Rix SA-6 Parts

[iain/hsm]

I am pretty sure I have read on here and elsewhere the Rix SA-6 is continuous duty to 3600psi?

To be accurate a modern SA-6 build spec can go much higher however I feel we are all talking about forum owners that have old second hand navy scrap or SA-6A pumps that are between 20 to 30 years old.

Now also a problem arrives with these. alternative brands of purely recreational scuba compressors I can name them if you wish that "claim" continuous rated but in reality are no way near.

The perception of the term "continuous rated" needs first to be agreed and clarified transparent

For example in your statement (Quote) "Rix SA-6 is continuous duty to 3600psi"
Do you mean like the Italians Greek and Turkish scuba compressors that it is continuous TO x pressure

Or the UK/USA interpretation in that the compressor build are continuous duty AT x pressure

Sadly most don't see the difference or understand the consequence.

Other brand scuba compressor salesmen may disagree but you won't find them on this thread. LOL

 

[tbone1004]

@iain/hsm the engineers at Rix told me that I could consider my SA-6 to be continuous rated AT 3600psi for filling/maintaining a cascade system with 10x bottles. They said that if I was filling them to their rated 4500psi that they would recommend filling them one at a time due to cooling concerns at that pressure for that amount of time. They said running it at the 500rpm or so pump speed that I intended with an electric fan that replaced the crank fan that I could do basically whatever I wanted.... I have pressure cut-off set to 4,000psi and because it's so slow I fill them one at a time anyway but I have a K14 if I need to move some serious gas.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

To be accurate a modern SA-6 build spec can go much higher however I feel we are all talking about forum owners that have old second hand navy scrap or SA-6A pumps that are between 20 to 30 years old.

Now also a problem arrives with these. alternative brands of purely recreational scuba compressors I can name them if you wish that "claim" continuous rated but in reality are no way near.

The perception of the term "continuous rated" needs first to be agreed and clarified transparent

For example in your statement (Quote) "Rix SA-6 is continuous duty to 3600psi"
Do you mean like the Italians Greek and Turkish scuba compressors that it is continuous TO x pressure

Or the UK/USA interpretation in that the compressor build are continuous duty AT x pressure

Sadly most don't see the difference or understand the consequence.

Other brand scuba compressor salesmen may disagree but you won't find them on this thread. LOL

My Rix SA-6B is (as far as I know) is the newest revision, or at least as new as I've seen. Duel belt, SS heads and lines, and 8 fins on the fan.

Let's pretend I'm not an engineer (should be easy, lol). I was under the impression that my little Rix compressor was continuous duty at 3600psi. I take my tanks (maybe 450cf at a time) to 4000, so about 1.5 hrs and then she gets a break.

I'm calling Rix tomorrow to order parts to rebuild 1st and 2nd stages. Excited to give her a little TLC.

 

[iain/hsm]

My Rix SA-6B is (as far as I know) is the newest revision, or at least as new as I've seen. Duel belt, SS heads and lines, and 8 fins on the fan.

Let's pretend I'm not an engineer (should be easy, lol). I was under the impression that my little Rix compressor was continuous duty at 3600psi. I take my tanks (maybe 450cf at a time) to 4000, so about 1.5 hrs and then she gets a break.

I'm calling Rix tomorrow to order parts to rebuild 1st and 2nd stages. Excited to give her a little TLC.

Interesting with a number of considerations.

One: The 8 blade Rix (Black) fan.

I have supplied two types of 8 blade fan to Rix Industries over the years (prefer to call them impellers) for the SA. The expensive Black one considering also the high airfreight charges shipping from UK to USA.
These are hub type impellers with attached blades hence the choice of impeller angle or pitch angle. We supplied Rix both a zero degree pitch type and the 30 degree pitch angle.

Both types supplied were Mil-spec products with full documentation, stall speed calculations and full performance testing, performance graphs etc. So hold onto it if you can as they are not supplied to individual users unless you need a minimum 200 order. Granted hard to justify to a sports diver at $97.41 each.

