Experience w/Brownie's Yacht Pro™ Essential Compressor vs Bauer or other for our Cat???

[DiverGal44]

Hi, new to forum, and first time buying a dive tank fill compressor for my 44' catamaran, so please forgive me if my searching has come up short. I need advice from those of you with more experience than me for this sizeable investment. I was unable to find any reviews of the Brownie's Yacht Pro Essential Compressor, although there were many for the Brownie's hookah systems (mostly positive). It seems to check a lot of boxes: built in VFD (variable frequency drive controller) that softens the in-rush of the power draw on our 11.5k Onan generator, auto start and auto-stop, dual condensate drains that purge automatically, and 5 hours of continuous run time before it has to cool. One of the add-on features I like about this, is that 2 of us can simultaneously clean the bottom of the boat without cumbersome tanks by using the hookah "add-on" that also allows us to fill rafts, inflatable SUPs and the sort.
I was surprised by the $100 per filter cost that must be changed every 12 hours of fill time (or about 35 tanks: 21 minutes to fill a Steel 80 tank). Is that a normal price for filters for other units, and frequency?
Btw, this will be used primarily for just my husband and me, but we'll have a couple diver guests onboard from time to time, and we'll primarily be in the Caribbean for the next couple of years to start with, so service and availability of parts is of course a concern too.
Several other owners of my cat have installed the Bauer Junior II, the Nardi Atlantic 100, and the Coltri MCH6 compressors. This forum seems to be positive on the Bauer, not so on the Nardi, and mixed on the Coltri. Thankful for any experienced advice, as I don't want to make this major investment (~$16k installed; includes running a HP hose to fill 2 tanks at a time at the stern) without finding any reviews.
Am I better off going with the tried and proven Bauer Junior II or Oceanus?
Below is a pic of the Brownie with the add-on hookah.

 

[Jeremy Williams]

So that compressor is supplied to Brownie’s by L&W. I could tell from the picture, but it’s right there in the spec sheet in the oil recommendation. It is certainly a rebrand of the LW100 in some variation.

https://www.lw-compressors.com/sites/default/files/product-files/LW100_E.pdf

I agree that the Bauer seems to have the best reputation across the board, although I don’t own a compressor myself.

 

[iain/hsm]

Hi, new to forum, and first time buying a dive tank fill compressor

Best advise stop now, do nothing, buy nothing and watch as it all hopefully becomes clear for you.
Question 1. How long have you got to make a purchase decision.

It seems to check a lot of boxes: built in VFD (variable frequency drive controller) that softens the in-rush of the power draw on our 11.5k Onan generator,

To kick off speak to Cummins/Onan with your specific model and discuss running a 2.2 Kw compressor
They will know what to tell you.

auto start and auto-stop, dual condensate drains that purge automatically, and 5 hours of continuous run time before it has to cool.

All cheap add on parts you dont really need IMHO Besides the auto drains block up then the filter is overwhelmed with water and emulsified oil, and this will ruin your diving in a remote area.

One of the add-on features I like about this, is that 2 of us can simultaneously clean the bottom of the boat without cumbersome tanks by using the hookah "add-on" that also allows us to fill rafts, inflatable SUPs and the sort.

Dont. Heck if I had a 44' cat the last thing I would want to do is scub its hull. Pay a professional just turn off the electrical power before jumping in. Besides you can buy a lightweight low voltage low pressure 100psi Hookah compressor for a few hundred dollars add a good length of 3/8 breathing hose over the side to cool down the hot gas and a non return valve at the end attached to a 2nd stage regulator with a pony tank for back up and its lighter cheaper and runs almost on batteries. Try looking at the Tomas range or Gast range of low pressure hookah compressors.

I was surprised by the $100 per filter cost that must be changed every 12 hours of fill time (or about 35 tanks: 21 minutes to fill a Steel 80 tank). Is that a normal price for filters for other units, and frequency?

$100 So am I. No that is pure and simple poor quality, poor design and a filter cartridge used in the wrong application. You need to consider a repack cartridge or self pack molecular sieve chemical otherwise known as zeolite 13x its about $15 a kilo worth of chemical you need at least a one pound by weight. So half a kilo, and this would run around 40 hours of fills. In addition you really do need a visual indicator that shows in real time the purity of the gas in a small display window under the filling pressure up to 5000psi showing 10, 20 and 30% relative humidity of the air you are pumping into your tanks. Costs about $80 the replacement indicator cards cost $10 and last two years.
You also need a CO detector if you are running an oil lubricated compressor in a hot cabin on deck that is in order to analyse each cylinder contents, not the cabin, heck buy a few and check all the cabins as well and please keep an eye on the thing while running it in auto. IMHO on deck anything that moves gets hot and uses electrical power should never be left running un attended you are much too important to to be drawn into this auto run advert nonsense.

Thankful for any experienced advice, as I don't want to make this major investment (~$16k installed; includes running a HP hose to fill 2 tanks at a time at the stern) without finding any reviews.

$16,000 USD is a very expensive intallation for a $4000 compressor even with a remote filling manifold its a few hundred dollers worth of parts you can install yourself. The only issue you will have is making a stainless steel pallet swage crimp on the end of the SAE 100 R7 or R8 1/4 bore high pressure flexible charging line from the compressor filter to the remote charging post. Most vessels over this side of the pond route the hose out first using a cheap water hose pipe then rip it out and measure the length so that back at the yard we do the hydraulic pallet swage on the stainless hose ends, test the hose then ship it out to either the customer the installer or the yard doing the build.
Just dont confuse meters with feet I guess. $20 each end fitting in stainless and $5 a foot for the hose with $40 for making the crimp. Iain

 

[DiverGal44]

All, thank you for your replies and information— so much to consider. We don’t need to make our decision until Aug/Sep of this year, so still plenty of time to continue research.
I suppose the one thing I didn’t ask, is if you were in my shoes, what would you install?

 

[happy-diver]

To kick off speak to Cummins/Onan with your specific model and discuss running a 2.2 Kw compressor
They will know what to tell you.

 

[formernuke]

I just ordered my first compressor. So I'll pass on what the locals here told me. Alkin is popular brand here. But this was for my house so maybe on a boat has a different opinions and requirements

 

[BoltSnap]

I just ordered my first compressor. So I'll pass on what the locals here told me. Alkin is popular brand here. But this was for my house so maybe on a boat has a different opinions and requirements

You are buying Alkin or passing on that?

 

[formernuke]

You are buying Alkin or passing on that?

I ordered a Alkin. Passing on the recommendation for it.

 

[BoltSnap]

I ordered a Alkin. Passing on the recommendation for it.

I see. They are made in Turkey AFAIK. What is their reputation compared with the Bauer, L&W, etc.? Are they reliable and long lasting? They are also more price competitive, is this correct?

 

[formernuke]

I see. They are made in Turkey AFAIK. What is their reputation compared with the Bauer, L&W, etc.? Are they reliable and long lasting? They are also more price competitive, is this correct?

4100 shipped with auto drains and auto shutoff. 2 shop owners up here highly recommend them over the others. That's a 3.7 cfm continuous run compressor. I liked the continuous run part as the smaller versions of others brands are not continuous run.