I see a lot of debate about the value proposition of buying cheap Chinese compressors. Main complaints seem to be 1) lack of parts 2) lack of warranty and 3) they only last about 20 hours of run time.
I bought a $290 no name compressor from Alibaba about 4 months ago and I have filled my rifle 65 times with no problems. I figure if I can get 20 hours out of it at 6 minutes per fill and 60 shots per fill, then I'm shooting 12,000 pellets for about 2.5 cents each. If the pellets cost about 3.5 cents each, then I'm having a helluva lot of fun for 6 cents a shot. I'm pretty sure I've spent more money on much dumber things hobby-wise. If it dies somewhere around 20 hours, then I'll just toss it, buy another one and have no regrets. Sure, it's a bit of a gamble, but in my mind it's worth it - especially since it doesn't take up any space and I'm not very handy when it comes to maintaining a big compressor.
I bought a $290 no name compressor from Alibaba about 4 months ago and I have filled my rifle 65 times with no problems. I figure if I can get 20 hours out of it at 6 minutes per fill and 60 shots per fill, then I'm shooting 12,000 pellets for about 2.5 cents each. If the pellets cost about 3.5 cents each, then I'm having a helluva lot of fun for 6 cents a shot. I'm pretty sure I've spent more money on much dumber things hobby-wise. If it dies somewhere around 20 hours, then I'll just toss it, buy another one and have no regrets. Sure, it's a bit of a gamble, but in my mind it's worth it - especially since it doesn't take up any space and I'm not very handy when it comes to maintaining a big compressor.