Air compressor for cleaning Film

[norly]

Hi.
Ive been running a Imacon scanner for a lot of years and its working like a charm. During this time Ive always used canned air, or hand bellow air to clean the negatives. But I am getting sick of buying cans the whole time. So I figure I should buy a compressor.. I then got a cheap oil free water filter equipped airbrush compressor.

http://shop.wiltec.info/product_info.php/info/p3951_Airbrush-Mini-Compressor-type-AF18-2.html

Output 1/5 HP (150W)
Rotation speed 1450 / 1700 rpm
Standard volume 20 - 23 l/min
Pressure setting range 0 - 4bar
Adjustment range on: 2,0bar out: 4,0bar
Actual operating pressure in continuous operation approx. 2,5 bar at 0,2 mm nozzle
approx. 1,7 bar at 0,5 mm nozzle
Max. pressure 4,0bar


Its got a very small tank, and I run out of air before I even have time to clean a small portion of a 4x5 sheet... Can anyone give me some numbers to what kind of compressor I should buy. How many Kilos, how large tank, how many bars during continuos operation? Maybe it all depends on the nossle size? Or how many bar does a Canned Compressed air bottle deliver.?

Super many thanks
Cheers

[invisibleflash]

I use a big roll around model I bought 20 years ago. I don't know the tank size. Compressors are the only way to go if your a big user. Just get a small commercial model.

[Daniel Stone]

I know someone who is/was in a similar predicament to you. He picked up one of these little units:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/California-Air-Tools-3-Gal-1-HP-Ultra-Quiet-and-Oil-Free-Air-Compressor-3010/203003949

and has been very happy since then. It only gets intermittent use, but he put a water-catcher and filtration unit in-line, since he also does painting/airbrush work, and this allows him to work in both comfort(since he's older the size/weight of the unit is very nice), not to mention the very low noise of the unit during operation.

Not the "cheapest", but he said their customer service was (supposedly) very good when he called up with some questions.

-Dan

[Kevin M Bourque]

Years ago I got a small nitrogen tank in a junk shop. I also got a valve, pressure gauge, hose and regulator for next to nothing. A full charge lasts a year or two and I can swap it out for a full one for not a lot of money. Nice dry nitrogen, great for blowing dust off nearly everything (especially negatives).

I considered a compressor but I heard they would sometimes "spit", even the oil-free models.

[Bob Salomon]

Or just get the large Giotto Rocket.

[Drew Wiley]

Every lab needs a decent compressor. They'll save you money pretty fast, if you don't buy one of the Cheapo Depot or Sears junk ones. The problem with junk
compressors is really simple. Because they are very inefficient, they up the RPM too high to get more air output. This causes them to overheat and makes them very noisy too. So then they put things like heavy plastic baffles around them to mitigate the noise, which in turn, makes them retain even more heat. The result is both a lot of water condensation in the tank and short lifespan. You get what you pay for. And realize that false labeling oper horsepower or CFM output is routine with amateur compressors. For instance, until recently Sear sold a "7 HP" compressor that you could plug into an ordinary household socket. Well, that is of course impossible. The largest motor that might run on a clean modern 12ga wire is 1-1/2HP. It was really about a 3/4 HP motor, and so conspicuously misleading that the Feds jumped them on that one, and they had to pay a fine. But whatever you get, you'll also need submicron line filters for anything involving film. No big
deal. You just need to do your homework and shop carefully.