Maintaining Even Pressure in Spray Equipment

Tips on minimizing pressure fluctuations in pressure-pot spray setups. August 30, 2007

Question
Is it possible to hook up a pressure pump to my pressure fed HVLP (Asturo eco ssp) as opposed to a pressure pot? I seem to get pressure fluctuation at the worst possible times.

Forum Responses
(Finishing Forum)
From contributor C:
You're getting those with the pot or the pump? If the pump, check your filter, if there is one. If not, a low pressure fluid regulator will even it all out. If it's with a pot... you got me.

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From contributor D:
Fluctuations in fluid pressure are often traced to low quality or faulty regulators. I use a Binks regulator that is specifically designed to stay under 30 psi. It's a low pressure regulator. Needless to say, it is accurate and it works with consistency.

What I need to do to deal with some issues like what happens when I am spraying a tall vertical piece, is to hang the pressure-fed pot from the ceiling so that hopefully it is higher than the highest I am going to move the gun. If I don't hang the pressure pot high enough, then the higher the gun travels, the more pressure is needed to push the fluid through the hose to reach the gun. There is still an element of siphoning at play here and gravity helps or hurts depending on where the pot is relative to the height of the gun. Asturo makes a pressure feed system for your gun. It's meant to replace the pressure pot.

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From contributor J:
You can hook up any diaphragm pump (1:1 ratio) to a pressure feed gun. These systems utilize a pressure regulator that eliminates the pulsing of the pump. Diaphragm pumps are available from most major spray manufacturers.

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From contributor E:
I have a Graco Triton with an additional fine fluid regulator, almost no noticeable pulsation. I Have a Graco XT Compliant gun set up on it as well. Gives me a great finish. I actually prefer it to an air assisted airless setup.