Airbrush hose connections

martin goodall
Posts: 1425
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:20 pm

Airbrush hose connections

Postby martin goodall » Mon Aug 01, 2022 2:08 pm

Quite a long time ago, I bought a water trap to put in the air line from my compressor to my Badger 200 airbrush, so as to avoid the risk in humid conditions of moisture in the air line forming droplets which can appear on an airbrushed surface as ‘bird’s eyes’ or ‘tear drops’. However, I have never been able to put it into use (for the reasons explained below).

Up to now, I have always got away with it, in the sense that (despite not using the moisture trap), no ‘bird’s eyes’ or ‘tear drops’ have appeared when I airbrushed models. Until last week, that is, when the high humidity did result in one tear drop appearing on a loco I was airbrushing. So I really do want to put the moisture trap into commission now.

The compressor has a half-inch male thread with which to connect the air line:

IMG_8043.JPG


Up to now I have connected the air line shown below, which has a half-inch female thread to connect to the compressor, and a quarter-inch male thread at the other end, which I connect to the blue acrylic line of the Badger airbrush :

IMG_8041.JPG


A good many years ago, I also bought a spare Badger air line. This has the same half-inch female thread to connect to the compressor, but I am unable to identify the connection at the output end, which will not connect with any of the other fittings I have. So I can’t use it to link the compressor with the water trap (as I had hoped when I originally bought it).

IMG_8042.JPG


I do have an extension air line with half-inch female threads on both ends, one end of which can be connected to the compressor, and the other end can be connected to the moisture filter.

IMG_8039.JPG


I have the necessary adaptors to connect the air line to the moisture trap, and to connect the moisture trap to the vinyl hose that connects to the Badger airbrush :

IMG_8038.JPG


The photo below shows what it looks like when connected up, although I haven’t connected the Badger vinyl hose in this shot. [Please ignore the fact that in this photo the moisture trap is connected the wrong way round!]

IMG_8040.JPG


So what’s the problem?

First, the red rubber connecting hose shown above is too short. It’s only two-foot long, so that air from the compressor can still be quite warm when it reaches the moisture trap. It really needs to be twice or three times as long. A rather more important problem is that this hose leaks (and has done from Day 1) through one or other of its crimped connections.

So I need to replace it, and this is where I have come up against a brick wall. I cannot find on the internet or anywhere else an air hose with half-inch female thread connectors at both ends. I have the two Badger air lines mentioned above, one of which I have used regularly up to now, but neither of these can be adapted to connect the compressor to the moisture trap in the middle. Nor can I find a connector or adaptor that would enable either of the Badger air lines to be used for that purpose. So does anyone know of a source of an air hose between 4 and 6 feet long with half-inch female thread connectors at both ends (like the one shown in the fourth photo above)?
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Daddyman
Posts: 740
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2017 1:09 pm

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby Daddyman » Mon Aug 01, 2022 2:31 pm

You're asking people to read a heck of a lot for what is a simple question, which seems to be: does anyone know of a source of long airbrush hose with a half inch female connection at both ends. Might be an idea to shorten the post?

If that is the question, then I got a braided hose 1.8m long, from Ama@#n recently. The exact product was:
"1 X Jeffergarden Braided Airbrush Hose 1.8M EVA Braided Airbrush Hose Air Tube 1/8"-1/4" Adaptor Fitting Ends Coupling Sold by Blurte £8.68" I have no idea what "1/8"-1/4" Adaptor Fitting Ends Coupling" means, or what the measurement refers to, but, with the usual adaptors, the hose fits a compressor, which has what look like the same connections as yours - a dimension of half an inch across the threads on the male part. But you might have to get a set of adaptors. I got, from the same source: "1 X Fengda Airbrush Adapter 7PCS Hose Adapter Set Airbrush Threaded Plug for Connecting Airbrush and air Compressor with Transparent Plastic Box Sold by Airgoo-Europe £7.99"

I see no reason why this combination won't work for you. I think you only need compressor-to-water trap, right? Not water trap to airbrush?

nigelcliffe
Posts: 747
Joined: Mon Jul 21, 2008 8:31 am

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby nigelcliffe » Mon Aug 01, 2022 2:56 pm

When I sorted out my airbrush setup (many years ago), I sourced the parts for the "fat" airlines from a local garage tool supplier - garages tend to use a lot of air powered tools. Most decent sized towns have one or two such suppliers.

Mine has bayonet connectors to link the compressor to airline (several feet long) to moisture trap. The connectors push into the hose, with a jubilee clip used to secure it against sliding off.
The output of the water trap has a step down adaptor to the Badger connector, and thin braided hose thereafter to the airbrush.

martin goodall
Posts: 1425
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:20 pm

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby martin goodall » Mon Aug 01, 2022 3:56 pm

I think I may have found what I need (RS Spares - 110-2018).

The trick was to try every conceivable variation of description on Google, and it eventually came up with this, after I had made numerous previous attempts online.

I have ordered one.

As to the length of the original question, sorry about that but I wanted to make it clear precisely what I needed. (A local autospares shop, who can often be relied upon to produce what is required were unable to help on this occasion.)

davebradwell
Posts: 1174
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:48 pm

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby davebradwell » Mon Aug 01, 2022 5:14 pm

You might also have searched for a couple of standard 1/2" BSP compression fittings and a matching bit of (smaller) plastic pipe. If it leaks you just remake the end.

DaveB

martin goodall
Posts: 1425
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:20 pm

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby martin goodall » Wed Aug 03, 2022 3:25 pm

Just one correction to the spec. for the air hose: It turns out that the quoted dimensions were 'BSP' (although this certainly wasn't clear from the data sheet on the RS Components website). Thus to get a hose with 1/2-inch female threads to the connectors, one needs to specify 1/4-inch, not half-inch. The RS Components catalogue number for the relevant item is 110 - 1996, and not as I stated on Monday.

davebradwell
Posts: 1174
Joined: Fri Jan 18, 2019 3:48 pm

Re: Airbrush hose connections

Postby davebradwell » Wed Aug 03, 2022 4:12 pm

Quite right Martin - I somehow allowed myself to be drawn into that. It's all based on the bore of standard pipe and 1/4" pipe is or was 0.40" od and the 1/4 BSP thread is actually a bit over 1/2" to give room for the olive or O ring.

DaveB


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