Badger Krome (Airlflow Through Cup)

[Digimortal]

Hi There

I am brand new to airbrushing, and purchased a Badger Krome Airbrush and BA1100 Compressor using a 1/4 to 1/8 BSP hose and the supplied Iwata adapter that comes with the Airbrush.

Suprised I managed to get this far, I set it all up, the compressor comes on and switches off once it gets to 4bar pressure in the tank.

I press down the on the dual action trigger and bam! The metal lid flies off the airbrush across the room and air will only flow out of cup area where I would put paint.

So I have played around with the brush a bit and identified the components that prevent the air flowing out the around the needle, these are the Regulator and the Tip. The Badger Krome comes with a .21mm Needle, Tip & Regulator as well as a .33mm kit. I have tried both and experience the same issue regardless of setup, I am confident I have the correct needle and Tip combined as the size differences are quite obvious.

When I remove the regulator Air flows out the front of the brush, but this is not a solution I'm sure you will all agree.

So my questions is, what am I doing wrong? I cannot imagine that both fittings have faults I am new to this type of equipment, so I do hope I am just being stupid, anyway here are things I have considered and some pictures of the device if that helps with the diagnostics at all.

Questions I have asked myself:

• How would the air get through? When I look at the needle poking through the regultor, there is no gap until I pull the trigger backwards.
• When I look in the cup all I see is an exposed needle, would air not naturally force itself out of the largest gap, what if I add a liquid?
• Should the needle be pressed against Tip, I don't see a gap for air at the front until the leaver is pulled back.

Tests Completed:

• Initial Test Around 3 Bar Pressure (Popping Lid)
• Reduced Pressure Down ro 1 Bar
• Increased Pressure to 4 Bar
• Added Water (watched it bubble)
• Reset the Needle so the tip was flush with the nozzle tip leaving a slight gap
• Switched the Needle, Regulator and Tip kits out
• Googled answers until dispair set in
• Contacted the seller
• Contemplated whether I have made a huge mistake
• Hoveing over the buy button of an Iwata Eclipse Prime Delivery...

Thanks for any help you can provide, please not the brush is brand new and un used, and unlikely glogged up.

 

[DaveG]

The regulator is what is gonna be the issue here. There should be two, if the brush came with two different nozzle and needle set ups. If you are using the .21 nozzle, and hold down ring, then the .21 regulator also needs to be used. With all the parts assembled, when you look at the front of the brush, head on, there should be an even gap between the nozzle, and regulator. I have read in the past that occasionally these brushes have been shipped with just the smaller regulator cap - which will completely choke off the .33 nozzle... If both of your regulator caps have the same size hole, contact Badger, and they will get you fixed up right away.

 

[jord001]

Hi, i would say there's a blockage at the front end.
Air travels down a passage and pulls the paint through from the cup. The cup will only have air come into it if the nozzle end is blocked, it has to go somewhere so goes back up the paint passage and out through the cup. Some of us deliberately do that to mix paint in the cup

Air should flow freely with the regulator on
Is there a blockage in the regulator
Try the other regulator
The needle should look snug in the nozzle (no gaps) A gap between the needle and nozzle should appear only when you pull back the trigger.

I'm not familiar with Badger krome (i only have a sotar) but they all work the same way in principal.
Buying an eclipse is not a bad move either.

Have a play and let us know. Hopefully someone with a krome will chip in.

Lee

 

[jord001]

Beat me too it Dave, slow typing... but im thinking the same

 

[Digimortal]

Thanks for the responses, I have tried the regulators with the .21 & .33 needles respectively, the kits come with the bits in a seperate container, I can try to mix and match.
When equiped the needle is snug no visible gaps.
I'll check the hole sizes and upload a couple more shots based on what you have suggested so far.

Thanks again.

 

[DaveG]

Beat me too it Dave, slow typing... but im thinking the same

Lee - the Krome uses the exact same head as the Sotar, with the only difference being that the base is brazed to the body of the brush rather than being threaded on. Parts numbers are different, but physical dimension are the same, as I have been playing with several Sotar's, and a Renegade Spirit lately.

Really, the only options are that the hold down ring has not seated the nozzle fully, or the regulator is choking the nozzle...

 

[Digimortal]

Nice one DaveG: "Really, the only options are that the hold down ring has not seated the nozzle fully, or the regulator is choking the nozzle..."

You got me to re-evaluate how I had trained myself to strip down and build my Airbrush, I had a few days to mess before the Compressor arrived.

Turns out i taught myself wrong, if you put the Hold Down Ring on then the Tip, then the Compressor, you get no airflow

So if you get any more noobies with this symptom, this is yet another way to simulate the effect of no airflow. If only they had prefitted the .33mm needle, I might not have had this problem.

Thanks all for the help, can't wait to get started.

 

[jord001]

Great Problem solved.

Lee

 

[markjthomson]

Sweet, now that's sorted, pop along to the intro section and say Hi properly...