False economy of buying cheap and over accessorizing for performance

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How does the Nardi compare to the Alkin? A brand new Alkin is hundreds less, so what does this Nardi offer that the Alkin doesn’t? Just curious.

@ Intenseaty- I saw pictures of you earlier scuba diving as one of your hobbies, I think you were spear fishing. In that hobby, is it difficult find a used dive shop compressor for sale from any of your connections in that sport? I only ask, as I was on a divers forum that discussed the Alkin, and they were discussing Alkins bought second hand from Dive shops that upgraded to newer models or shops that closed their businesses down. Curious on that sport, as a source for picking up a used dive compressor.
 
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No, if they have a properly engineered setup wtih cooling lines, air movement across the cooling lines, and a condensate tower. However, there are some who like to go above and beyond and install Grade D breathable air filters for peace of mind. Most of the reports that I have observed have been 6+ months of use without any medium indicator changes which to me indicates there is not an excess of moisture making it to the filled tank.

I fill my tank upright and ensure that the filling line moves upright so that any potential condensate that would, if ever, collect along the cooled line it would drain back to the condensate tower instead of into the tank.

I have no additional filtration on my LC-110 into my 90 cu-in tank into my Brocock Commander and Brocock Concept Lite. I tend to be very risk averse so the latter statement is said for the purposes of my opinion and evidence collected not requiring additional boutique filtering solutions.
 
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How does the Nardi compare to the Alkin? A brand new Alkin is hundreds less, so what does this Nardi offer that the Alkin doesn’t? Just curious.

@ Intenseaty- I saw pictures of you earlier scuba diving as one of your hobbies, I think you were spear fishing. In that hobby, is it difficult find a used dive shop compressor for sale from any of your connections in that sport? I only ask, as I was on a divers forum that discussed the Alkin, and they were discussing Alkins bought second hand from Dive shops that upgraded to newer models or shops that closed their businesses down. Curious on that sport, as a source for picking up a used dive compressor.
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Personally, I don’t know the difference. I do know the Nardi is top of the line, Italian made. Comes as 220 electric or gas motor. 

While I did Scuba, emphasis on DID, I mostly went tankless, as in Free Diving. Never looked into my own compressor back then. I was young. Filling Scuba tanks was cheap & easy. Shop was 2 mins from home. Landlocked now, but, there are shops around here. May have to research it and see. 
 
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Last nights fill put my Yong Heng at 7.4 hours run time. I won't bore you with the math but after adding up the cost of the unit and filtration then dividing by the expense of a tank fill at the dive shop = My Yong Heng has already more than paid for itself. That for me is economical. Still plenty of life left in it. Of course I would not turn down an opportunity to own a high end compressor; just can't justify it for my situation.
 
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How does the Nardi compare to the Alkin? A brand new Alkin is hundreds less, so what does this Nardi offer that the Alkin doesn’t? Just curious.

@ Intenseaty- I saw pictures of you earlier scuba diving as one of your hobbies, I think you were spear fishing. In that hobby, is it difficult find a used dive shop compressor for sale from any of your connections in that sport? I only ask, as I was on a divers forum that discussed the Alkin, and they were discussing Alkins bought second hand from Dive shops that upgraded to newer models or shops that closed their businesses down. Curious on that sport, as a source for picking up a used dive compressor.
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Personally, I don’t know the difference. I do know the Nardi is top of the line, Italian made. Comes as 220 electric or gas motor. 

While I did Scuba, emphasis on DID, I mostly went tankless, as in Free Diving. Never looked into my own compressor back then. I was young. Filling Scuba tanks was cheap & easy. Shop was 2 mins from home. Landlocked now, but, there are shops around here. May have to research it and see.
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The two biggest differences between Nardi and Alkin are total unit weight and motor rpms. The Nardi unit weighs less than 100 lbs. but the motor rpms are more than double the Alkin. An Alkin W31 weighs 150 lbs. but 1100 rpms and lower decibel rating than Nardi. Portability vs. less heat and lower rpms to achieve equivalent fill rate. The Alkin retails for $800 less than the Nardi. So pick your preference.
 
