Air Compressor Setting

Hi All...

It's been a long winter but its' finally warming up enough to work on the CH 750 STOL in the shop again.

I've looked through the Construction Guides, Assembly Manuals , Forums and the Help Videos but I couldn't find an answer for the psi to use when you use the pneumatic riveter.

Question: what pressure do you set your air compressor to when you use your pneumatic riveter?

Is it subjective?

Will higher settings, ie 85-90 psi, cause damage to the structure, or just pull the rivet faster?

I think that was the setting I used last year but not sure.

Many Thanks for the assistance.

BobP

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave Gardea on March 28, 2015 at 4:56pm

Hi Bob,

I think for the A4's I had used around 50 psi and for A5 rivets maybe 60-65 max. I'm sure others will weigh in with their settings as well. After you pull a few you'll get a feel for what setting works best on your air regulator as I'm sure they're all somewhat different. Shoot for a setting that you detect is cleanly and consistently pulling that stem from the rivet and forming the rivet head with the least amount of air pressure needed. Higher pressure settings like 85-90 can make your riveter head bounce on the skin. Have fun building!

Regards,

Dave

Permalink Reply by Jesse Hartman on March 28, 2015 at 5:10pm

I use mine at 135psi.  never had a problem and I have done thousands of them.

Permalink Reply by Tim Juhl on March 28, 2015 at 5:28pm

Years ago I was told 90 PSI in the rudder class I took.  I've used that setting to pull A4 & A5 rivets with great success. I push into the rivet when I pull the trigger and haven't had any bounce problems.

Tim

Permalink Reply by Clint L Gosch on March 28, 2015 at 5:35pm

I've been using the same pressure and technique as Tim, no problems so far.  Good luck with your project!

Permalink Reply by Larry Zepp on March 29, 2015 at 10:51am

Hi Robert,

I use the 85-90 psi setting at the compressor and then fine tune using the 1/4 turn valve at the rivet gun. Any method you use to eliminate the bounce should work fine. These multi-grip length rivets are pretty easy to use.

Best Regards, Larry Zepp  Zodiac 650 builder, Fort Wayne, IN

Permalink Reply by Earnest Fontenot on March 29, 2015 at 11:51am
Robert,
I use a pressure around 90 PSI. I push the riveter down onto the rivet as I pull it. Have had no problems whatsoever.
Earnie
Permalink Reply by Tim Smart on March 29, 2015 at 12:16pm

Hey Bob, just to help you be thoroughly confused I've been pulling both my A-4 and A-5 rivets at about 65 psi and that has worked well for me.  Have fun with your build.

Permalink Reply by Brad Rawls on March 29, 2015 at 4:04pm
The way I understand it, the rivet stem is broken by the pull tension, nothing to do with the the PSI of the gun as long as it meets the minimum pull to 'pop' the rivet. Higher PSI would pull faster, but rivet should set the same. I've run mine on just the tank pressure, starting at the max of 120 and running it down to the minimum pressure that would set the rivet and I could not tell the difference in the set.
Permalink Reply by Robert Pionteck on March 29, 2015 at 10:31pm

Hi All...

Thanks Very Much to everyone who took the time to answer my question.

It's almost time to be able to put the propane heater, and insulated overalls away and make some serious advances with the kit.

Best of luck to everyone with your builds.

Cheers

BobP

Permalink Reply by John Austin on March 30, 2015 at 10:54am

I recently was riveting powder coated tip fences to the HT. I had pre-drilled the rivet holes prior to the powder coat and had to clean them out with the drill bit to remove the powder coating in the hole so the rivet would fit. When I used my pneumatic riveter with the A4 rivets, I noticed the powder coat had delaminated in a circle around some of the rivets! Apparently, the pneumatic riveter pulls the rivet so fast the air pushed out from under the rivet head and tracked underneath the powder coat, lifting it off the metal!!!

Next time, I'm going to use a hand riveter if I'm in a similar situation with a powder coated piece!

John

N750A

Permalink Reply by Randy & Theresa Cechini on April 2, 2015 at 7:07pm
My wife and I have noticed that using more than 45 psi for A4 pulls fast enough to dimple the side skins. Slowing it down (40psi when triggered) leaves a nicer finish and is much more controllable. FWIW.
Permalink Reply by Jorge Fernandez on December 13, 2019 at 9:17pm

Reviving an old thread. Is it possible to under-drive or over-drive a rivet? I inadvertently left my compressor set at a higher pressure when  filling the tires on my motorhome. I then did a bunch of riveting. They look the same as the others but it sparked the question of over-driven rivets.

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