anybody owns a mobile compressor?

[Chebby]

Hi,

I was looking through the Sport Diver magazine today and saw an ad about Bauer compressors. On the Bauer website (http://www.bauer-kompressoren.de/en/aw/tauch/1-mobil/index.html) they don't list prices, but their mobile units don't look expensive. Me question is:

1. Does anybody here own one of those (or any other) mobile compressors?
2. How much do they cost? What is the most inexpensive one?
3. How reliable are they? What's the difference vs those big stationary ones you see in a dive shop?
4. If filling my own (or my friend's) tanks, am I free to do whatever I want (yes I mean overfill) or do I have to follow the same regulations all dive shops in the area do?

Thanx

 

[sciencediver1]

I have a Nuvair 3.5 compact which has a 5.5 Honda gasoline engine to power it. It is a very nice little unit and weighs in around 90 lbs. I think I paid around $3,400.00 for it last March. I bought it direct from Nuvair http://www.nuvair.com Glenn Huber is a great guy to deal with and the machine operates perfectly. It fills a single 80 in about 18 minutes. You have to watch out for CO from the engine exaust so I bought a CO detector from them as well. I mainly got it so I could take it on my 32' twin diesel boat. That way I only neet to bring one cylinder as I can fill during my surface interval. Some areas I cruise to, have no air or dive shops. I recently got into Trimix diving and it became obvious to me if I wanted to dive it much, I would have to blend my own. I just installed a Nuvair 7 cuft single phase electric in my garage along with a Helium and oxygen bank. I built my own continous blending stick out of Harlows Oxy Hacker book, as well. I can't begin to tell you how great it is to have my own fill station here at home. I dive weekly up here in Puget Sound, and its great to fill my cylinders while rinsing my gear. As for overfilling, we all do it to a degree, but I wouldn't recommend it. It will dramatically shorten the service life of your cylinders, and could be dangerous. Those rules are solid in their basis. However last I heard, there is no scuba police out there to hammer you if you choose to. I think they are all around the same price range, and I have noted a few on Ebay of late.

 

[rmediver2002]

Hi,

I was looking through the Sport Diver magazine today and saw an ad about Bauer compressors. On the Bauer website (http://www.bauer-kompressoren.de/en/aw/tauch/1-mobil/index.html) they don't list prices, but their mobile units don't look expensive. Me question is:

1. Does anybody here own one of those (or any other) mobile compressors?
2. How much do they cost? What is the most inexpensive one?
3. How reliable are they? What's the difference vs those big stationary ones you see in a dive shop?
4. If filling my own (or my friend's) tanks, am I free to do whatever I want (yes I mean overfill) or do I have to follow the same regulations all dive shops in the area do?

Thanx

1) I have an older military 5.1 (Mako) and have purchased several smaller units for previous operations.

2) New, the Junior is right around $4000 but if your going to make the investment (especially if you intend to do more than a couple cylinders at a time or blending) I would step up to the Oceanus. The junior needs to be shut down to cool periodically, the Oceanus and Capitano / Mariner have cooling fins that allow it to be run continuously. (Oceanus is $4500 - $4800)

3) The are very reliably when properly maintained, they require more frequent filter changes since the canister is smaller. Shop units are most often run with electric motors, have more cooling for continuous use, and usually have larger filtration systems added on

4) You need to follow the same DOT regulations filling the cylinders to the rated pressure only. (as already mentioned, there are very few DOT inspectors so unless there was an accident the chances of getting fined would be remote with a personal unit)

 

[jbd]

Hi,2. How much do they cost? What is the most inexpensive one?


Thanx

You can expect to pay between $3,000 and $6,500 depending on exactly what you buy and who you buy from. Most of the small portables can make it to 3200 psi. If you intend to overfill then you will need a bigger compressor which will be closer to the $6,500 price or higher.

 

[Chebby]

Wow, so many replies. It'll take me a while to read through all of them. Thanx!

Btw, what do you guys think of this one?

http://www.plans-kits.com/kits/compressor3.html

Their price is $1500. It seems they only have one left which is refurbished and is currently on ebay for around $460. they say it is 4500psi Tested (rated 3200psi 2.4cfm) I kinda like that it's electric because I won't have to worry about CO emmissions. Of course it's only 2HP and takes 30+ minutes to fill an 80, but I have time.

 

[oxyhacker]

The little mil-spec surplus pumps like the Kidde are great little pumps, but you have to treat them as throw-aways since there are no parts available unless the vendor is willing to cannabalize another pump.
The rest of the conversion, however, will vary with the vendor.

Note that this one does not come with a whip, separator (to remove water/oil from the air), or media (filter) stack. P&K will sell you a "Grade E" SCUBA kit which includes what appears to be a modified hydraulic filter housing that takes a TINY ($35!) cartridge and a crude filler whip, but does not include a separator. P&K describes that cartridge as being a "6 month cartridge". Lawrence Factor, the filtration company who actually makes it , says it is good for maybe 2-5 tanks IF USED WITH A SEPARATOR, and maybe 1-2 tanks if not. But if you ask P&K about a separator they will tell you it isn't really necessary, and they continue to sell compressors and "Grade E kits" to unsuspection customers without them. This is incredibly irresponsible on their part, and would all by itself be enough to keep me from buying anything from them. THIS IS NOT A MINOR POINT! Oil lubed compressors like this produce filthy air, and the separator and filter are all that stand between you and breathing filthy, harmful air.

