Connection to compressor

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Connection to compressor

This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 6 April 2022 at 16:15 by JasonB.

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5 April 2022 at 22:41 #11171
Roy Thompson 2
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@roythompson2
What reduction connector to get good join wi5h 4mm pipe
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5 April 2022 at 22:41 #593112
Roy Thompson 2
Participant
@roythompson2
I have been gifted a beam engine and have bought a compressor to run it with air pressure. What connection to I need to get an airtight connection from the large compressor outlet to step down so I can use 4mm I/d aquarium airline? Sorry I’m a complete newcomer to this world of modelling so please keep any replies in simple basics! Also is there a portable air tank that I can store air pressure in so enabling me to show off my model without the loud compressor being near or having to be carried.

Thanks Roy Thompson
6 April 2022 at 06:45 #593122
Paul Lousick
Participant
@paullousick59116
HI Roy, Welcome,

More details required to give you advise. Different air compressors have different fittings. Does it have a pressure reducing valve ? (it possibly has a 1/8" or 1/4" BSP thread). Use an adaptor fitting that will screw into the outlet of the reducing valve and has a barbed end that the hose will push over. Available from hardware and some car accessory stores. A hose clamp may not be required for low pressure. Use a cable tie around the hose if it leaks.

You could use an air compress tank as a portable unit but it may not run the engine for long. You need a large volume of air if the compressor is not running. To get an idea of the size required, fill the tank on your compressor and turn off the motor and see how long your engine will run. A friend of mine has used a 9kg BBQ gas bottle as a portable tank to top up the air in his car tyres.
6 April 2022 at 06:57 #593123
JasonB
Moderator
@jasonb
Aquarium airline is not that standard on compressors so you would most likely need to make an adaptor,

Better option would be to buy a couple of meters of 6mm (OD) PVC hose and then you can use the many available push fit fittings. Compress or end should be quite easy with just a 1/4 or 1/8 BSP female but the engine is likely to be ME so again may need an adaptor but not hard to thread a bit of thickish walled tube one end and have the other 6mm for a straight push fit connector.

This is the type of hose and fittings I would suggest.
6 April 2022 at 12:43 #593195
Howard Lewis
Participant
@howardlewis46836
Needing to make an adaptor is almost a certainty.

You are unlikely to be able to buy one that suits the items that you wish to connect.

My two devices, intended to be "Crowd Pullers" on the club stand at shows are air powered. they bare fed by windscreen washer tubing, so there are adaptors to connect them to the airline from the compressor. Screen washer tubing to 1/8 BSP control valve, and another to the line that ultimately connects to the compressor through a Schrader air line connector.

Son in law bought a small compressor from LIDL, and then a tyre inflator.

The compressor air line connections were 12 x 1 Metric, the Inflator had 1/4 BSP. An adaptor made from a bit of brass soon united the two, enabling the inflator to be used.

Howard (AKA Fat Fingers )

Edited By Howard Lewis on 06/04/2022 12:43:58
6 April 2022 at 13:17 #593201
Clive Foster
Participant
@clivefoster55965
+1 for the 6 mm push fit system. inexpensive, the ordinary blue'n black plastic fittings will do fine but the metal ones are swankier and cost little more. Fittings can be found for just about any reasonable thread for such applications.

Easy to use and designed for the job. Just make sure you cut the tube straight with a really sharp cutter whilst supporting the tube bore to ensure you don't deform it. Hanging burrs can upset the sealing O ring(s) inside.

I've always used nylon tube which was what the system was first designed to use. A bit on the stiff side for feeding round tighter bends but totally reliable and well up to the job. My 22 year old Range Rover P38 air suspension is still on the original factory fit nylon 6 mm tube and push fit connections with nary a leak at (nominal) 160 psi. So I guess the stuff works.

Not sure about Jasons reference to PVC tube. Usual alternative to nylon is polythene (PU). Various types. All more flexible, usually more expensive and all less durable than nylon in hostile environments. Not that any normal person would notice the differences.

Clive
6 April 2022 at 16:08 #593224
noel shelley
Participant
@noelshelley55608
As has been said We need more info ! Does the compressor have a reducing valve ( down to below 15psi). Standard 1/4" PCL connectors will allow different lines to be used eg, blow up tyres. For small bore airline and fittings the names to look for are NORGREN or FESTO. They will do all the fittings you need. Noel
6 April 2022 at 16:15 #593228
JasonB
Moderator
@jasonb
Yes should have said PU tube.
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