Bauer junior 2 filling

[LanceRiley]

I recently a good priced bauer jr2.

somehow they used a locally made motor with 5hp running at 1,700 rpm a bit larger belt pulley to compensate.

original should be a 3hp running 2,300 rpm.

assuming the turn ratio is all ok…

how many tanks do i fill before resting. Some say i can run it continuously 2-3 hrs but i read in the forums that it should rest every 2 tanks. what does rest mean? Shut off? Or just let the blow off valve bleed the air..

im in the philippines btw.


planning to use this as a personal unit. So filling some doubles orsingle tanks for now. Probably not more than 10 tanks a week. Some weeks i dont dive.

so lets say i hve 6-8 al80 tanks. Cant i fill all straight away? i do have the whole week of filling them so i can just do 1 hr each day or 2 tanks a day.

but filling em 1 time would sometimes be easier and more economical . Less startup of the motor

 

[GiraffeMarineSalvage]

You raise an interesting question given motor type and horsepower have a significant impact on recommended duty cycles, but I think I would stick with Bauer's official statement, "JRII is designed for filling an individual SCUBA or SCBA. It is neither designed nor intended for filling cascade storage systems of any kind."
(Portables | Bauer Compressors). I don't (yet) own a Bauer but it wouldn't hurt to contact them directly since I've heard many good things about their customer support, hopefully even if it's a used unit..
If I were to hazard a guess, and it is merely a partially educated guess, the duty cycle on the junior is limited to an interplay of motor capacity, condensate buildup (which will be more in the Philippines..), and heat building up in the compressor stages. Addressing condensate buildup and increasing heat disappation from the stages might be all you need to confirm is adequate for longer run times, but ideally you can get a detailed parts breakdown of the Junior verses the Oceanus to see if there's other important details that need to be addressed for a longer duty cycle?

 

[LanceRiley]

You raise an interesting question given motor type and horsepower have a significant impact on recommended duty cycles, but I think I would stick with Bauer's official statement, "JRII is designed for filling an individual SCUBA or SCBA. It is neither designed nor intended for filling cascade storage systems of any kind."
(Portables | Bauer Compressors). I don't (yet) own a Bauer but it wouldn't hurt to contact them directly since I've heard many good things about their customer support, hopefully even if it's a used unit..
If I were to hazard a guess, and it is merely a partially educated guess, the duty cycle on the junior is limited to an interplay of motor capacity, condensate buildup (which will be more in the Philippines..), and heat building up in the compressor stages. Addressing condensate buildup and increasing heat disappation from the stages might be all you need to confirm is adequate for longer run times, but ideally you can get a detailed parts breakdown of the Junior verses the Oceanus to see if there's other important details that need to be addressed for a longer duty cycle?

I did see the local bauer dealer. They said run it for 2-3hrs then rest. Doesnt sound like what everyone is saying on the boards. More like rest after 2 tannks.

the compressor technician who maintains it. Is from another LDS, he thinks its ok to run it more than that.

but i think ill stick to the 1hr rule . Seems to be a good compromise.


but No i have no plans to make a cascade system. Just personal tanks. I shudnt be filling more than 10 tanks a week.

 

[happy-diver]

Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site

 

[LanceRiley]

Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site

Wow thi is a very good read.

but did i get This right? Jr2 with 2 fill whips? How many tanks were they filling? Sounds like they were filling more than an hour each day.

 

[PrffsrE]

As a recent Bauer Jr II owner I too had this self same question. Thank you for the link to Michael McFadyen's web site! His documentation is fantastic and he did elude to running it much more than one tank at a time!

Since I have some time on my hands recently and there is a lot of wild speculation. I decided to read the entire Bauer Jr II official owners manual. Not only the older version from Michael McFadyen's web site but the newest version from the Bauer website. (Cover to Cover)

First of all. Let it be said that no person should consider using this for continuous duty!!! (Sad you have to say these things)

That said. There is a huge discrepancy in the Bauer information! Huge! In the older manual (and new) that I downloaded from Michael McFadyen's web site the only reference that I could find about duty cycle is this:

"For operation under difficult conditions such as continuous running and/or high ambient temperatures we recommend the use of BAUER high performance compressor oils" (I just had to underline)

This is copied and pasted this! It is also in the new manual on page 20. On the extreme opposite end of the spectrum is this statement on Bauer website:

"NOTE: JRII is designed for filling an individual SCUBA or SCBA. It is neither designed nor intended for filling cascade storage systems of any kind."

