New to Scubaboard-Delayed Arrival

[oldairdude]

Hi all, my name is Porter Stiles, CEO of AUGUST INDUSTRIES. As one of the largest established Bauer Compressor distributors with over 40 years of experience with Bauer Compressors, as well many other high pressure compressor brands, I feel I can offer a wealth of information to this forum in this subject.
As I am approaching retirement I thought I could find some new friends and discussions….so here we go!

 

[Pressurehead]

Welcome.
As an Old-air-dude [I like the name], what compressor would you install at home for your own use for filling dive cylinders ?

Enjoy retirement.

 

[oldairdude]

Welcome.
As an Old-air-dude [I like the name], what compressor would you install at home for your own use for filling dive cylinders ?

Enjoy retirement.

Welcome.
As an Old-air-dude [I like the name], what compressor would you install at home for your own use for filling dive cylinders ?

Enjoy retirement.

Assuming you most likely have single phase power only, at your home, and that you only have a handful of tanks, you would do well with either a 3HP (2.2KW) or 5 HP (3.7KW) unit. I even think manual drains are fine too in that setting. May sound a bit bias, but I think Bauer makes the best and most durable portable units. They may not be the cheapest up front, but I’m confident they cost less in the long run. Things to consider are local service and parts availability when needed. And again, I think Bauer has an advantage there as well. I personally own a Bauer Junior electric single phase at home and love it. When filling an almost empty AL80 to full, the charge rate is modest enough to not warm up the cylinder too much, thus holding a truer pressure when finished. Time to fill equals the time to drain… I simply drain unit at end of a fill. Sweet! Your only real challenge is finding one in decent shape to start with. Should you ever get info or images of one offered, I would be happy to give you my 2 cents. I have every manual and service manuals you would ever need. Just let me know!
Good luck,

 

[Pressurehead]

I personally own a Bauer Junior electric single phase at home and love it. When filling an almost empty AL80 to full, the charge rate is modest enough to not warm up the cylinder too much, thus holding a truer pressure when finished. Time to fill equals the time to drain…

Thanks for that.

 

[Curious_George]

Hi Porter @oldairdude,
I missed your introduction post until just now. So, here’s my belated welcome to Scubaboard. And a congrats on your retirement.

It was nice to see your mention of interest to share knowledge on this forum. And I’ll say for anyone reading this, your company and you specifically have been an amazing resource for me and other Bauer owners. Everything from sourcing no longer available parts, to fitting questions, to the best prices around. Thank you!

No reason you would remember me, but you helped to get my Utilus 10 going a while back. We added some shims on the crankshaft to stop sideways movement and wear on one of the rods. The compressor is approaching 100 hours after this adjustment and no signs of metal on metal wear in the oil. Yay! For those who don’t know, Utilus 10 is the precursor to the Bauer Junior and shares most of the same parts other than second stage water separator.

My compressor has unknown total hours and acquired with no history. There were some visible signs of wear/light scoring in cylinder #1 during initial inspection when I got the compressor, and the 1st stage reed valve had quite a bit of carbon and discoloration. But still, it’s pumping reliably up to the 3500psi OPV. Second stage temp gets to about 235f and the other two cylinders are in the ~160 max, although I don’t monitor them as closely. I typically fill LP tanks to 2700psi with 30% Nitrox and it purrs like a sewing machine at just over 80 decibels.

Here’s my question:
I’m running it every week and would like to proactively address or be prepared for any issues that might cause a loss of use or catastrophic damage. Having to deal with a local dive shop for fills is not an acceptable alternative. Spending a little extra $ now is no issue if it helps ensure uninterrupted fills.

What should I do?

1. Start accumulating all the replacement valves and rings and begin swapping out?
2. Go ahead and replace the first stage reed and rings since they do have significant wear?
3. Save my $ for a third stage piston replacement?
4. Buy an entire 1000 hour service kit that has lots of potentially unneeded parts?

Or just do nothing and wait for a valve to stick or a ring to stop holding pressure before reacting and know that I can quickly order any needed parts from your shop? I’m hesitant to just let it go out of fear my bill and downtime would be much larger if waiting until a failure occurs.

Thanks for your thoughts, George

 

[oldairdude]

George, Thanks for the kind words and glad to hear that your compressor is still running well. To answer some of your questions, let me start by saying parts for your unit should be no problem any time soon. You really do not need to stock up or be overly concerned there. The Utilus 10 was made before the inception of the 1000 Hr kits, and as such, there are no pre-defined service kits for it other than the gasket kit. All other items are simply ordered individually. This past year, Bauer changed their pricing in such a manner that it now cost a bit more to purchase a 1000 Hr kit, than the cost of every item sold individually. A bit bizarre for sure...perhaps one day it will change. Your unit shares most of the same parts as the current Junior II, so supply is a non-issue. With that said, one of the most common complaints of the Utilus 10, was the fact that Bauer used the high precision, ringless final piston and sleeve, on a splash lubed unit. As it turns out, that combination did not work out so well for longevity. The ringless final piston and sleeve was an excellent design, in high pressurized oil systems like K14's, Mariners, etc.
The good news is that, depending on your specific unit, it is easy to use the new synthetic ringed version of the final stage just like what is currently used on the JRII. If done, it will last much much longer and also provide less blow-by into the crankcase. It is this blow-by that is most likely introducing the oil and oil vapor into the first stage, that is causing your discoloration there. No big deal, it happens to everyone, however it could get worse as the blow-by increases. If you have not done this already, plan to. It would be easier to cover in greater detail by phone. I'm still there for now...
I doubt you put enough hours on the compressor to worry about ring replacement on first and second stages anytime soon. If ring gaps do get excessive, then order the rings.
Look forward to hearing from you!