The real cause of power loss in ar tools
Guys , I realise this thread is over a year old though I felt the need to throw a couple of comments in for those reading it and wondering about their own air tool issues. A little background first I have been involved in the tools and equipment industry for over 25 years including 12 years with Snap on tools. I can tell you categorically that the main killer of performance to a rattle gun is airflow. This is the constant pressure available whilst the air is flowing through the line. Not so much static air pressure in the tank as most compressors will generate 120psi at full tank status. An air tool is simply an air motor and your input air lines capacity to maintain at least 90 PSI is nearly always your power culprit. We used to demonstrate this with a flow pressure gauge setup in line with a couple of different common air fitting such as ryco, jaymec and Nitto hyflos. The ryco is one the most popular with a median loss of about 35% as they are a cheap brass thing and just about every workshop has or has had them at some time. The jaymec’s are just an awful product and knee-jerk design reaction to the old problem of the balls falling out of the Ryco’s when you drive over them and have about 60% flow loss. The Nitto as you have probably guessed is the best of these with around 15% flow loss and provide a 120 PSI tank state with around 95 PSI flow rate. The other two I mentioned will restrict airflow by the percentages described and exponentially drop the tools available power by as much as the percentages and typically more depending on the load state. The ideal flow pressure is between 90-110 PSI for air tool performance and will ensure you actually get the rating that came with the tools. Rattle guns are a prime example of this effect and possibly the main tool that is affected by this loss. The bottom line is make sure you have the largest flowing air fittings you can get typically, Nitto style hi flows or the Cejn (Swedish made) product actually called hy-Flow though they are not case hardened like the nitto style which is why I prefer them over the Cejn. One last tip..don’t oil before use. Oil after and make sure you give it a decent squirt and then pull the trigger for around 2 seconds. this will displace all of your water that has accumulated inside you tool and will prevent your bearings and components from rusting while it sits in your tool box...for the record, that’s the number one reason air tools die...water in the tool that is a naturally occurring feature of every tank of compressed air. There is no away around this including air water separators with filters as small as .05 micron (spray painters standard). Draining the tank wont help either as that only deals with the tank water that was there before you begin to use it.. Again,...you must lubricate after use...then put away full of oil. I sincerely hope that is of use to some here..Phew!!…so much for a brief comment!
