I am new to your gun hunting and I was just wanting to know what is the best affordable air compressor The cheaper ones versus the more expensive ones which one is worth it
First time air gun owner what is the best compressor
- Thread starter Llama
- Start date
Llama,
This topic is well covered in the AGN archives, suggest an "air compressor," search to determine your requirements and expectations. Searching "Yong Heng," "Vevor," "Tuxing," "GX CS Series," might also prove informational. Best of Luck, WM
This topic is well covered in the AGN archives, suggest an "air compressor," search to determine your requirements and expectations. Searching "Yong Heng," "Vevor," "Tuxing," "GX CS Series," might also prove informational. Best of Luck, WM
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Remember, You get what you pay for!. Buy bigger than you need. You won't grow down!
If you buy a portable compressor you may not need a bottle. It's fairly new , several of us are using the GX CS4.
No problems reported as of yet. No bottle then you can put the money into the compressor. I, personally, purchased the Tuxing 32 and the GX CS4. Wish I would have gone with the GX 1st!
If you buy a portable compressor you may not need a bottle. It's fairly new , several of us are using the GX CS4.
No problems reported as of yet. No bottle then you can put the money into the compressor. I, personally, purchased the Tuxing 32 and the GX CS4. Wish I would have gone with the GX 1st!
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@Llama There are many AGN threads in asking that same or very similar questions. Here’s is one using “affordable compressor” as keywords.
www.airgunnation.com
An Alkin is a top tier compressor, but will cost you $3500-$4000
What compressor to get
I am looking to get my first PCP and I live in a rural area that has limited access to fill stations. I think my best option is to get a compressor. Which one would you recommend for a beginner to pcps.
www.airgunnation.com An Alkin is a top tier compressor, but will cost you $3500-$4000
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It will depend on how much of what you are shooting.
It would help if we knew what you will be shooting and a general idea of how much you will be shooting it.
My wife and I can go through the better part of two 98 cf bottles in a weekend. Usually a little less.
That figure is for weekends when we are just shooting the small bore guns. Take one or more of the big bores out and all bets are off.
Try to assess how much air you will be needing then talk to someone who knows compressors and over size it by 30% or so. You will never regret spending the money for a good compressor.
It would help if we knew what you will be shooting and a general idea of how much you will be shooting it.
My wife and I can go through the better part of two 98 cf bottles in a weekend. Usually a little less.
That figure is for weekends when we are just shooting the small bore guns. Take one or more of the big bores out and all bets are off.
Try to assess how much air you will be needing then talk to someone who knows compressors and over size it by 30% or so. You will never regret spending the money for a good compressor.
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It also matters where you will shoot. I almost always shoot at home so my YH and 45 minute SCBA tank work well for me. I have no big bores and the tank alone works fine for the occasional trip to a range. If I shot a lot more at a range, I would probably want a GX CS2. I am pretty sure I would not like the wait for it to fill a gun, however. Bottles are near instant and the Yong Heng takes maybe 20% of the time a CS2 would take. YH is also quite noisy. I think the GX are much less so. GX can easily be stored. YH works best if you have a space you can leave it setup with the cooling water.
The GX CS4 looks interesting since it can fill a SCBA tank but it seems like it takes over an hour to do it. I can't imagine waiting that long. Otherwise it seems nice. An advantage of the GX line is Target Forge has parts and provides some support for them. There are less expensive brands but GX is pretty low in price and it isn't obvious where you would get parts for the less expensive ones. The GX CS2 is a little less powerful than the CS4 but it's also smaller, lighter, and less expensive. I think there is a role for little portable compressors AND bigger much less portable compressors. But you don't have to have both.
The GX CS4 looks interesting since it can fill a SCBA tank but it seems like it takes over an hour to do it. I can't imagine waiting that long. Otherwise it seems nice. An advantage of the GX line is Target Forge has parts and provides some support for them. There are less expensive brands but GX is pretty low in price and it isn't obvious where you would get parts for the less expensive ones. The GX CS2 is a little less powerful than the CS4 but it's also smaller, lighter, and less expensive. I think there is a role for little portable compressors AND bigger much less portable compressors. But you don't have to have both.
