Spraying Chocolate: Equipment, Materials, and Techniques

Tri2Cook · September 28, 2020

3 hours ago, Jim D. said:

The compressor, of course, shuts itself off when you stop calling for it to produce air (that is, disconnect the airbrush from its hose). When I am finished airbrushing for a chocolate batch, then I turn mine off with its switch.

Yep, that's what I was talking about. Shutting it down when I'm done with it for the day. My basement is strictly utilitarian, housing the water heater, furnace, etc, not part of the living space. The only access to it is via a locked exterior door. Not really convenient for running down after some late night work when it's -30 outside. 😁

Kerry Beal · September 28, 2020

7 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:

Yep, that's what I was talking about. Shutting it down when I'm done with it for the day. My basement is strictly utilitarian, housing the water heater, furnace, etc, not part of the living space. The only access to it is via a locked exterior door. Not really convenient for running down after some late night work when it's -30 outside. 😁

My hubby insists that I drain the air tank after I have used it each time. Fortunately mine is housed in the elevator closet which is just outside the door from my chocolate room into the rest of the basement.

**Jim D.** · September 30, 2020

On 9/28/2020 at 7:07 AM, Kerry Beal said:

My hubby insists that I drain the air tank after I have used it each time. Fortunately mine is housed in the elevator closet which is just outside the door from my chocolate room into the rest of the basement.

Do you know why Hubby insists on this each time? I must confess that when I read this, I went down to the basement and drained mine immediately (visions of house blowing up, etc.), but I would like to know a bit more before I become so virtuous.

Kerry Beal · September 30, 2020

Just now, Jim D. said:

Do you know why Hubby insists on this each time? I must confess that when I read this, I went down to the basement and drained mine immediately (visions of house blowing up, etc.), but I would like to know a bit more before I become so virtuous.

Water left in the tank is his concern - resulting in rust. Also he worries about the house blowing up.

This is the man who wouldn't let me have one of the nice little japanese water heaters in the kitchen because it stays plugged in - until he decided he wanted water at 160º F for his green tea. Now we have one!

**Jim D.** · September 30, 2020

17 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Water left in the tank is his concern - resulting in rust. Also he worries about the house blowing up.

This is the man who wouldn't let me have one of the nice little japanese water heaters in the kitchen because it stays plugged in - until he decided he wanted water at 160º F for his green tea. Now we have one!

Did you see my recent post about a toaster oven that came on without me being anywhere near it at the time? Don't tell Hubby this, or you'll lose your water heater.

I'm still trying to picture anyone telling you what to do.

Tri2Cook · September 30, 2020

13 minutes ago, Jim D. said:

I'm still trying to picture anyone telling you what to do

Me too! The closest I can get is a "choose your battles" scenario.

Kerry Beal · September 30, 2020

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

Did you see my recent post about a toaster oven that came on without me being anywhere near it at the time? Don't tell Hubby this, or you'll lose your water heater.

I'm still trying to picture anyone telling you what to do.

I saw that - and I didn't tell him! It's his water heater though - my kettle gets boiled every morning for my tea. To be fair - hubby makes it for me.

C'mon now - do I seem the type who can't be told what to do?

Edited September 30, 2020 by Kerry Beal (log)

Douglas K · October 1, 2020

So finally something I know a little bit about. I work in instrumentation and controls in a large food processing plant, well more in the information side of things now, but that’s my history. Yes, it’s definitely a good idea to drain your compressor on a regular basis. So one, yes it can cause rust in the tank and weaken it. If it gets weak enough, it will explode, though more likely it will tear and leak horribly, but explode is a good way to scare you into maintenance. And two, even if you have a filter and a separator (I’m sure no one really has a true drier here, but it’s possible) then there’s the possibility of carrying water over into your spray. Again, it’s probably a low possibility, but those of you living in humid climates that don’t drain their compressors, it’s more likely to happen.

The upshot is really that it’s a job that takes less than a minute to do, and the upside benefits far outweigh the cost in time. How often you do it really depends on the load on your compressor, but it’s such a simple, short duration job, why not do it every day?You take care of your equipment so it lasts longer. It’s safer to run. And, you don’t run the risk of funky stuff happening to your spray because of water. Think of all the things that people would consider silly that you do to ensure that your product comes out looking as pretty as possible, why not do some of the little things for the equipment the helps you get there?

