Re: On board air

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

On Tue, 23 Dec 1997 00:09:12 -0700 (MST), Tom Mandera <tsm1@domain.elided>
wrote:

>Of course, Howard brings up another point.. what pressure do I want to 
>run?  Most folks seem to use a 90/120psi pressure switch, with a 150psi 
>pop-off.  I know having too much pressure will blow things up and cause 
>me to have a Very Bad Day (VBD).

Sort of like looking down the barrel of a firearm Tom???  Yes... a potato
gun is classified by the BATF as a *firearm*.  It uses an explosive charge
to propel a projectile.  Technically, if you make a potato gun, you're
supposed to affix a serial number and register the firearm with the BATF.
But you didn't hear that from me! <grin>

>So, what benefits do I get from running 200psi (225 safety?  Or run 
>175psi w/ 200 safety?), and what additional safety concerns does that 
>bring about?

My personal feeling on running pressures much higher than about 150 psi is
that it's just not *normally* needed and increases risk.  Most power tools
and accessories are not designed to handle pressures much above about 125
psi and usually recommend you use a regulator anyway.  You also have to
consider the safety limit of the air tank and air hose you'll need to buy.
You'll be hard pressed to find any light weight air tanks that are rated
much higher than 150 psi.  Filters and valves become more bulky and
expensive as the pressure rating increases.  I have a couple of used
medical C02 bottles you're welcome to have if you do want to go with high
pressure.  They are rated well over 1000 psi.  I just felt there was no
point in going higher just to get a little more air stored up.  I would
have had to install a regulator but with the lower pressure system I can
live without it for now.  If you paint of course you'll need a regulator of
some sort no matter what.  I normally don't even bother to carry an air
tank anyway.  The cfm output is high enough to air up tires in a timely
fashion.  I only use the air tank when I tackle jobs than require lots of
air (certain air tools).

>Also, tongue-in-cheek, anyone ever see an air compressor powered "Super 
>Soaker" or maybe a rapid fire, turret mountable paint ball gun? <very big 
>grin>

The Lewis and Clark expedition carried a large bore air gun with them as
they traveled across the country (even up in your neck of the woods).  They
used to take it out and fire it to amaze the Native Americans.  Supposedly
this was some awesome demonstration... no BB gun here.  So yes... you could
give road rage a whole new meaning.  An air gun is *not* recognized as a
firearm by the BATF... so you're all set.

Happy holidays,

John
------------------------------------------------------------------------
jlandry@domain.elided             |
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