Altaros Booster arrived 5 Star !

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I finally got an scba & fill unit ( another $365.00 for a 3-1/2yr old tank & fillunit) and fired up the booster.
Works like a champ! 3 Miles from the CA border making your own air is all there is but even if I was still in TN I would have this unit as I was paying $12.00 per top off-
they only filled to 3,000psi- and it was right at 100 mile R/T.

I know many want actual fill rate times and that I still don't have as I,
had a slight leak on the fill adaptor at first ( my fault as I'm used to "hand tight" and this needed a good snug.
I would also mention as I read it elsewhere that you NEED to crank down on the little Black foster on the end of the booster hose. Do NOT do this! It seals with an o-ring that is a bit hard to see ( bi-focal's here), finger tight and there should be no leak ( note SOFT aluminum part).

I like the "auto bleed" (?) on the moisture trap. But DO note that it only open below 20psi , closer to 10 perhaps. So from time to time I turned the reg on the hotdog compressor down to zero and cracked it on and off a few times during filling. Haven't looked at the desiccant filter yet but will after a bit more use.

As I went cheap on the compressor ( Husky Hotdog ) and I read elsewhere ( again ) such a small unit will not work, well, with this unit.
Wrong.
The ( pardon if I get the wording incorrect) air volume limiter screw just inside the booster box alows huge volume adjustment.
Depending on how far in/out it is screwed I could get a duty cycle ( comp. on, comp. off eh?) of 2 min. on, 2 min. off at 85psi.
Or I could push the comp. cycle to 2min. on , 50 second off, same psi input just the volume restrictor. Fun huh.

Once I got to 2,000psi I changed the input to 8bar, adjusted the volume screw slightly to maintain my 2 min. on two minutes off compressor cycle. Filled to 3,000psi at this rate.

At this setting it added 100psi into my 30min scba tank every 7 minutes. Perhaps those seeking math can figure that, I cant.

It seems to me if you have air volume this booster would fill FAST. But due to the engineering ( and that cool volume limiter ) just about ANY compressor that can get above 5bar should work just fine, it just wont be as fast, and as you control the duty cycle it shouldn't burn up ( the compressor that is).

Note, with the hotdog compressor you will need to NOT live in an apartment, have a spouse , .... noisy!!! The booster is nearly silent ( y'all wish you had any airgun that quite ).

This booster does work well and is to me an excellent value indeed.
Today I'll top off from 3,000 to 4,500 and try to time it as that will be much closer to my normal use than filling from empty.



John



 
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@Spysir..thanks for posting. I have a first generation Shoebox that suits my purpose but keeping an eye on the Altaros booster pump because of its smaller size, weight, portability, possible faster fill rate and less maintenance parts that can fail.

I also have a very loud shop compressor that is around 2 CFM and annoys me everytime it starts up. Been looking at this from California Air Tools after a tip here at AGN. It's reconditioned by the factory who makes them. The sound level is only 60db and it does push out 2.3CFM ay 90psi. It's heavier than my current shop compressor but still portable and the price is good compared to a new one (over $200) or to other similar brands. Free shipping.


California Air Tools 4610A-H Ultra Quiet, Oil-Free Compressor

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302043379345?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
 
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fe, great link! If I had seen that one before shopping local I'd have grabbed it, "used" looked scary but they do seem to be factory refurb w/some warranty, excellent price.

I had planned on topping off to 4,500 yesterday but forgot I had ordered it set to 220bar, and sure enough it was, I let it sit a bit to see if it would cycle back on after filled, and it did indeed click on briefly after about 15 minutes, not long enough to cycle compressor and just the one time. Perhaps today I will turn the pressure adjustment screw.


One SAFETY note, and THE only thing I do not like about the booster ( and it is a NON-issue for me but people should be aware of it ! ) is the bleed valve.
It vents out the TOP of the knob you must turn. 
IF a person was to say put the flat of their palm on top of the bleeder screw and open it with the flat palm of your hand you could get a 4,500psi embolism , NOT a good thing!

I had been venting using the bleeder on my fill unit and just hadn't noticed. I will ALWAYS use the bleeder on my fill unit NOT the altros bleeder.

It is very easy to use the altros bleeder, I did intentionally use it several times with just the line pressurized and no issues except a bit of a startle.
IF this is you only bleed ( maybe filling a rifle direct) "I" would recommend using think leather gloves OR BETTER grab it with a strap wrench.
IF this is a concern for anyone there are easy low cost ways to remedy this.


I do feel this is an outstanding unit, an excellent value for the money and a good example of having people test things for 2 years before release to make sure it works as it should and it does. I should have tried to grab the U.S. Distribution rights.


John

 
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 Finally found time to use the pressure shut off adjuster, it came set at 3200psi and filling from empty to 3,200 after the fill leaving it hook up it came back on after 15min to top off due to cooling.

Hook it all up 3,200psi in tank, adjuster where it came, nothing, good. Just touched adjusting screw and it fired up. When finished filling to 4,500psi ( which it did without a hitch running 2 min on 2 min. off on the compressor) I had moved the adjusting screw about 1 3/4 turns ( your results could be very different do use caution). 
So now it's all set for a 4,500psi fill and works like a charm.

This was money well spent for me!


John
 
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 I filled one bottle one time and DO intend to look into water filtration more.
The water trap on the altros does collect water ( I live at 49degrees North) and I stopped to bleed it every time I could see any formed in the collector/separator . I just dialed down the psi to 0 then hit it once or twice with up to 20psi and back to 8bar ish.
It does have another High psi side dryer , a metal cylinder perhaps an inch in dia. and 6 inch's long (?) and while I have not yet opened I to see what might be inside I di intend to do so before using it again & I'll take a picture and see , if it works, and or look for even better guts, or? I certainly DO plan on adding the dryer bead low pressure filters on the compressor intake and the between the comp. and the booster.
John
 
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I have had an Altros booster for over a year, the model in the metal box. My shop compressor easily maintains a feed pressure of 145 psi. The advantage to the one in the metal box is that it has an automatic shut off that is easily set. Altros also has a high pressure dryer for sale which works very well. My shop line has four additional dryers in the line. No matter what type of compressor you use the dryer the air the better. I have had zero problems so far with my Altros, changing desiccant is all the the maintenance you have to do. I fill two SCBA tanks about every two weeks. If I could make one caveat if you think your machine is filling too slowly check for a leaking connection anywhere you added a line before blaming the machine.
 
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Some folks have asked about fill times. If I don't have to change desiccant mid stream then filling an 88 cu. ft. tank from 2500 psi to 4500 psi takes around 3 hours. Cannot give you an exact time since I check the desiccant at 2 hours to see if I need to change it and I check again at the 3 hour mark and at that point it usually has already turned off and the tank is full.
 
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