Home Compressor suggestions

[spectrum]

OK I'm thinking out loud about getting one and some searching did not drill down to what I'm interested in. I'm looking for an air compressor suitable for home use....

125-150 fills per year
HP steel cylinders so it needs to be robust for 3500 PSI
Filling 2 HP 100s from 500 PSI in an hour would be fast enough
Serviceable, I don't want some cheap disposable set-up if there is even such an animal.
Probably electric

If there are other pertinent questions I should be considering just say so.

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Isaac-1]

It sounds like almost any small to mid range compressor may work for what you need. The big issues to consider are, will you want to pump nitrox in the future (continuous blend), if so some types of compressors work better than others, in particular stay away from the Rix oiless units, and the military surplus stewart warners due to lubrication issues, you can do a search on the issues. You say 125 - 150 fills per year, what you don't say is how many tanks at a time, as to fill speed even the smallest 3.4 CFM (some getting as little as 2.9 CFM (174 CF/Hour) real world air flow delivered to the tank) compressors will meet your delivery requirements. The problem is a lot of the smaller units are not rated for continuous duty and are only rated to fill 3-4 tanks at a time without a break to cool off. With that number of fills per year the shelf life/CFM capacity of even the smaller filters will not be a major issue (need to be changed every 30-50 tank fills at $45), still a larger filter may be economical As to the the 3500 psi working pressure, this should be within the range of all continuous duty compressors (they were designed to fill 4500+ psi bank cylinders) and close to the rating on many older portable ones. My 30 year old Bauer Purus 3.4 cfm portable is rated to 225 bar (3307 PSI), it was also offered in a 300 bar high pressure model. As to brands it seems almost all are good, some are just better than others, new portable compressors units start around $3,000, good quality used units can sometimes sell for under $500 ( I paid less than that for my Purus, but had to drive almost a thousand miles to pick it up, and have spent more than I paid for it to add modern filtration, new motor, etc). If you have the space for it an older mid range 3.5 - 7 CFM continuous duty units (weighing in around 400-450 pounds) may be the best deal as they often sell for only a little more than the price of the portables and often have far better service histories and duty life. Parts availabitiy may be an issue on some of the older units particularly those from the smaller brands, however if you stick with Bauer or companies like Mako that tended to use Bauer blocks parts for most models will be easy to find, some of these blocks had production runs of over 20 years and were just recently replaced by new models.

Ike

p.s. most portable compressors only have manual drains which, require constant attention during tank fills having to be be drained every 10 or so minutes while running, many/most continuous duty models have automatic drains which allows you to pay a little less attention to whats going on.

 

[spectrum]

Thanks,

I'll add that no gas mixing will be involved

I might want to have 2 whips so I can leave a pair to run.

Rarely would I expect to have more than 4 needing fills and allowing a cool down between pairs would not be a hardship. Anything will beat doing the dive shop shuffle.

Pete

 

[pescador775]

Spectrum, it often happens that a diver who owns a compressor will develop "friends" who have tanks to fill. This may be a factor in your decision. Also, your age is a factor. Requirements may change over time. Resale is an issue as is the time to amortize your investment. A younger person can get a lifetime of value out of a good compressor. You see, purchase of an expensive compressor may seem to be not in your plan but seen through the prism of decades of use may change the perspective. How dedicated are you? Maintenance costs need to be figured. The primary expense is filter cartridges. Ten ctgs/year will cost you 400 bucks. ON the other hand, DIY packing of filter canisters would cost about 40 dollars. The saving is enough to buy several boxes of good cigars plus your favorite scotch. Fortunately, it is not difficult to modify or construct a hand packer from scratch. I would suggest prowling EBay and other sources while looking for a used electric powered unit-- 220v/1ph is probably what you should look for. I can't see a rookie trying to assemble a compressor from surplus components although some of these surplus offerings are excellent. I started off with a Purus and graduated to a Capitano in 1974. This compressor cost $1475 (new) and is still in use. I also have built a couple of highly efficient gas portables from surplus parts. In today's world, thanks to the internet and other communications resources it is possible to find a nice, used Utilus, Junior, W31, Coltri and others with good potential. If you purchase a 3.5 it might behoove you to budget a couple of 4500 psi storage cylinders. However, although I cannot confirm it, the word is that some of these such as the Coltri may need a "cool down" every hour or so. Generally, the slower turning compressors, most with pressurized lubrication, do not need a cool down period. They can run continuously at high pressure. This applies to the slow turning Alkin, the pressurized lube Capitano, original Utilus, Oceanus, and all Stewart Warner and Walter Kidde military compressors. It includes others but one should check first if this is, in fact, required.

 

[captain]

I agree with Pescador, try and find a compressor that uses hand packed filters rather than cartridges and buy the media in bulk. I bought my compressor in 1968 and it has more than paid for itself. if it weren't for having a compressor I probably would have given up diving long ago or at least be much less involved if I had the hassle of dealing with dive shops. Mine is a French made Luchard that was sold by U S Divers in the
60's. I was lucky enough to buy a second one and a bunch of spare parts when my former employer decided to out source the filling of the emergency reaction squad's SCBA cylinders.

 

[seavonj]

The alkin W31 might be what you are looking for. If you are going to be filling from home try to get a single phase 220 motor along with the pump, rather than a gasoline engine. Nothing wrong with the gasoline it is just easyly transported but you may run into CO2 issues in a garage.

 

[Hank49]

Thanks,

I'll add that no gas mixing will be involved

I might want to have 2 whips so I can leave a pair to run.

Rarely would I expect to have more than 4 needing fills and allowing a cool down between pairs would not be a hardship. Anything will beat doing the dive shop shuffle.

Pete

I have a used Bauer Jr2 with a single phase, 220v motor and four tanks (AL80s). It is very convenient (I had to go 15 miles by boat or car and pay US$10 per tank to rent) and once I replaced some expensive parts, it's worked fine. Mine worked out to be around $3100 with a new motor and some parts. It should fit your requirements....it pumps about 3.5 cfm.

 

[hunter991]

I have a friend who is trying to sell a Bauer Capitano compressor. It is in good running condition and has been well maintained and serviced on schedule. Lomax compressors has taken care of repairs with the owner doing routine maintenance.

He has it wired up so potential buyers can see it run. It is 6CFM and runs on 220 V. It will pump to 5000 PSI but the owner has is set to turn off at 4700 PSI. It also has automatic drains so it can be used to fill storage banks without having to constantly drain.

According to the last air test it produces oxygen compatible air.

I did a little shopping and replacement cost on this compressor is around $7800. The owner is asking $2800. He also has a Bauer P1 filter system available seperately. He wants 700 for it.

I called my compressor guy to check prices on this. They told me the compressor was worth around 3500 without the auto drains and that the drains were worth about 800 on a used compressor. He also has two cascade bottles he will include if you buy the filters and the compressor together. He is open for offers.

Let me know if I can answer any questions.

Brent

 

[underboats]

Brent, Where is this compressor located and is it still for sale? Pm if you want.

Thanks, Chuckl

 

[StanS]

I own the Bauer Oceanus portable compressor. My unit has a Honda 5H.P. so I take it with me on my boat. It is rated at 4.9 c.f.m. and is rated for continuous duty . I usually get about 13 hours of running between filter changes which equates to less than one dollar a tank for the cost of filters bought thru Bauer. This compressor can also be purchased with electric power but I prefer the portability of a gas model. This is one of the best compressors for it's size on the market.