Gimmie Air !!!!!!

[Dave M]

Would appreciate any thoughts you lot have on Portable HP Air compressors.

What I need is an engine driven low duty compressor preferably diesel driven (as the potential for nasty accidents when petrol/water mixes in confined areas has caused a lot of tears in the past). Pump up time isn't a problems here, ½ hour plus per bottle is more than excepted.

There are several manufacturers that offer the above specification, but their prices are way above what I want to pay. I don't mind mixing and matching components because I have a fully equipped workshop available for adapting bedplates, pulleys and fabricating enclosures.

As my Bud and me dive some quite remote locations the majority of our time is spent travelling to the nearest dive shop, joining the ever longer queue for a fill then driving back to the dive site for a second or third time.

What about some ideas of matching a lawnmower engine against a suitable compressor?????

 

[Scuba1]

Hi Dave
BY far the most expensive thing is the Compressor and not the Engine. So if for example you buy a lets say Bauer Junior II compressor as a spare part ( that is the complete compressorunit whithout the motor ) it will end up more expensive than buying a JuniorII at retailprice, that has the engine in its place. I in your case would wait save some $$ nad by the real thing. A friend of mine has the JuniorII whith a Petrolengine....Ithink it is a Honda...and he is verry peasen whith it. Had it now for over a year on his boat and it is still running verry well even whith the salty air and spray getting at it at times. It does a 100 ltrs. a minute, so you are about righht whith half an Hour a bottle 15 ltr. at 200 bar.
I hope this helped a bit

Michael

 

[Dave M]

Micheal, thanks for the info

Have made some enquiries into the junior II and have been advised that in the UK it would cost £2000. (petrol)

I might check out the second hand sites around to try and source a used but good one.

Wonder what the fire brigades do with their old units.???

Any other ideas as to where a compressor of this capacity is fitted.

 

[Scuba1]

If you are fro the UK you will probbably find a Trip to Germany at the time of the Boot2002 in January will be your best bett. Bauer has a Stand there and they sell at werry good Condicions on this Boatshow the difference to the price you will have to pay in the UK and the % they knok of there will pay for the Tripp and you will still have Money to spend on a set of tanks or so Chek it out at
http://www.messe-duesseldorf.de/de/2001/boot/
I may go there too in January... and i live on Tenerife where divingstuff is a lot cheaper as in the UK and it still works out.
Cheers
Michael

 

[SubMariner]

Dave, your idea about checking out 2nd hand compressors is a good one. When we were on the sailboat we had a Bauer 8cfm that could fill a pair of tanks in about 10 minutes. Usually one of those was my HP steel 80 that I would pump to 3500psi. If memory serves, we paid pretty close to $7K US for it new back in '97.

It sounds as though you have the prerequisite background to know what you are looking at and whether or not it is in good condition. Besides Bauer, you might also want to check out Mako and Jordair.

Good luck!

~SubMariner~