Please help me pick a complete compressor setup

BenelliSBE said:

I am totally new to the PCP game and am in the process of buying a FX Dreamline in .22. I think I will very likely add a few more rifles in the future, but I do not anticipate anything larger than .25. Thus, here are my criteria:

1) Ability to fill multiple rifles in a reasonable amount of time. 5-10 minutes per rifle seems reasonable but 15 minutes + seems like a pain.
2) Option to fill portable tanks so I can refill without the compressor in the field.
3) $1,000 or less for compressor and accessories (not including portable tank).
4) Not require a significant amount of maintenance.
5) New or extremely well maintained.
6) Needs to last for years of providing air for 3-5 rifles.

NB: I do not think I care about portability too much given that I want to go the portable tank route.

What are your recommendations? Does air or water cooling matter? Also, are there any accessories I need to consider? For example, I see some discussion of putting something on the intake to dry out the air.

Are there any deals in the portable tank world? It looks like many portable tanks are several hundred dollars.

Ideally, I would like to have the compressor, a portable tank, and whatever accessories I need for under $1,000 mark, but that may not be possible.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

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I would 1000% recommend a expired scba tank off ebay and a tuxing double cylinder compressor they run around 400$ there pretty reliable and very easy to work on and tons of parts available.

Benelli,
Recommend search, "Yong Heng," in archives, upper right page corner, use, "Biohazardman," in member search box. Many questions will be answered. You can also search same using, "WorriedMan," in member search box, I'm sure a picture of my setup is there. Bring back follow-up questions if this meets your criteria. Best of Luck, WM

BenelliSBE said:

Looks interesting. I am still reading through those materials, but it my initial impression is that although the Yong Heng is a good deal, the compressor requires quite a bit of TLC.

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I appreciate TLC for all my tools, prefer to extend service life as much as possible. Don't consider filling bucket with water, adding ice bottles and water pump a big deal but others feel asking too much. The GX-CS series compressor costs more and takes longer to fill but no water bucket. WM

Don't mess about look for a Hills EC3000 or EC310 EVO 500cc from empty in about 5 minutes all the spares are available, designed and Built in the UK with locally built parts.

The CX-4 is a nice shoebox compressor. Capable of topping off a great white tank in 45 min.

Kevgun said:

Don't mess about look for a Hills EC3000 or EC310 EVO 500cc from empty in about 5 minutes all the spares are available, designed and Built in the UK with locally built parts.

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Search, "EC-3000," using, "Biohazardman," in member search box if seriously considering this compressor. WM

BenelliSBE said:

OK, I refined my views a bit. I am focused on being able to fill up rifles and some portable bottles--no scuba sized tanks.

Also I think I want a self contained unit--no separate cooling components etc. although I am willing to add something in line to gather moisture.

These are options I am considering:

1) Air Venturi Rov Air $499
2) Air Venturi Nomad III $799
3) Benjamin Traveler $579
4) GX CS4 $519
5) GX CS4i $649
6) Spritech $249
7) Omega Trail Charger $839
8) Something else?

Anything on that list I should avoid or gravitate towards? Bonus points if you explain why.

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I 100000% recommend the tuxing double cylinder compressor

anonymous_.457 said:

I 100000% recommend the tuxing double cylinder compressor

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Please don't. I have 3 of them in my facility right now. 1 txedt032 (my original) that has a bizarre check valve issue and tuxing keep sending wrong parts, txedt031 brand new and over heating, and another one a friend brought that uses a bucket (runs well but slower than it's supposed to, burned up the switch).

Sergey1972 said:

Please don't. I have 3 of them in my facility right now. 1 txedt032 (my original) that has a bizarre check valve issue and tuxing keep sending wrong parts, txedt031 brand new and over heating, and another one a friend brought that uses a bucket (runs well but slower than it's supposed to, burned up the switch).

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Well I'm redneck so I don't worry about stuff breaking I'll just fix it... and I order the parts myself

anonymous_.457 said:

Well I'm redneck so I don't worry about stuff breaking I'll just fix it... and I order the parts myself

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Yes and thats what I'm doing. That isn't what the OP wants. I order the correct parts and they send wrong ones claiming it's an upgraded design. I'm just going to remachine. The bucket style is here from a friend for repair. The txedt031 is a brand new purchase.

Sergey1972 said:

Yes and thats what I'm doing. That isn't what the OP wants. I order the correct parts and they send wrong ones claiming it's an upgraded design. I'm just going to remachine. The bucket style is here from a friend for repair. The txedt031 is a brand new purchase.

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Cool.