By contrast and at a more realistic cost of $17.70 the latest Rix fans for 2023 are six (6) blade white fans for purely sports and commercial use and are locally (USA) supplied using a single 6 blade moulded fixed pitch fan in white it's an off the shelf commercial cooling fan perfectly adequate for your 20 to 30 year old SA compressors and at around a quarter the price it's more in keeping with the likes of the more commonly accepted sports diver compressors you see from the German Italian Turkish and Chinese brands offered now a days.

For the UK/Europe market we still supply the SA-6 with the black UK Mil-Spec fan.
But the difference in cost from $97.41 to $17.70 does highlight the real differences between a professional engineering designed compressor and a sports diving alternative.

Begging the question I guess what a new SA-6 would cost if it were built to the same commercial standards as the rest of the scuba compressors.

I enclose an exercise we did in UK (November 2022) of a Commercial Build timing exercise "In the field" under COTS conditions just before Christmas illustrated below.

Where our new lad in engineering had to build a compressor from scratch on the floor using commercial off the shelf hand tools only, Crescent wrenches to you lot. Which beggars the question why in my day the "field" really was a field with Cows rain and creeping stuff in it. Iain

 

[tbone1004]

Made in Denmark apparently, who knew?
@iain/hsm I'm more curious what a Rix would cost if all of the soft goods didn't have to go through the full inspection process for the military and costing about 40x what they would for a normal diver. I think if you remove the paper trail costs the Rix would be a quite reasonable pump but it's a shame we will never find out since they have no interest in offering it for sale in the USA. I would certainly buy a new one if it was at even remotely close to a reasonable cost but they told me the market was considered saturated with the old military pumps gone so they didn't see a point in producing them any more.

 

[JohnN]

FWIW, a local fellow is selling a SA-6 complete with a filter stack, but with a 3-phase motor for $1500. Apparently, the Rix will only do 4000 PSI, so he is recommending a rebuild.

Really really tempting, I just don't get out enough to justify the purchase

 

[iain/hsm]

Made in Denmark apparently, who knew?

I did. But don't get mislead by the "badge" you see. Only the "boss" was bought in from Denmark
The blades were from another supplier and the assembly was welded at a local supplier to us.
Hence why you cannot find it on your Google search I guess.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Interesting with a number of considerations.

One: The 8 blade Rix (Black) fan.

I have supplied two types of 8 blade fan to Rix Industries over the years (prefer to call them impellers) for the SA. The expensive Black one considering also the high airfreight charges shipping from UK to USA.
These are hub type impellers with attached blades hence the choice of impeller angle or pitch angle. We supplied Rix both a zero degree pitch type and the 30 degree pitch angle.

Both types supplied were Mil-spec products with full documentation, stall speed calculations and full performance testing, performance graphs etc. So hold onto it if you can as they are not supplied to individual users unless you need a minimum 200 order. Granted hard to justify to a sports diver at $97.41 each.

By contrast and at a more realistic cost of $17.70 the latest Rix fans for 2023 are six (6) blade white fans for purely sports and commercial use and are locally (USA) supplied using a single 6 blade moulded fixed pitch fan in white it's an off the shelf commercial cooling fan perfectly adequate for your 20 to 30 year old SA compressors and at around a quarter the price it's more in keeping with the likes of the more commonly accepted sports diver compressors you see from the German Italian Turkish and Chinese brands offered now a days.

For the UK/Europe market we still supply the SA-6 with the black UK Mil-Spec fan.
But the difference in cost from $97.41 to $17.70 does highlight the real differences between a professional engineering designed compressor and a sports diving alternative.

Begging the question I guess what a new SA-6 would cost if it were built to the same commercial standards as the rest of the scuba compressors.

