Current options for moderate duty scuba compressor?

[PBcatfish]

@PBcatfish that's light duty use! I would look at getting the Bauer if you can swing it financially for a long term investment.
Consider the E1 which while slower to fill *would be about 30mins to fill an AL80 from empty*, it does it at a much lower RPM so it will be quieter, but more importantly it runs on 115vac and doesn't need a dryer plug in your garage. If you go that route though you may want to buy a separate motor starter depending on what else is in the circuit.

I'm pretty familiar with motor controls. I have that part covered. I was unaware of the E1. I'll look into it.

Again, thank you.

 

[Cio]

My usage would mostly be filing 80cf AL tanks @ 3,000psi, Some LP steel 72s, Occasionally a couple of HP120s @ 3500psi and occasionally a 2L 4,500psi tank for non breathing use. I would not expect to do more than 4 fills in a single day ever & I would probably expect to average 4-6 fills per week. Some day, I may do some partial pressure blending, but that is not likely in the near future. I need to buy some kind of compressor because I can't find any place locally to put much more than 3,600psi in that little 2L tank & I really need it up over 4k. I could get a crappy little Hang Seng for the little tank (of non breathing air) but blowing $400-500 on that seems silly if I could put the money towards something that would also fill my dive tanks.


I have an old Bauer Utilis (late 1990s) that is probably too far gone to save. It came off of a yacht and was given to me. The hour meter shows over 4k, The PO filter housing is frozen shut to the point where Kroil & a pipe wrench can't get it apart (and it's probably past its expiration date anyway). The electric motor needs to be rewound. When I spin the compressor by hand, it does not seem to build pressure. Quite frankly, I see very little there to salvage. This has me looking for another option.

Is the Bauer a full featured unit with auto drains? (pics?)

 

[tbone1004]

This is being discussed on another thread - Scuba Diving Compressor - Mantus Marine

There is not a lot of info listed. Since it runs off 110vac & draws less than 15 amps, I can't see it putting out much more than 1.5 or maybe 2cfm, which is slower than I am looking for. The part that catches my attention, is that it's water cooled. That makes me think that the duty cycle might be good. The $2,500ish price tag has my attention too. I'm wondering if this might be based on the MCH3.

15a should be at least 2cfm so you're a tick over your half hour mark on the AL80, but your duty cycle requirements aren't an issue given your use case.

 

[PBcatfish]

I googled Bauer E1 & the first thing that came up was this - Bauer Oceanus-E1 for a little over $7k. It turns out that E1 is an option for several different Bauer compressors. The JR II E1 is a little over $5k Bauer JRII-E1

There is an E1, an E1-115, a E3, a G & a D.
It appears that
E1-115 = 115vac electric
E1 = 220vac 1 phase electric
E3 = 220vac 3 phase electric
G = gas
D = Diesel

The price difference between an E1 & an E1-115 and an E3 are small
The E1-115 is slow 2.9cfm
The E1 & E3 rate at 3.9cfm
The G & D rate at 4.3cfm

Bauer HP Compressor Junior II - Bay Tech Diving Equipment Sales & Rentals

Junior II lightweight portables, complete with air purification system and fill hose, are safe, reliable three stage compressors designed for serious sport divers. Available in single phase 115/230VAC and three phase 230/460 VAC electric motor, gasoline or diesel engine drive. Capacities range...

baytechrentals.com

 

[PBcatfish]

Is the Bauer a full featured unit with auto drains? (pics?)

No, the drains are manual & were left full of water, probably for years. The head bolts are rusted. It's not pretty. I'm about the last guy in the world to not fix something that is salvageable, but this one looks like a money pit to me.

 

[tbone1004]

@PBcatfish I did mean the E1-115 though if you get an E3 you could put a 110 to 220 VFD on it and get variable speed out of it off of a wall plug.

slow is not bad with these things if you can deal with the time, slow means less noise/heat/wear

 

[PBcatfish]

@PBcatfish I did mean the E1-115 though if you get an E3 you could put a 110 to 220 VFD on it and get variable speed out of it off of a wall plug.

slow is not bad with these things if you can deal with the time, slow means less noise/heat/wear

I thought that I was pretty familiar with VFDs. I don't know of a 3hp one that can run off of 110vac primary power. Can you point me to the one you had in mind?

 

[tbone1004]

I thought that I was pretty familiar with VFDs. I don't know of a 3hp one that can run off of 110vac primary power. Can you point me to the one you had in mind?

most of the big manufacturers make them but here are some

AC Drives | Variable Frequency Drives | VFD | Inverter

AC Drives and VFDs for Any Application Available. Authorized Distributor of Top Brands. Get Free Shipping on $100+ Orders!

www.wolfautomation.com

they are usually limited to about 2hp so you would have to change pulleys to account for the 3hp motor in the frame, but that's not difficult

 

[100days-a-year]

Give Ed at EP compressors a call. He lives near Gainesville. I've bought two compressors from him and dove on quite a few sold or maintained by him. He has stuff on Ebay all the time.

 

[tbone1004]

this is his ebay profile for reference

high pressure air | eBay Stores

An investment in a SCUBA air compressor system is an investment in your safety and the safety of your staff and clients. At Blue Grotto Compressors, our continuing goal is to offer the highest-quality equipment, parts, and service .

www.ebay.com