Sparmax ARISM Mini Compressor

[Mike]

ARISM Mini Compressor
Sparmax via the Airbrush Company

Sparmax are a huge producer of airbrushes and compressors under other brands, but as you'd expect they also produce products under their own brand, and the Airbrush Company sell their range from their website. These compact compressors fall between the tiny "fish tank" style compressors and the tanked compressors that weigh a ton!

Ariving in a reasonably small and attractive looking box in the Sparmax Black and shades of orange scheme, which has a convenient carry-handle projecting from the top to ease your burden, the unit is further protected by a cardboard inner sleeve and polybag. Included is a two metre braided hose with a female 3/8" fitting at either end, and a three-pin plug that is already attached to the integral power cord. The compressor is enclosed in a painted metal housing with black plastic end-caps that have intake/cooling vents moulded in, with a simple on/off switch at the back, pressure adjustment knob and air outlet on the front. A carry-handle is bolted to the top of the device with a airbrush holder slot moulded in, which stands overall at just over 17cm from the desk, is 16cm deep (front to back), and 9cm wide, hence the "Mini" part of the title. It weighs in at 2.5kg (5.5lbs in old money), and won't take up much room if you're thinking about using it when you're away on business for example. The pressure control knob is surrounded by lines, but no pressure levels are given, so it'll be trial-and-error setting up the correct pressure for your needs, but once set you'll seldom need to vary it.

Two things that the compressor doesn't have are probably not of that much importance to the intended buyer, and that is a moisture trap/regulator and receiver, or air tank as they're more colloquially known. The former isn't massively important in temperate climates with lower moisture levels, and adding one shouldn't be a problem if you need to, but does increase the weight, footprint and thereby reduce portability. The receiver is usually used to give two advantages. Firstly, it prevents the need to run the compressor constantly by building up pressure to be meted out by a regulator as needed. Secondly, it removes any pulse in the airflow caused by the back-and-forth of the piston, which can be a problem with some tankless compressors. Having used this in testing the MAX-4 airbrush, I haven't detected any pulse, which may well be attenuated by the 2m hose acting as a mini-receiver. A longer hose would further assist in this if you find it occurring at certain settings however. The compressor is easy to switch on and off after use, and the instructions state that you shouldn't use it continuously for more than 30 minutes without giving it a chance to cool down. That should see you through even the most complex of tasks in the real world.


Noise
It's an important aspect of using a compressor if there are going to be people about, and let's face it. We're people too. Some compressors are virtually silent at around 28db, emitting as much noise as a fairly quiet PC fan. Others are like a jackhammer going off inside your head at 58db+, and would get irritating very quickly, even if you were the only one in the house. The ARISM is very considerate in this respect, emitting a quiet burble that wouldn't disturb reasonable people, as it lacks any real bass vibe, so doesn't resonate through the desk into the fabric of the building. Compared to my spray booth's (cooker hood) exhaust fan, it is pretty quiet, and should be fine to use in the next room to others.

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In Use
Set-up is easy, and the supplied hose mated well with the compressor without the use of the recommended PTFE tape. Stopping and starting was a breeze, although once or twice the piston stalled because I had left the air-hose pressured, which resisted the piston's attempts to start its stroke. Emptying the line allowed it to start normally, so that's just something to watch out for. I found the pressure dial borderline superfluous, as the majority of the dial wasn't producing enough pressure to atomise the paint properly, so it was almost an on/off switch. Peak flow of 12-14l/min (0.42-0.49cfm) probably plays a part, but whacking the dial as far as it would go gave me plenty of working pressure, so have a twist until you are happy with the results. I didn't notice any evidence of pulsing in my paint finish, although if you direct the air jet minus paint at your cheek (one of your most sensitive parts for detecting airflow), you can feel it ever-so-slightly pulsing. Its light weight and compact nature makes it handy for use on the go, and I took advantage of this and used it for a little paint touch up outside on the drive to good effect.


Conclusion
You are likely looking at this compressor as either your first foray into airbrushing, to use as a backup or to use in a portable or limited space situation, and for that it is really quite good. It is small, keenly priced, quiet enough to keep you out of trouble with the neighbours, and eminently portable. What it is not, is a fully-fledged compressor that you could use all day every day, with fine pressure control and everything built in, so if that's what you want, this isn't for you.

If you buy it for its intended purpose though, you should be well-pleased, and as you can have it in a number of different colours* to match your… well, mood or whatever, it's quite a fashion conscious little unit. You might want to grab a Max-4 airbrush while you're there.


Highly recommended.

Review sample courtesy of

* Available in Snow White, Electric Orange, Sakura Pink, Burgundy Red, Sky Blue, Star Silver (the colour of the review sample), Royal Blue.