I enclose an exercise we did in UK (November 2022) of a Commercial Build timing exercise "In the field" under COTS conditions just before Christmas illustrated below.

Where our new lad in engineering had to build a compressor from scratch on the floor using commercial off the shelf hand tools only, Crescent wrenches to you lot. Which beggars the question why in my day the "field" really was a field with Cows rain and creeping stuff in it. Iain

So my Rix was bought from a guy who had bought a lot of 10 from the military. He was fairly reasonable and just trying to make his money back and keep 5 for his slavage company.

I attached the best pictures I have of my fan blade.

FWIW, a local fellow is selling a SA-6 complete with a filter stack, but with a 3-phase motor for $1500. Apparently, the Rix will only do 4000 PSI, so he is recommending a rebuild.

Really really tempting, I just don't get out enough to justify the purchase

Link? Could be the PMC is just set to 4K.... odd that the compressor itself would stop working. The only way that I have read to test anything is to put interstage gauges and monitor what's going on (as seen in my pictures). There's a chart in the manual that describes what to look for and what to do if it's not working as it should.

4k is good... for $1500 that's a pretty good deal. Depends on what revision it is though?

 

[JohnN]

So my Rix was bought from a guy who had bought a lot of 10 from the military. He was fairly reasonable and just trying to make his money back and keep 5 for his slavage company.

I attached the best pictures I have of my fan blade.



Link? Could be the PMC is just set to 4K.... odd that the compressor itself would stop working. The only way that I have read to test anything is to put interstage gauges and monitor what's going on (as seen in my pictures). There's a chart in the manual that describes what to look for and what to do if it's not working as it should.

4k is good... for $1500 that's a pretty good deal. Depends on what revision it is though?

Here you go. I've purchased from this seller before, he is straight up and honest to deal with

Rix SA 6 3 Phase Dive Compressor - sporting goods - by owner - sale

I picked this up with some other stuff and I don't have 3 phase. It was being run with a phase converter but it didn't come with it. I tested the fill rate and it was running at about 4cfm so...

portland.craigslist.org

 

[iain/hsm]

I'm more curious what a Rix would cost if all of the soft goods didn't have to go through the full inspection process for the military and costing about 40x what they would for a normal diver. I think if you remove the paper trail costs the Rix would be a quite reasonable pump but it's a shame we will never find out since they have no interest in offering it for sale in the USA. I would certainly buy a new one if it was at even remotely close to a reasonable cost but they told me the market was considered saturated with the old military pumps gone so they didn't see a point in producing them any more.

Two points. You want cheap you got cheap.
Most of your Rix compressors on this forum were purchased from ex government web sites by players who flipped them at four to five times the price to unsuspecting scuba divers who then had service issues expecting hours long conversations with Rix staff in teaching them how to change a piston ring and the like, then moaning like chuff that the price of a spares kit was more than the ex military scrap pump they bought off Ebay.

It wasted staff time it produced few dollars in sales and frankly any wonder management kicked it in the head?

From Rix Industries position the SA is dead. Now you need to realise that they also have no obligation to sell you any spares for what is in effect a government contracted build program. You were not and never were the customer. What I am amazed about is Rix's generosity to carry on still suppling spare parts for these ex military junkers that must be 20 or 30 years old. Albeit real and genuine commercial customers are exempt and for them retail spares are still available.

Any wonder what at any and all meetings to re build the SA range falls on deaf ears.

As you know in Europe were different and we have been building the SA under a different part number designate for military applications and specialist applications for the last what 20 years. These compressors also come up scrapped on Ebay and the like and in contrast we do not supply spares kits for any military project to the public.
I will give you another reason many years ago I had an officer of Trading Standard turn up at the door asking why we didn't have a CE mark on a compressor and as it was illegal to supply such in the UK I was a bit perplexed, Turns out it was a competitor unhappy about some clown selling compressors we built designed for the Sidewinder Missile on Ebay. We have Crown Immunity, problem solved.