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GX CS4
I was just wondering where you guys are finding this bad boy as I am having a hard time locating one
I do have a range here at my house so I can shoot out to a couple hundred yards and the majority of the shooting will be done out hunting or going on a hunting trip
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Thank you so much for the info Yes it will be for a big bore in the majority of it will be hunting we'll be target shooting to start with to get all my dope figured out but after that it'll be straight hunting only
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It’s so refreshing to finally see one of these threads devoid of the words “Yong heng”. DO NOT BUY ONE!
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To answer the OPs question. THE BEST compressor is an Alkin W31.
There are other good ones, but the answer for best is easy.
There are other good ones, but the answer for best is easy.
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For hunting I don't understand why you need a compressor. My thirstiest PCP gives me about 40 shots on a fill. Will it be a multi-day trip? A full gun plus a few full magazines is enough for my day hunting trips. But if you want to be sure, a portable compressor probably makes the most sense. A full 45 minute tank gives me about 10 gun fills, however.
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For the pesting I do in my backyard, I never have worried about "shot count". However, I did recently purchase the Gx-CS4 compressor, but that is only because I can see the writing on the wall with my health. I can still hand pump, which I have always done since I got into PCPs. I just can't do it these days without getting winded and needing time to recover before I can shoot again.
Also, I NEVER shoot an airgun down to the limit. Even when I only had hand pumps, I would top off long before that. It was easier on me, the pump and kept my shot strings consistent with unregulated guns and I believe it also kept the regulated guns more consistent.
In any case, if you can afford it and justify it with your level/amount of shooting then get an Alkin or some other 3-10k$ compressor. If you are like me, then stick with a hand pump and only pump inside with the a/c keeping the humidity lower. Also buy one or more reliable hygrometers to be sure of the humidity level inside. NEVER PUMP OUTSIDE IN THE SUMMER!
Oh well, the medication is taking effect, so I should stop now...
All my best!
Kerry
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Unless you absolutely HAVE to have one NOW... just be patient. Whatever you are using to pump air now should do you for a while? Right?
Amazon and gxpumpofficial.com both list the CS4 as "Out Of Stock". Also, the lowest price, with the gxpumpofficial discount was $504 shipped.
I bought mine before that low, at $513 shipped.
Now, they are listed on Amazon and GXPUMPOFFICIAL.com at $649, but out of stock both places.
I would never have pulled the trigger at that price. So if you can get along with what you have for a while, just wait.
The price WILL go down again. So, if you have air now and a little patience, you may get an even better deal than most. (smile)
All my best!
Kerry
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Big bores are a whole different ball game. For me big bore starts @ 35 cal. My smallest big bore is a Rattler 357. Shooting 150-160 gr slugs I get 15 shots per fill. My 45 I get two shots per fill and the 20 gauge I get three shots.
You are right about hunting. You ain’t gonna shoot very many shots and a compressor will not be needed. But, if you have a range day that 98 cf bottle isn’t going to last very long.
My 3 big bores are recent additions to the herd. They finally pushed me over the edge to get a serious compressor to fill my big bottles. On a heavy range day I can use up both of my 98 cf bottles and get into my 75 cf bottle
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If your not filling a bottle and just filling a gun I would recommend the Ravair portable. I like the fact that it doesn't need water for cooling. It just uses built in fans. I have been using mine for about 5 months now and had o problems. It can plug in to 110volts or run off a 12v battery and is fairly light weight. Got mine from PA for $500. It has an adjustable automatic shutoff and can pump to 4500psi. Comes with a replaceable cartridge filter.
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My take, for what it's worth, (just what you paid, right?). Not to brag, but I could afford any compressor out there, what do I use?
I bought three or four GX compressors, and kept three of them, and sold one to my neighbor. I have a CS3 and two CS2, and my neighbor has a CS2. I've had them a bit over a year and use them almost daily. I only fill guns, no tanks, so they never run for more than 5 minutes normally. Once in a great while I'll fill a completely empty 480cc bottle gun, which takes maybe 10 min, or I'll do it in two sessions, which allows me to check for leaks while resting the compressor. I've had no failures, no damage, nothing. The only maintenance I've done is clean the check valve and regrease the upper cylinder, clean the hose once in a while, that's it.
