Air Compressor size

[taff224]

Evening all,

As some of you know I have recently acquired some old machines my GGrandfather made. I'm in the process of tidying them up and would like to ultimately run them.

So to aid in the clean up and to run them I was thinking a compressor would be useful (small air jet gun to clean off junk and air supply to run them with)

But I need some idea of the smallest size I can get away with, as I am currently doing this on the dining room table my old 250PSI unit in the shed is not an option. I was thinking of the small model painting compressors about 30PSI ish...would that work?

Thanks

Chris

 

[stevehuckss396]

If by machines you mean engines then 30 PSI ish might be more than enough pressure. I have engines that run on less than 1 PSI. The problem with running steam engines on air is getting enough volume or air. The bigger the engine, the worse the problem. The little air brush compressors have little to no storage so it might not work for you.

 

[Philjoe5]

Steve hit it on the mark. It's not only the pressure, it's the volume of air delivered per time. I have a few engines with rotary valve that have 1 1/4" x 1 1/2"" bore x stroke that won't run on my air brush compressor (45 psi limit) but run quite well at 5 - 10 psi on my larger compressor. I also have engines of that size with "D" valves that run OK on the airbrush compressor, so that's another consideration.

I can run most of my 1" x 1.25" bore stroke engines on the airbrush compressor.

Another option depending upon the distance involved, is to run an air hose from the shed to a manifold at the dining room table. I've used 100 ft hoses often to carry air.

Hope this information is helpful

Cheers,
Phil

 

[Tin Falcon]

I have used an air brush compressor for running engines myself.
Tin

 

[Wizard69]

Evening all, As some of you know I have recently acquired some old machines my GGrandfather made. I'm in the process of tidying them up and would like to ultimately run them.

I'm assuming you mean steam engines.

So to aid in the clean up and to run them I was thinking a compressor would be useful (small air jet gun to clean off junk and air supply to run them with)

The size required to run them varies with the engine. For short spurts you can run engines with high volume demands off a little compressor with a holding tank. One gotcha is the out line regulator many of which don't flow much volume when turned down, it has been know to catch people. You will initially want very low pressures when starting up the engines.

But I need some idea of the smallest size I can get away with, as I am currently doing this on the dining room table my old 250PSI unit in the shed is not an option.

Is that compressor hooked up or can you hook it up? I ask because some pipe or hose will likely be cheaper than a new compressor.

I was thinking of the small model painting compressors about 30PSI ish...would that work? Thanks Chris

I'm going to say probably not. Lots of hedging there because it depends upon the compressor and the motor. If you have to buy something I'd suggest looking at the little compressors sold for air powered nail guns. Most of them should be able to easily run your engines. They are also extremely portable solving one issue for you. More importantly once you have one they are very useful around the house, one brad nailer is very handy for example.

 

[gus]

Bought a S$120(US$98) 1/2 hp China Air Compressor which came w/o filter-regulator.
For air cleaning and running very small steam engines.To prevent accident and save on air usage,
I put in a 1/32 orifice into the air cleaning gun. The air output is a wee bitty weak but good enough to do blow cleaning dusting. Caution is advised when blowing off fine chips from mill/lathe/jobs to avoid eye injury. A 1/16-----1/8 orifice will drain down air receiver within seconds. Air pressure is regulated to 10----20 psig.