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I’m going to put a fan on it and fill 2-3 tanks. I can only fill one at a time which is 35-40 minutes per tank. Do I even benefit if I put a manifold/ splitter to fill 3 at once? Also I want to fill nitrox. What is the best guide on here to follow for a stick?
the compressor prefers filling one at a time. The compressor has the same work load from 0 until you hit the PMV pressure *somewhere around 2000ish psi*. Once you get above the PMV pressure it has to start working harder which creates more heat, and the fill rates slow down a bit due to the heat and the compression. If you fill them all at the same time, then the compressor is working for a long time at the high pressures and doesn't ever really get a break. When you fill them one at a time, it goes up to the high work load then when you change tanks it drops back down to "cruise" pressure so it works a little less hard. Does it matter? Probably not in a home fill station, but it is technically better for the pump.
In terms of time though, cfm is cfm so there is no net time saved with a manifold and splitters. If you have a sufficiently large bank system, then the filling of the cylinders can be expedited, but you still have the same compressor time to refill the banks.
For nitrox, the sticks are pretty basic, I think there is a thread going on now about building a stick instead of buying a commercial one. They're pretty simple things though.