Pressure pots VS Airless Paint Sprayers A Complete Guide
Airless paint sprayers and pressure pots are popular ways of applying coatings. Both styles of equipment have inherent benefits and drawbacks, which you want to consider before choosing which style equipment you will use for your application. By choosing an appropriate equipment set up, you will be able to maximize efficiency, finish quality, and production. In this article we will review airless paint sprayers and pressure pots that you can best decide which one may be right for your coating applications needs.
An Overview of Pressure Pots
Pressure pots use compressed air to feed a pressure pot which will force feed coating to a spray gun. You can use a pressure pot with an HVLP, conventional, or LVMP spray gun. Each type of spray gun has its benefits and drawbacks as well which you can learn more about here. Pressure pots offer a variety of features as options including multiple regulators, agitation, and even multiple outlets for multiple spray gun’s. Additionally, pressure pots can be designed to allow for heating of your coating and for other specialty needs. Compared to an airless paint sprayer, a pressure pot will not supply as high volume of fluid at a given time. However, a pressure pot will allow for finer control of the volume of paint you are supplying a spray gun, the air pressure you are using to atomize a coating, and the pressure that you are supplying a coating at. Depending on the spray gun you use with your pressure pot, you can also save significantly on the amount of coating that you will use. If you can use an HVLP or LVMP spray gun with your pressure pot because your material is not too thick you will be able to use about half as much paint at a given time compared to using an airless paint sprayer. A fluid line from a pressure pot will also typically require less solvent to clean. If you need further guidance on airless paint sprayers vs HVLP Spray guns and whether an HVLP will work for you check out this guide.Pressure Pot Pros
- Better control
- Can use less coating
- Easier Clean Up
Pressure Pot Cons
- Not as Fast as an Airless
An Overview of Airless Paint Sprayers
unlike pressure pots that use compressed air to generate fluid pressure, airless paint sprayers use pistons to generate pressure on a fluid which is fed to a small tip that results in atomization of coating. By using a piston to increase fluid pressure airless paint sprayers are able to provide higher pressures than you can achieve with a pressure pot. Additionally, you can supply higher volumes of coating at a time which will allow for higher production compared to a spray gun with a pressure pot. However, you will not have as fine of control over the pressure fluid volume that you are supplying because you do not have independent regulation of fluid and atomization pressure. An additional benefit of an airless paint sprayer is depending on the type of airless you choose, you may not need an air compressor to power the unit.  An airless paint sprayer will be less efficient at applying a coating compared to a pressure pot, unless the pressure pot is being used with a conventional spray gun in which case the airless will be similar to the spray gun.Pros of Airless Paint Sprayer
- Faster Production
Cons of Airless Paint Sprayers
- Less Control
- Less Efficient than HVLP and LVMP Pressure Fed Spray Guns
Ideal Applications for a Pressure Pot with a Spray Gun
- Applications that require a higher quality finish
- Applications that require high control over the amount of coating that is applied due to having a precision specification
- Applications that require keeping VOCs and overspray to a minimum (which would require the use of an HVLP Spray gun )
Ideal Applications for an Airless Paint Sprayer
- Applications where portability is key for your application
- Applications where production and speed are the primary concerns for your coating application
- Applications that you want to Achieve high Film Builds Fast