You might think, why not just add a good separator and media stack from another supplier? The catch is, they are extremely expensive new, so you can easily spend more on them than you'd pay for a complete, good used compressor - $800-$2000, though you might be able put something together for as little as $200 if you are good at scrounging. Oh ,and figure on another $200 or so for a filler whip and backpressure valve.

So if you are a clever DIYer, and like challenges, a surplus compressor like the Kidde is worth considering but there are better places to buy one than P&K. But most divers would do much better buying a new or used compressor already set up for SCUBA.

Wow, so many replies. It'll take me a while to read through all of them. Thanx!

Btw, what do you guys think of this one?

http://www.plans-kits.com/kits/compressor3.html

 

[oxyhacker]

Actually, you do not.

The DOT regulations concerning tanks apply only to tanks "entered into commerce", which is to say, tanks owned and used by a business.

The individuals who their own compressor and tanks are free to do anything they like - including blowing themselves up.

4) You need to follow the same DOT regulations filling the cylinders to the rated pressure only. (as already mentioned, there are very few DOT inspectors so unless there was an accident the chances of getting fined would be remote with a personal unit)

 

[JS1scuba]

Hi,

I was looking through the Sport Diver magazine today and saw an ad about Bauer compressors. On the Bauer website (http://www.bauer-kompressoren.de/en/aw/tauch/1-mobil/index.html) they don't list prices, but their mobile units don't look expensive. Me question is:

1. Does anybody here own one of those (or any other) mobile compressors?
2. How much do they cost? What is the most inexpensive one?
3. How reliable are they? What's the difference vs those big stationary ones you see in a dive shop?
4. If filling my own (or my friend's) tanks, am I free to do whatever I want (yes I mean overfill) or do I have to follow the same regulations all dive shops in the area do?

Thanx

I have had a Bauer Capitano for many years. It's the 6 cfm unit. I like it as a travel unit. But, it's not that small. If you only want to fill a few single 80s most any 3.5-4.5 cfm compressor will do fine. However, if you want to fill doubles, do any nitrox or mix gas fills then a 6 cfm minimum will be necessary.

Expect you will spend $3500 - $5000 for a decent unit with GOOD filtration. The only difference between these small ones and the big units is performance (fill faster / run cooler) I have a 15 CFM unit in my facility and we love it. We use the 6 as a portable and a back up.

As to what to do with your own compressor ? That's entirely up to you. If you want to take the risks of overfilling tanks that's your business. Overfill one of your friends tanks and have the saftey blow while he is diving and he drowns. Expect his wife to step up to your door step with a damn good laywer and take everything you own.

The MOMENT you fill a tank for someone else YOU become the responsible party. If you are going to get a compressor expect that you should maintain it and operate it as would any good professional.

regards,

 

[sciencediver1]

I have had a Bauer Capitano for many years. It's the 6 cfm unit. I like it as a travel unit. But, it's not that small. If you only want to fill a few single 80s most any 3.5-4.5 cfm compressor will do fine. However, if you want to fill doubles, do any nitrox or mix gas fills then a 6 cfm minimum will be necessary.

Expect you will spend $3500 - $5000 for a decent unit with GOOD filtration. The only difference between these small ones and the big units is performance (fill faster / run cooler) I have a 15 CFM unit in my facility and we love it. We use the 6 as a portable and a back up.

As to what to do with your own compressor ? That's entirely up to you. If you want to take the risks of overfilling tanks that's your business. Overfill one of your friends tanks and have the saftey blow while he is diving and he drowns. Expect his wife to step up to your door step with a damn good laywer and take everything you own.

The MOMENT you fill a tank for someone else YOU become the responsible party. If you are going to get a compressor expect that you should maintain it and operate it as would any good professional.

regards,

Hey Vance, I just added an Oxygen Helium premixer to my stick per your manual. Would it be better, worse or no different to mount it opposite of the drawing in the book. I was thinking the helium rises so maybe it should have the outlet facing up and the O2 and Helium inlets on the bottom. I know it's pressurized to a slight degree from the feed regulators, but what's your thoughts on this. I also have the Oxycheq Helium analyzer...so do I really need the premixer O2 Analyzer? I'm set up with a step down regulator and flow meter off my manifold for down stream analyzing of both O2 and He on the output side, I also have the stick O2 analyzer, which is the oXYCHEQ EC II Kit, wall mounted. Thoughts????....and GREAT book, I use it all the time! Craig

 

[oxyhacker]

Re what direction a trimixer should point, this is the subject of much casual discussion but I have yet to find a definitive answer. The nice thing about it is that it is one of those things everyone can decide for themselves - try it both ways and see if it the mix changes!

You need a analyzer on the input side, if only because it gives you a fighting chance of ripping the input hose off or killing the motor before an O2 spike makes it into the compressor - a downstream analyzer only tells you where you've been, not where you are going. Easy enough to add one if you don't have one already, since you can use the same analyzer for checking tanks.

Hey Vance, I just added an Oxygen Helium premixer to my stick per your manual. Would it be better, worse or no different to mount it opposite of the drawing in the book. I was thinking the helium rises so maybe it should have the outlet facing up and the O2 and Helium inlets on the bottom. I know it's pressurized to a slight degree from the feed regulators, but what's your thoughts on this. I also have the Oxycheq Helium analyzer...so do I really need the premixer O2 Analyzer? I'm set up with a step down regulator and flow meter off my manifold for down stream analyzing of both O2 and He on the output side, I also have the stick O2 analyzer, which is the oXYCHEQ EC II Kit, wall mounted. Thoughts????....and GREAT book, I use it all the time! Craig