WOW good news. I've watched lots of YouTube videos showing how to prime an airless sprayer but my sprayer didn't want to play. I set two buckets up one filled with clean cold water and dunked the intake hose in but the sprayer refused to suck up any water so in the end I removed the intake hose from the bucket; inverted the end and used a jug and funnel to pour water directly into the hose; it was a real pain juggling holding the hose and playing with the controls especially the control with the knob missing but suddenly the sprayer noise changed and there was a gurgling sound as air bubbles and water were expelled from the bleed hose; at last the sprayer primed and I quickly dumped the pick hose into the bucket of water letting the sprayer run for five minutes. I then played around with the controls and I'm glad I watched the videos on how to press the gun trigger first before opening the high pressure valve because when the water came out of the gun it did so with some force even though the gun tip and nozzle had been removed.
The large knurled metal knob on the lower side of the pump is the pressure control.
The sprayer is now running but another problem to sort is that the gun hose was leaking at the pump end coupling and the coupling easily stripped as I tried to tighten it so I need to sort this out but on the whole I'm very pleased with this DeVilbiss and what I've seen so far it sure is powerful. New hoses are available through eBay quite cheaply so I might treat it to a new hose and also buy a new coupling to complete the job. For less than £300 I've got a top quality industrial airless sprayer; it's old but when new was built to last so I'm confident it won't let me down.
Kind regards, Col.
Control knob missing.
Control knob missing 1.JPG (145.49 KiB) Viewed 6065 times
The stripped coupling at the pump end has cost another £30; it meant a replacement valve on the filter housing and a new high pressure hose coupling fitting to the hose end.
I thought at last the expense stops here but no it just goes on and on. I had sprayed water through the gun but now with everything connected up the gun refused to spray; I disconnected the hose from the gun and water was being pumped through the hose so now the gun was at fault? I tried blowing the gun nozzle clear and reversed the tip but it appeared blocked solid; I had noticed the hose coupling wasn't going on perfectly straight but now with all the playing around the gun coupling also stripped its thread as I pressed on the gun whilst unscrewing the nozzle.
The gun is the original DeVilbiss unit and isn't fitted with a "safety" also could I obtain replacement tips otherwise I would be stuck with whatever tip was installed? Not to worry after all its only money so I browsed eBay for a replacement gun and there are lots for sale starting at around £45 but the tips cost extra. I wondered how long these cheap guns would last so in the end made an offer on an ASM 500 (Grayco) which was on the condition this ASM was ready to work and that replacement tips are readily available? The reply accepted my offer and the seller confirmed this gun was without a tip but that he the seller had four assorted tips for sale one being brand new in its original wrapping and I could have the gun; four tips including postage for £85 which I've accepted and expect delivery later next week. The gun was a spare so has seen very little use.
Looking back since I bought this DeVilbiss sprayer I've encountered lots of problems and the cost has been mounting; once the gun and tips arrive I hope it will then behave itself. Last night whilst browsing Gumtree I noticed a once used airless sprayer which had been bought for a job but the company went bust so the sprayer had been used for one job then put away in a garage so in effect this sprayer was virtually new at a price of £300.I gave this "new" sprayer some thought and this morning started to reply to the advertisement with an offer but before committing myself I talked it over with Bron. I could buy this much lighter and more portable sprayer then sell on the big DeVilbiss which is more suited to industrial use thereby breaking even money wise. The outcome is that the DeVilbiss is going to be sold once the ASM gun arrives and I'm walking away from airless spraying?
I reached this decision not because I've fallen out with the DeVilbiss or airless spraying but our lousy climate was the deciding factor. A short while ago I mentioned to our local postmaster that I had bought this DeVilbiss and he told me that he had seen such a sprayer in action which worked and did a perfect job with ease but the over spray cost £2,000 to sort out which had drifted onto parked cars?
I should have considered the over spray problem more seriously before even buying the DeVilbiss but I was keen to make life easier for myself whilst painting the exterior of our bungalow and of course the sprayer would indeed speed up the painting a great deal. We live on a steep valley side on a small private estate of detached houses and bungalows; there is always at least a light breeze coming up the valley with very few calm days in fact calm days are exceptionally rare; today it's blowing a gale outside and this is supposed to be summer in mid August?
I've enjoyed working on this DeVilbiss and its been a steep learning curve for me; I'll recoup my outlay and hopefully the sprayer will be bought for trade use it being highly suited to spraying the inside of big buildings. I could use my 3HP compressor and LVLP spray gun but I can't stand the noise of the compressor so I'm full circle and will buy another Picasso "Bull" paintbrush but this time the 2.5" size and settle down to brush painting once again.
Thanks for reading my story and its possibly of interest to others who are considering using an airless sprayer for exterior work?
I can now update this story. I've sold the DeVilbiss sprayer and in a way sorry to see it go having put so much time and effort into rebuilding it. I did make a monetary loss on it and can put down the work to a labour of love because I like restoring machinery.
However I was delighted to wave goodbye to the terrible 3hp twin cylinder compressor which was incredibly noisy and I'll never buy one of these 3,000rpm direct coupled compressors again. I did well monetary wise only losing a tenner but I had used it for a few months.
I bought an Hydrovane compressor but was taken in by the seller because although it ran perfectly under demonstration at the sellers house it was faulty when I got it home and so I waged war on it by giving it a complete restoration; the service kit alone cost £66 but a couple of days ago all the work has paid off because now its a brilliant compressor compared to the 3hp one I've just sold.
This week I've bought a secondhand Apollo Pro-Spray 1500 which is yet to be delivered and today I've collected a Burgess Sprayit SR122 so I'm now well kitted out for paint spraying once I get some decent weather. The Apollo is a lot more portable than the industrial DeVilbiss so fingers crossed I might be able to use this for exterior spraying; I believe it generates little over-spray?
I'm now looking at Jotun paints which a forum member on another thread highly recommends for exterior painting; we have a Jotun supplier in Halifax so Bron and I will have a trip over to see what's on offer? I won't be painting the exterior of our bungalow until next year but I'm already planning the job in advance and gathering materials. As long as I'm doing something I'm happy.
