Bauer Junior 2001 for sale - is this a fair price?

[khadux]

I'm looking to buy my first compressor and found a Bauer Junior Electric for sale on the internet. I'm fairly new to compressor and would like to get your opinions. Built in 2001 with less than 100 total hrs. The exterior looks to be in good shape but should I be concern about the internal parts since it is almost 10 years old? The listing price is $2130 without the whip. Is this a fair price?

Unfortunately, this is my first post so I'm not able to post the full url. Please add the abrreviated world wide web to below.

.capprex.com/Bauer/index.html

 

[veriqster]

I'm looking to buy my first compressor and found a Bauer Junior Electric for sale on the internet. I'm fairly new to compressor and would like to get your opinions. Built in 2001 with less than 100 total hrs. The exterior looks to be in good shape but should I be concern about the internal parts since it is almost 10 years old? The listing price is $2130 without the whip. Is this a fair price?

Unfortunately, this is my first post so I'm not able to post the full url. Please add the abrreviated world wide web to below.

.capprex.com/Bauer/index.html

your concern SHOULD be the condition of the internal parts (rings, pistons, valves, rods, etc), in fact that should be your MAIN concern. This compressor has been used about 10hr / year which is too little to ensure lubrication and prevent corosion by itself so it boils down to how it was operated and stored. another concern i would have is the filtration, looks like it has a hybrid water separator / filter unit which at least in my opinion is not the best option. another thing, if you are looking to use it extensivly, this is a splash lubricated, small capacity compressor which i would not use for extended runs (storage bottles, lots of tanks at a time).
as with every used item it boils down to how it was used / stored previously and what kind of warranty it carries (if any).
for a little more you could get something which at least has a known history, have a look at sheldensportinggoods.com, i've has a good traiding experience with James and never heared anything bad about him. those kiddes are at least pump lubricated, not to talk about difference in quality of the materials used in them.
not saying that bauers are not well built, just my 0.02.

 

[khadux]

I'm an occasional user. Possibly 2 hrs a week. How can you tell from the picture it uses the hybrid water seperator?

 

[rcontrera]

That does look like a customized unit. It also appears that the outlet pressure piping taps into the electrical box which indicates to me that there is probably an automatic shutdown.

While 100 hours is not a lot for constant run machines, it is a fair amount for the little guys. The same sized Coltri machines have a 100 hour service kit that replaces allbut the 1st stage valves, seats and springs. I am not sure that Bauer has something similar, but with this being as old as it is, I would think that a valve job is probably called for.

As for the price, you can get brand new intermittent duty compressors of similar size for around $3300 so you should be looking at less than half that amount for something that old. And, as has been already said, you need to really dig some information out of the owner as to how this system has been used, what type of maintenance he did, what kind of bottles he filled and what pressures he normally pumped to.

One other little note ... if he pumped up 444/4500 bottles, even if only one at a time, then run away as this is probably toast or darn near it.

 

[sandasmiles]

At this time there is one on 00 craigslist in florida that looks the same but is totally rebuilt for $2200. By the time you buy the fill whip, $150 to $200 you will have exceeded that price. I agree with one of the other posters here that as it is set up for 4500 lbs instead of 3200 it has been worked very hard even at 100hrs. I have had a junior, a purus and a posiedon with the purus block. What I have seen with these smaller compressors is that thru the first and second stage, going up to !750 goes fairly quickly, but they slow down getting up to full pressure on a 3200lb pressure. So to go all the way up to 4500 to 5000 would definitly be working them hard. On the other hand, coming from Steamboat Springs Colorado they haven't been exposed to the saltwater enviornment of the coast. As far as price get someone to show you a bauer junior cheaper, as most bauers hold their value. The main reason for myself and others is that you can now buy aftermarket parts, valves pistons rings gaskets ect. Laurance factor in florida is one. Not the same on most other brands. I just recently bought another small bauer, could have paid half the price for a poseidon, or an american bristol, cornelius, kidde, ect. but totally researched parts and decided that parts accessability in the future was more important. just me 2.5 cents worth