You need a good filter to keep moisture in check, as you will be amazed how much it produces, even in a short session. I use a large one with replaceable cartridge filters from ebay on the outlet, and keep the fill line lower than the gun and all is well. You will still need to open the compressor outlet hose from time to time and clean the rust out, but it won't get to your gun if you use cotton filters, not a big deal. If you're careful, there's no reason to not use air, but be vigilant of moisture and you'll be fine.
Now, as for me, what do I do? I feed my CS2 nitrogen from a 40 ft3 bottle, with a cotton filter to catch any debri, but nothing else. It's cheap enough, dry as you'll ever get and not a big deal to setup. If you look around you can find CS2 pumps cheap, and really it's all I'd ever need. Parts are readily available online at GX pumps website, and I've ordered a few parts to keep on hand, even though I haven't used them yet, I got them in a couple days. My feeling is, I paid around $200 for the compressor, if you buy a N2 tank, that's another $200 for the lease, and <$20 per fill which lasts a long time. A decent regulator is less than $100. Total to use N2, maybe $400, still less than buying a $1200 compressor. AND if you go a different route later, the deposit on the N2 tank is like $200, so you get it back. Pretty cool!
If you compare the cost of N2 to air, equipment wise, then it's around a $100 for a good filter and cartidges. N2 is <$20 per fill and the deposit is returnable when you return the bottle. So buying filters is almost the same as buying N2 and no worries.
I bought three or four GX compressors, and kept three of them, and sold one to my neighbor. I have a CS3 and two CS2, and my neighbor has a CS2. I've had them a bit over a year and use them almost daily. I only fill guns, no tanks, so they never run for more than 5 minutes normally. Once in a great while I'll fill a completely empty 480cc bottle gun, which takes maybe 10 min, or I'll do it in two sessions, which allows me to check for leaks while resting the compressor. I've had no failures, no damage, nothing. The only maintenance I've done is clean the check valve and regrease the upper cylinder, clean the hose once in a while, that's it.
You need a good filter to keep moisture in check, as you will be amazed how much it produces, even in a short session. I use a large one with replaceable cartridge filters from ebay on the outlet, and keep the fill line lower than the gun and all is well. You will still need to open the compressor outlet hose from time to time and clean the rust out, but it won't get to your gun if you use cotton filters, not a big deal. If you're careful, there's no reason to not use air, but be vigilant of moisture and you'll be fine.
Now, as for me, what do I do? I feed my CS2 nitrogen from a 40 ft3 bottle, with a cotton filter to catch any debri, but nothing else. It's cheap enough, dry as you'll ever get and not a big deal to setup. If you look around you can find CS2 pumps cheap, and really it's all I'd ever need. Parts are readily available online at GX pumps website, and I've ordered a few parts to keep on hand, even though I haven't used them yet, I got them in a couple days. My feeling is, I paid around $200 for the compressor, if you buy a N2 tank, that's another $200 for the lease, and <$20 per fill which lasts a long time. A decent regulator is less than $100. Total to use N2, maybe $400, still less than buying a $1200 compressor. AND if you go a different route later, the deposit on the N2 tank is like $200, so you get it back. Pretty cool!
If you compare the cost of N2 to air, equipment wise, then it's around a $100 for a good filter and cartidges. N2 is <$20 per fill and the deposit is returnable when you return the bottle. So buying filters is almost the same as buying N2 and no worries.
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N2 isn’t affordable or available in many places in the US and abroad. I live in WV and have inquired at least 20 places in a 50 mile radius. They either laugh at me and won’t rent me a 6k, or say they don’t carry them. I did find one place an hour away that quoted me around $1200 for the setup, delivery, rental and one fill. Oh and the fills were $200 and the rental was $375/yr. If you can get it, great, but its affordability and availability varies from region to region.
If you’re just filling small gun resevoirs, great, buy a cheaper compressor, but if you are shooting big bores, you’re going to need a cylinder. You’re going to need a good, high quality, low maintenance compressor for that bulk air.
Buy once, cry once: Coltri, Bauer, Alkin. (No particular order, don’t get upset, they’re all top of the line!)
If you’re just filling small gun resevoirs, great, buy a cheaper compressor, but if you are shooting big bores, you’re going to need a cylinder. You’re going to need a good, high quality, low maintenance compressor for that bulk air.
Buy once, cry once: Coltri, Bauer, Alkin. (No particular order, don’t get upset, they’re all top of the line!)
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