HELP, Please; a compressor WATER TRAP question!

Reichardt, KoG · Post by **Reichardt, KoG** » Sun May 18, 2014 9:48 pm

Seriously, my leetle old Badger piston critter up and died...the (small) flames comin' out assured me of that...

SO, off to Lowe's Home Store. I've been thinking of this replacement for a while (could not remember when I bought the Badger), so got a Blue Hawk brand twin tank 2-gal compressor rig. Nice for $99 US, which let me buy some KOBALT brand accessories. (TOOOLs, aaah, AH!)[Surprise ME, it came with an air nailer, too, AH, AHHH!]

Now, I know to buy a water trap, (KOBALT) which, oddly, does NOT indicate the direction of air flow.
(My FIRST water trap , so I DUNNO. Went to a couple of sites, and they mention how the 'water trap critter should have an arrow'...HEY!

SO - does the end with the permanent male fitting, and the little needle (water bleed?) valve End go TO the compressor, OR, the other way around, please? BOTH ends are standard 1/4" threads.

I've asked three realtime folks around here, but none are familiar with this stuff.

(Sorry for bad descriptions; photos forthcoming, I'm wrassling a new camera s l o w l y to that end, ok, ok? Thank you)

Please hurry with cogent advice, as my paint is dryin' up in the color cup as we type.....

Joseph C. Brown · Post by **Joseph C. Brown** » Mon May 19, 2014 11:29 am

I wish I had a relevant answer, but I do not. I have honestly not ever seen a water-trap that didn't have the flow direction labeled.

CrazyDude · Post by **CrazyDude** » Mon May 19, 2014 11:38 am

I agree, never seen one without.

Some got them on top of the trap, others got it engraved where the hose goes.
My advise is check again.

Reichardt, KoG · Post by **Reichardt, KoG** » Mon May 19, 2014 6:13 pm

Camelopardis! (see Jason of Star Command for this invective)

Thank You, guys; I'm still flummoxed 'bout direction but will try the Kobalt.com site in a bit, and experiment tomorrow, since 'humidity will be up in S Texas City'. I've wondered IF I didn't buy from a batch of H2O filters that got missed on a Monday, or Friday (see DeeeTroit, 1075)

I DO like the plethora of gadgets to make work easier, but seems like the box blurb/instruction manual writers are going for minimalism...in the wrong places!

Thanks, again!

Jonas Calhoun · Post by **Jonas Calhoun** » Mon May 19, 2014 10:37 pm

Mine was etched on the bowl. Maybe post a link from the lowes site?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Mon May 19, 2014 11:25 pm

If your moisture trap have a male & female fitting already attached, chances are that it'll only go on one way.

And, usually, if you do put it on backwards nothing works.

If it's this one http://tinyurl.com/oxdrb5z just bolt it on.

If it's this one http://tinyurl.com/ltu856v there are little triangle on the top point the airflow.

Reichardt, KoG · Post by **Reichardt, KoG** » Tue May 20, 2014 10:59 am

Gracias, Kylwell! I went to the Kobalt site; it's not quite operational. No joy, there.

I went to the Lowes site/same as you've posted, and my new water trap is the LARGER of the two you showed. (I'll be the first to give them a review all right!!) Looooked all over, it has no air flow markings (see first review, ha!).

Everyone I've asked in the neighborhood, has noticed that you can blow into it, air flows BOTH ways. I think the needle valve has to go DOWN, and it'll bolt directly onto my compressor, so: will advise more AFTER coffee, ha, and late breakfast, Thank You Guys!

Been building for decades, got my first Binks airbrush/diaphragm compressor in ....'68?

Never had a need for a moisture trap so this is a first, sorta fun, ya know?

(Is this the point where some wag sez 'Just SCREW it!'?)

Thanks again!

Reichardt, KoG · Post by **Reichardt, KoG** » Tue May 20, 2014 8:37 pm

Great Joy in Texas City!

My first test shot after bolting moisture trap male fitting end TO the compressor, was GREAT!

Lost a couple of psi, but I'm not running the teflon tape on my threads, yet; loss is minimal. Not used to tank/compressor combo, the silence/NOISE got me a couple of times, but oh, the nice, steady spray pattern, oh, oh---
OH, WHY did I WAIT SO LONG to buy a new compressor rig?

Test shot model was a 1/35 M1 Abrams (the ARMY shoots at 'em, so, why not I?) I wanted a green M1, you see.

The compressor 'salesman' at Lowes WAS right about O N E thing; it took a lot of paint to cover a model that large (I'm used to 1/72, 1/144, etc)!

[I also ended up diagnosing HIS modeling problem; he did not know that you were supposed to THIN acrylic modeling paint, usually, for airbrushing....Hmmm...NO wonder HE used a lot for his M1...]

I had forgotten how nicely Vallejo airbrushes on; seems like they made it smell ...nicer, too....

('Ol King R chortles happily off into the G Continuum, planning the camo job, THANK YOU ALL!)

Nebdcbdepo · Post by **Nebdcbdepo** » Thu Mar 10, 2016 2:56 pm

A great exchange of information.