to provide air to a home made tonearm on my record player. It floats on an aluminium manifold in the same way air hockey pucks do. The flow of air has to be very consistant. The pressure obviously regulates the air gap. The smaller the better as the air gap effect bass performance but if it drops the arm stops floating. Needs to be silent as you don't want any other noise to catch your attention during quiet sections. The manifold has 32 0.3mm holes and you cant actually feel any air coming out of them but its enough to levitate the arm. Too much flow creates instability and hiss, which is bad obviously.
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