I don't have a problem with the small self contained compressors but I think you should look at the Wattage they pull to get a realistic idea of how much air they are going to put out. Most are no bigger than 350W. I realize setting up a bucket of cooling water can be a hassle depending on your space considerations but the reason a YH fills so much faster and can fill a bottle quite easily is the motor is either 1500 or 1800 watts (can't remember). In any event it is several times larger. That is what you give up with the smaller self contained compressors. But if you don't have space to leave everything all set up ready to go (like I have) I can see why a YH might not be attractive. If the units you are looking at are self contained with a motor similar to the YH I would be worried about whether they can run long enough to fill a bottle without overheating.

I do virtually no maintenance on my YH. I bought it in early April of 2021. I have used Nuvair oil in it since day one and I change it once a year. My bucket is setup where I can close it and it sits there ready to go. So I can just walk up and use it. But I have a space where I can do this. If you do not, I understand that would be significant. I fill a 45 minute SCBA tank one or two times a month. Takes 20-30 minutes depending on how low I let it go before filling. It is always around 3000 psi. 3200 or 3300 makes some difference versus 2900 psi left in the bottle. It is always full to 300 bar in one run.

I bought an expired firemans tanks off ebay about the time I got the YH. I had a bad experience with an inexpensive fill set to I went to Joe Brancatto and got one from him. Much more expensive but it works great. I have seen only good reviews of the "Stickman" fill set. Used versus new tanks is kind of a religion type thing. Many are concerned about safety. Many of us are using expired tanks without issues. A good fill set costs about $200 last I looked and an expired tank is still around $100 I think.

If you only fill guns you may not need extra filtration and I would only put it on the compressor outlet, not on the inlet. The moisture issue is that air can carry a lot more moisture (humidity) at atmospheric (1 bar) pressure than it can hold at 300 bar. So the compressor is going to generate some moisture. I vent my YH every 5 minutes of run time to let the moisture excape. But I also have an extra filter filled with color changing dessicant so I know when it needs to be changed. It can go a bunch of bottle fills without needing changed. I have filled a gun with just the YH stock filter and I will probably do it again. If I work on a gun and have to drain all the air I don't like filling it from the bottle as much because it uses up a lot of air. I have a one way valve on the outlet of the second filter so I would have to remove that to fill the gun with that filter in the system. My recent gun fill did not generate moisture I could detect in the filter. I am sure it had some but it was not saturated so I think it was still doing its job.

I like the one way valve because if you loose an O-ring in a filter or something with the valve you will not loose what is in your tank. It also allows you to open the tank immediately upon starting the compressor and will not allow the bottle to throw pressure against the YH before it's ready for it. Only the O-ring benefit would be applicable if you just fill guns.

I am rambling, I hope that is not confusing but the other point I would make is a YH needs some help with cooling to fill bottles in a single run. That can be ice in the cooling water or a radiator and fans like I use. These things are not expensive but having to either set up a bucket with a bunch of ice in it or find the space for a radiator and fans could be an issue.

I've been in the PCP world for 14ish years. I have a large tank and that was all I had to refill. So I was somewhat limited. Especially buying any 4,000+ PSI gun like an Edgun. Now since I got back into it I was surprised on the options for compressors.

I am looking for something similar. A small bottle and a compressor for under $1,000. I bought a GX Cs4 for $540 shipped. A good guppy bottle and fill setup is around $450 totaling $990. I did not get the guppy yet, gonna wait on that for a bit. But you can get a GX Cs3 for under $400 delivered. It is air cooled where the GX Cs4 is water cooled.

I'm really happy with these advancements. I can now get a 4,500 PSI gun with little worries about refilling it!

The GX series is a much better design for an inexpensive compressor to reduce heat and wear, IMO! It separates the high and low pressure areas of the compressor pistons, has separate, effective cooking fans for each section, is easy to maintain and has actual roller bearings to reduce wear on the main drive to the pressure pistons.
It runs/fills a little slower than some others ( which also reduce heat/wear)but still tops off a tank in a reasonable time.
As I’ve said before, get a separate tank if time is critical for you. If not, the GX’s work great!

The gx cs4 is 4 stages with forced grease lubrication and cooling. The tuxing twin and yong heng are 2 stage. Txedt031 has undersized cooling. Just ordered cx4-i for a friend. Runs great, quiet and no rattle or vibtation.

Got my first set up and happy with it. It's a GX CS4, it comes with a 12volt power converter and is water cooled . It is capable of running for many hours to fill a completely empty 6.8L carbon fiber tank which I think took less than 3 hours. When topping off the tank from 200 bar back up to 300 it takes about 25 to 30 minutes.