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

[BoltSnap]

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.

Yes, the other brands you have to shut them off after an hour or two of operation (the personal versions).


I guess I have to reach out to Turkey to see if they would deal with us here.

 

[PBcatfish]

I don't have a long history with SCUBA compressors, but I've been looking at a lot of them lately. I've seen several Brownies. I've seen several Bauers. It is my opinion that the base models from Bauer, with the manual drains, are the best value in a high quality German unit. They are a very good option if you are actually going to drain the water from the system as you should. The price is not cheap, but it is reasonable considering the quality.

The ones from Brownies seem to have better quality automation than the automated Bauers. They tend to be user friendly. They tend to be well laid out. They tend to have good features. Some of them have very overbuilt custom stainless frames that add a lot of weight. Others are more commonly constructed. If I was going to get a dive compressor with auto drains, for a yacht, I would get a Brownie. The current Brownie units are based on an LW compressor. That is another good German brand. It is hard for me to tell them apart from a Bauer.

Another thing to consider is that Brownies also offers drives to run the compressor with a minimal inrush current. This can be a deal maker/breaker if your genset is marginal for running a compressor. A drive can be added to a 3 phase Bauer if you know what you are doing. Brownies offers it as an out of the box option.

The smaller units from both LW & Bauer are not considered to be constant duty. You shut them down & let them rest after filling a few tanks. The slightly larger units (usually 5hp & up) generally are constant duty.

Cartridges of equal quality can be had from other sources for less than $100. Brownie isn't cheap for anything. In the case of their automated drain compressors, I feel that the quality justifies the price.

My recent experience with compressors on yachts indicates that corrosion is the killer in most cases. The second most common issue is insufficient ventilation around the unit when it is running. This causes significant degradation in performance & cartridge life. Choose carefully when placing the compressor.

 

[iain/hsm]

It is hard for me to tell them apart from a Bauer.

Its not hard at all. One is a fit for purpose small scuba compressor, while the other is a lash up of bought in parts painted white for Florida's crooks to fit inside their overpriced yachts on their coke stained carpets. LOL

 

[PBcatfish]

Its not hard at all. One is a fit for purpose small scuba compressor, while the other is a lash up of bought in parts painted white for Florida's crooks to fit inside their overpriced yachts on their coke stained carpets. LOL

Oh come on, don't be ridiculous. Coke doesn't stain.

 

[whazzUp]

Its not hard at all. One is a fit for purpose small scuba compressor, while the other is a lash up of bought in parts painted white for Florida's crooks to fit inside their overpriced yachts on their coke stained carpets. LOL

So which one is the go-to? the Bauer or Brownie. I am being asked to make a decision this week.
50ft Cat, can locate in a spot with lots of ventilation. Goal is: Ease of maintenance and parts available in both USA and more importantly europe.

 

[Tracy]

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?

They are not a Bauer or an L&W. Thinking they are equivalent will leave you very dissatisfied.
They are price competitive with a Coltri and they are built 100% better than a Coltri.
Basically they are the best cheap compressor I have seen. They are still a cheap compressor.