Bauer Oceanus vs. Coltri Icon LSE 100 ET

[Bento.Box]

Hello folks!

I've moved and there is no suitable scuba shop in my neighborhood where I can fill up my tanks. Therefore I'm planning to buy a small compressor. It should fill one or more 300 Bar tanks with DIN valves around once a week. 3 phase / 400V power is available. I've already talked with the other people in my house and there was no objection so far.

On my short list are currently (with autostop/autodrain and filter monitoring accessories):
- Bauer Oceanus
- Coltri Icon LSE 100 ET

The Oceanus is clearly the better compressor with more longevity because of it actually having an oil pump. I also believe the filter system should be better, but I live in the countryside and there is not that much pollution. However, after getting some quotes, the Oceanus costs around tripple as much, so there already is budget to replace parts on the Coltri or just buy a new one later on.

Which one would you choose and why?
Are there any competitors that I missed?

I'm based in Switzerland/Europe, people usually don't have compressors at home and the shops pretty much all have a big Bauer.

Thanks for your input!
David

 

[Simpel]

Hi there,

I was also looking for a small compressor.
In the end I decided on an L&W 100.
The Oceanus was actually my dream compressor too, but after several phone calls with L&W I decided on the L&W.

Regards
Simpel

 

[Bento.Box]

@Simpel thanks for your feedback.
I'm looking into LSE now as well. They look rather similar to the Coltris with the splash lubrication and the price.
What made you change your mind during the phone calls?
Are you happy with yours?

 

[Simpel]

The L&W 100 can run through without the need to cool down.
The Bauer Junior 2 is not allowed to do this. This is where the Oceanus comes into play, which can also run for longer than 45 minutes at a time.

They say that L&W has customers who regularly run the 100 for 6 hours at a time.
L&W offers an option for a larger filter housing for the 100.
The block is made from one piece.
My compressor has now only run for 17 hours. So I can't say anything about durability.
I also ordered a Puracon Mobile, which always shows values between 18 and 20 mg.

The telephone contact with L&W was very good, they were very helpful and answered all my questions, which was unfortunately not the case with Bauer.

 

[happy-diver]

I have promised to my self never to have to listen to an ear blasting brain flattening noisy compressor again
I bought a used mini verticus for half the price of an oceanus and will be able to smile for the rest of my life

That is so quiet, you can put a sleeping baby on top, and the air coming through the vent, will keep it warm
The pumping station is right the middle of my limestone house, and I can sit in the next room, watching TV
and the baby

My experience

Oceanus, rattly noisy shakes the windows makes you deaf

PE 300, exceptionally noisy shakes the walls blows open the doors makes your head explode

K14, cracks the walls lifts the roof breaks the windows, you sit outside waiting for police the neighbours called


You may not think about it now, but you will think about it later, when you did not have to think about it at all

 

[Bento.Box]

@happy-diver Congrats to your mini verticus. Yeah if I had more budget, that one would also be on my short list. Unfortunately, I don't see any used ones available at the moment in my vicinity. The size is also a bit of an issue, since where I set it up is a shared space for everyone in the building.

@Simpel I've also contacted L&W and they instantly came back with a quote. It's between the Coltri and the Bauer, so it looks like a very attractive option for me. The prices for accessories and filters seem also reasonable.

What do you guys think about having a proper oil pump in a compressor if you run it only once a week on average. Is it something that makes a huge difference or is it primary the build quality why Coltris are failing quite often?

 

[Simpel]

Allegedly there are L&W 100 with over 10,000 operating hours
So it must work well even without an oil pump

 

[Agro]

@happy-diver Congrats to your mini verticus. Yeah if I had more budget, that one would also be on my short list. Unfortunately, I don't see any used ones available at the moment in my vicinity. The size is also a bit of an issue, since where I set it up is a shared space for everyone in the building.

@Simpel I've also contacted L&W and they instantly came back with a quote. It's between the Coltri and the Bauer, so it looks like a very attractive option for me. The prices for accessories and filters seem also reasonable.

What do you guys think about having a proper oil pump in a compressor if you run it only once a week on average. Is it something that makes a huge difference or is it primary the build quality why Coltris are failing quite often?

It's both. Coltri has a lousy build quality. Lousy, lousy. And they run a 3'000 rpm which is crazy, compressor gets very hot. AND they have no oil pump. Oil pump is clearly better then no oil pump.

Bauer Oceanus is much better then any L&W.
L&W is much, much, much better then the small Coltri.

 

[Agro]

Coltri has changed name from MCH6 to Icon LSE 100 ET. Why? For me it is clear: www is full of bad experiences with MCH6, so let's change name.

 

[Bento.Box]

Bauer Oceanus is much better then any L&W.
L&W is much, much, much better then the small Coltri.

Thanks everyone!

I've ordered an L&W now. At least the presales service is speedy and gives good answers.

Didn't trust the Coltri, and I made bad experiences with other Italian diving equipment manufacturers (Ratio) as well.

I requested a quote from a Bauer retailer and he got back to me only after weeks, telling me he doesn't want to do a quote on the Oceanus (which he offers on his website) but rather I should buy a Junior II from him. Which doesn't have an oil pump.

I understand the Oceanus is superior, but I don't want to deal with bad service in case I need help.