Edited October 1, 2020 by Douglas K (log)

Kerry Beal · October 1, 2020

Thanks @Douglas K.

**Jim D.** · October 1, 2020

@Douglas K, I am now a convert. Thanks for your explanation. I do have a moisture filter between compressor and airbrush.

lironp · October 14, 2020

my lazy way to deal with this is not using tape to actually seal all the connections to my airbrush, meaning that within less than a day after I finish using it the air has slowly leaked out (and I dont feel any impact on pressure while spraying) 🤣

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

For @Jim D.

0D1CF779-A516-4367-84DC-28EE4D5B6792.jpeg.92b712c409241b4953fa5adaaa092a1f.jpeg

495C656C-D259-4899-A562-DFF934E53EE0.jpeg.da95f5b486f2d69aaa2212dd383249fb.jpeg

I got some good splatter with the Grex this week, 7mm nozzle around 35-40 psi. On the silver ones, I then turned up the pressure and filled in the points.

Edited October 17, 2020 by pastrygirl (log)

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

Just now, pastrygirl said:

For @Jim D.

I got some good splatter with the Grex this week, 7mm nozzle around 35-40 psi. On the silver ones, I then turned up the pressure and filled in the points.

Tell me more

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

2 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Tell me more

Roxy & Rich colors & sometimes I get lucky ... not sure what else I can say 😊

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

10 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

Roxy & Rich colors & sometimes I get lucky ... not sure what else I can say 😊

I haven't succeeded in getting the grex to splatter.

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

6 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

I haven't succeeded in getting the grex to splatter.

Jim is stymied too.

I did several short puffs per cavity. The silver is a little more viscous and was also closer to the mold while the fine blue was sprayed from maybe 6 inches.

**Jim D.** · October 17, 2020

4 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

Jim is stymied too.

I did several short puffs per cavity. The silver is a little more viscous and was also closer to the mold while the fine blue was sprayed from maybe 6 inches.

@Kerry Beal, from a PM I learned that she regulates the pressure at the compressor, no regulator at the airbrush end. I can't begin to count all the times I have tried with my Grex (same nozzle size). Maybe the cocoa butter is different--I'm grasping at straws here.

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

11 hours ago, Jim D. said:

@Kerry Beal, from a PM I learned that she regulates the pressure at the compressor, no regulator at the airbrush end. I can't begin to count all the times I have tried with my Grex (same nozzle size). Maybe the cocoa butter is different--I'm grasping at straws here.

So no airflow valve at the business end?

**Jim D.** · October 17, 2020

14 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

So no airflow valve at the business end?

That is what pastrygirl wrote, no Grex GMAC between hose and airbrush. I wish the GMAC had an actual regulator that provided the psi being used. If I want to return to a setting that I liked, for example, for one of the more viscous cocoa butter colors, I can't do that.

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Jim D. said:

That is what pastrygirl wrote, no Grex GMAC between hose and airbrush. I wish the GMAC had an actual regulator that provided the psi being used. If I want to return to a setting that I liked, for example, for one of the more viscous cocoa butter colors, I can't do that.

Totally agree

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

2 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

So no airflow valve at the business end?

I’m not even sure what this means. Just compressor, hose, airbrush. 34CF10A6-B084-44C6-B37E-EB25644B2112.jpeg.d3f1eccd7cfa753b56dfc00ce2a04774.jpeg

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

2 hours ago, pastrygirl said:

I’m not even sure what this means. Just compressor, hose, airbrush.

What PSI do you use when you are splattering?

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

7 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

What PSI do you use when you are splattering?

35-40

i have video proof, will post to insta

Edited October 17, 2020 by pastrygirl (log)

Kerry Beal · October 17, 2020

18 minutes ago, pastrygirl said:

35-40

i have video proof, will post to insta

But you turn it down get it to splatter?

pastrygirl · October 17, 2020

1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:

But you turn it down get it to splatter?

That IS down. Normally I spray around 60 psi.

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