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I try to avoid the over accessorizing bug. There's only so much lipstick you can put on a pig. My philosophy on cheap versus much better tools is simple. If I'm going to use it a lot then I'll buy the "better" tool. Thinking back on some of my tool purchases over the years, I usually start out buying cheap first but not in all cases. My Yong Heng plus gold filter setup has served me well for over a year. However, the setup and tear-down time was getting to be a real chore the more I use it. My opinion of the YH compressor is that it's design is sort of a work in process deal. 

I ended up buying one of the Coltri MCH-6 compressors that recently went on sale. It's supposed to be at a nearby freight terminal on Monday. My plan is to weld together a steel mobile pallet to make the setup and use stress free. Going forward the YH will be my backup. 
 
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The thing that surprised me the most with the Alkin, was being able to turn it back on while still fully pressurized. The guy I bought it from did a start up and “how to use” demo for me while topping off my tank from 3200 to 4500. He shut it off cause he thought the gage on the Alkin said 4500, but due to his line of sight at an angle it was really only at 4300 psi. I told him he shut it off too soon, and he says no biggie and went for the on switch. I tried to stop him and too late, he flipped it back on and that thing didn’t even stutter, shake, cough, etc. it kept on purring on like it was never shut off.



That move right there would have been the demise for most of the Yong Hengs, Air Venturies, and even my Lightning compressor, but these Lightning’s have a fail safe that protects it should one ever do that. 

I personally still don’t plan on restarting any pressurized compressor no matter how big and bad @$$ it is. I’m gonna purge it of all air and just start over.
 
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I have restarted my MAXX lots of times with out depressurizing. Never been a problem. I get home at lunch and run it for the hour. Turn it and the compressor off. Come home after work and finish filling my tank. I do turn the tanks valve off incase of a leak. Hate loosing a partially filled tank. But don’t purge the lines. Probably isn’t good for it. But after 4 years and as many tanks I have filled, I won’t change my ways. 
 
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It’s been a long time, so I may be wrong. But I think the MAX was out first. You had a choice of 3000 or a 4500 fill pressure. It takes about 85 or 90 psi input. Spring shut off switch. Very noisy! Came as a chain drive, no fan and softer pistons. Sold for $650. I got mine for $550 with upgraded, fan, belt drive and hardened pistons. Then came the F8. Other then a air/electric shut-off switch and all the other updates like fan. Hardened pistons and belt drive, not sure why it had a $999 price tag. I really can not see a lot of difference between my F10 and MAXX. Other then having a pressure switch shut-off and using a 125 psi input. Must be something as it fills twice as fast. Dumb, but I like listening to the sewing machine sound as the MAXX fills. 
 
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Just buy a yong Heng and a gold filter. That's all you need. For less than $300. You got a compressor that will last 2-3 years of used. So idk wat you point is. Maybe there is one guy out there who buys a yong Heng and put $3000 worth of filters and coolings. But the majority of us don't need to spend thousands of dollars to get into pcp. I see you trying to make people buy a $2000-4000 compressor. But not many of us have that kind of money. Money don't grow on trees. If you can donate $2500 to my PayPal account sure I'll go buy one of them expensive compressor. A yong Heng with a gold filter will serve you will for years to come if you take care of it.
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Where did you get a Yong Heng for $200? I have been looking for days and with shipping all come to north of 300. Add the gold filter, adapt that with some microsieve and you are now 450+. Unless I'm looking in the wrong places?
 
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Joer, was the compressor you received a Yong Heng branded unit? I ask because only one of the pictures in the provided link shows "Yong Heng" printed on the output side of the unit.
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Yes it was. It has Yong Heng painted on the side. I also noted the lack of a lack of "Yong Heng" labels in some of the pictures Reviews were all good. This dealer is located in China but ships out of California. The only issue is it is out of stock now.
 
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