So is it designed for "continuous running" or "designed for filling an individual SCUBA". Then why 2 fill whips? I think Michael McFadyen stated that pretty clearly! @LanceRiley you would get great insight from his article!

My personal take away from this is.... The Bauer Jr II is a great oil type compressor for personal use! But it is not a RIX. Sorry Bauer

 

[tbone1004]

I recently a good priced bauer jr2.

somehow they used a locally made motor with 5hp running at 1,700 rpm a bit larger belt pulley to compensate.

original should be a 3hp running 2,300 rpm.

assuming the turn ratio is all ok…

how many tanks do i fill before resting. Some say i can run it continuously 2-3 hrs but i read in the forums that it should rest every 2 tanks. what does rest mean? Shut off? Or just let the blow off valve bleed the air..

im in the philippines btw.


planning to use this as a personal unit. So filling some doubles orsingle tanks for now. Probably not more than 10 tanks a week. Some weeks i dont dive.

so lets say i hve 6-8 al80 tanks. Cant i fill all straight away? i do have the whole week of filling them so i can just do 1 hr each day or 2 tanks a day.

but filling em 1 time would sometimes be easier and more economical . Less startup of the motor

As FYI, electric motors don't natively turn at 1700rpm or 2300rpm. I assume you're talking about the pump RPM?
Philippines has 60hz power same as US so the motors will natively turn at 3600/1800/1200/900 whether they are 2-4-6-8 pole motors. The more poles the more expensive they are for horsepower though most big motors are going to be 4-pole and most small motors 2-pole. Stock 3hp was probably a 3600rpm motor.
The JrII is sold with RPM's from 1500-2300rpm at the pump so as long as it is within that range the lubrication system will work properly, faster it goes the more HP it needs and the more cfm it will produce. CFM:HP are directly proportional and essentially linear.

I don't know any qualified people that will say you can run it for 2-3hrs continuously. 1hr max is what the Bauer tech's that I've spoken with recommend with 50% duty cycle so 1hr turned on, 1hr turned off. 2x AL80's at a time, rest for an hour, repeat as necessary. Does it run for 2-3hrs in other applications? Of course, tons of people do, but that doesn't mean it's recommended or smart.

These motors are designed for way more starting and stopping than you'll ever be able to give them so don't worry about cooking the motor from starting/stopping it, if you're worried about economics the motor is the last place you need to worry about and focus more on how many filters you'll be going through with the tiny filter housing that will get scalding hot in Philippines heat/humidity.

@GiraffeMarineSalvage the Oceanus is a completely different pump and has a lot more interstage cooling capacity. At the same pump RPM you get 4.1cfm FAD vs 3.2 so the pistons are physically larger as well which helps.

@PrffsrE 2 whips means that both buddies can be hanging out on the beach and eating lunch for an hour while their tanks fill at the same time without having to walk over mid-way and swap the tanks over on a single whip. I wouldn't read much more into it than that.

 

[LanceRiley]

Yes i misunderstood on the motor. Clarified it yesterday with a local tech. It was the pump rpm that was set to 2300rpm.

also got info from an electrical engineer. Most of our motors are 4poles.

 

[tbone1004]

Yes i misunderstood on the motor. Clarified it yesterday with a local tech. It was the pump rpm that was set to 2300rpm.

also got info from an electrical engineer. Most of our motors are 4poles.

Most 240vac motors are going to be 4-pole/1800rpm so no worries there. If the pump is turning at 2300rpm I would just leave it. The 3hp that came on it is going to top out around 2100rpm so they probably put the 5hp on it with with the diesel motors pulley to get it to turn at 2300rpm and max the fill rate out. I would leave it as is. If at some point you put a VFD on it and/or decide to change the pulley ratios, turning it down to 2000rpm will generate a lot less heat/wear on the block but slow the fill rate down accordingly.

 

[LanceRiley]

Ye

Most 240vac motors are going to be 4-pole/1800rpm so no worries there. If the pump is turning at 2300rpm I would just leave it. The 3hp that came on it is going to top out around 2100rpm so they probably put the 5hp on it with with the diesel motors pulley to get it to turn at 2300rpm and max the fill rate out. I would leave it as is. If at some point you put a VFD on it and/or decide to change the pulley ratios, turning it down to 2000rpm will generate a lot less heat/wear on the block but slow the fill rate down accordingly.

yes got it. In the near future if i can find a 3ph 3hp motor will bring it back to 2100rpm . But no hurry. withe tanks i have i shudnt be running more than 2hrs a week. .