Wondering if there is a consensus about a budget compressor that is reliable but doesn't break the bank. Any suggestions?
Good compressor under $700
- Thread starter muradtexas
- Start date
Search "Yong Heng," and, "GX-CS Series" in archives, consensus on those. GX-CS series still awaiting long-term results but seems good so far. Many Yong Heng clones around but general positive results with authentic product. WM
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As said, it's kind of a toss up between Yong Heng & GSX4. I've had years of good service from my Yong Hengs but I only fill (top off) tanks, never filled guns (which they'd easily do). GSX4 hasn't been around long enough to get a longevity report but owners seem satisfied. For BOTH compressors, how they're treated by owners has a lot to do with longevity & efficiency of service. Don't ask them to do what they're not designed to do or constantly push them to their stated limits & they should be perfectly sufficient. Overheating is probably the main thing that kills either one.
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Agreed. My Little Vevor is said to be able to get to 90 C But I never let it get above 50. If it takes 3 fills for My empty Gun then so be it. Top offs rarely get to 43.
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My Yong Heng is at about 3.5 years old and still going strong. I use it to fill a 45 minute SCBA tank once or twice a month. I have used Nuvair lubricant since day one and I also added a small computer radiator with fans fairly early. I can fill my tank from ~3200 to an indicated 300 bar (really a bit less when it cools) in about 20 minutes without going over 62 C. If I use ice in the summer I can stay under 60 C. I had to replace one O-ring once. I've proven I can run it and it's extras off a big Milwaukee power supply so I guess I could transport it to a range and use it there but I probably never will. Maybe if I get it more self contained like the one at Target Forge. Basically it sits in my utility room all set up and ready until I want to fill the tank. It could also fill a gun directly of course but I do not.
Drawbacks are it is noisy and needs some space for the compressor and it's coolant tanks and in my case fans to help it stay cool. It also needs an extra moisture filter in my opinion. None of the extras adds much cost but you need to budget $100-200 for extras in my opinion. I don't have a GX-CS4 but I think it is quieter and much more easily portable and also more self contained. The downside is it isn't nearly as powerful so it will not fill anything as quickly as a Yong Heng. Plus we do not really have years of experience on it's longevity.
Very different compressors but they seem like the most popular lower priced choices right now.
Drawbacks are it is noisy and needs some space for the compressor and it's coolant tanks and in my case fans to help it stay cool. It also needs an extra moisture filter in my opinion. None of the extras adds much cost but you need to budget $100-200 for extras in my opinion. I don't have a GX-CS4 but I think it is quieter and much more easily portable and also more self contained. The downside is it isn't nearly as powerful so it will not fill anything as quickly as a Yong Heng. Plus we do not really have years of experience on it's longevity.
Very different compressors but they seem like the most popular lower priced choices right now.
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I forgot to add, no matter your decision, an extended warranty is well worth the price. I got a FULL refund when my 1st compressor died at 3.5 years!
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I believe that it's length of run time, vs allowing it time to cool off? Kinda like when I ran heavy equipment. We never worked it really hard and then just shut it down. We always gave it 5 mins of idling first. Thats how I run mine anyway. YMMV
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It's the run time and the adiabatic heating (compressing of air creates heat) of the high pressure cylinder. That's why doing all you can to keep things cool is essential. These are "economy" compressors so we try to be gentle & baby them. For me, 20 minutes MAX run time (IF I even need that to top off) & a 15 minute cool off before running again works well. I turn off compressor after draining pressure but let fans & water continue to run. I also never push past 4250-4300psi with mine. The extra couple hundred lbs of pressure isn't worth straining the equipment.
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My Yong Heng jumps up over 50 C on the head temperature within the first 5 minutes of running. The tank is still below 3500 psi at that point. It slows noticably once it gets into the upper 50s and plateaus around 60 C. If I run the tank down under 3000 it has to run longer to refill it but still won't get hotter than 62C (without ice, 60 with two pop bottles of ice).
The compressing of the air heats up the head of the compressor. The fan on the motor/first stage and the radiator on the second stage water remove heat. The temperature will plateau if you have enough cooling. If you do not, it will keep going up to a level I did not want to get to.
I'm not sure what would represent "running hard" on these compressors. I fill my tank to an indicated 300 bar almost every fill. I know the air is a little warm and it will fall under 300 when it cools. But it stays well over 250 bar. But with a few gun fills I am back down around 250 bar. My favorite guns will take 250 bar so I like to be able to fully fill them at least a few times. My theory is that it is not how long it runs, it is how hot did it get. Oil does not work as well when it gets really hot leading to more wear and other potential damage. I guess prolonged running at high temperature is probably worse for the compressor too but if I need to run my compressor for half an hour to fill a bottle I would do it. I probably would not go beyond that. I'd let it cool off and finish.
The compressing of the air heats up the head of the compressor. The fan on the motor/first stage and the radiator on the second stage water remove heat. The temperature will plateau if you have enough cooling. If you do not, it will keep going up to a level I did not want to get to.
I'm not sure what would represent "running hard" on these compressors. I fill my tank to an indicated 300 bar almost every fill. I know the air is a little warm and it will fall under 300 when it cools. But it stays well over 250 bar. But with a few gun fills I am back down around 250 bar. My favorite guns will take 250 bar so I like to be able to fully fill them at least a few times. My theory is that it is not how long it runs, it is how hot did it get. Oil does not work as well when it gets really hot leading to more wear and other potential damage. I guess prolonged running at high temperature is probably worse for the compressor too but if I need to run my compressor for half an hour to fill a bottle I would do it. I probably would not go beyond that. I'd let it cool off and finish.
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How long does that usually take you to fill it to 300BAR? I pump with a hand pump, and it's not hard at all for me. The only pain in my @$$ is stopping every 25 strokes to cool off the pump. Takes me about half an hour to fill my Uragan to 300 BAR. If I didn't worry about overheating the pump, I could probably do it in 10.
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I’ve been happy with my GX L3 compressor. Having chargeable batteries as your power source is the way to go in my opinion.
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Very happy with my gx cs2 going on a year use it almost daily I do pull the head off and relube the cylinder with superlube grease maybe once a month super quick and easy I’m just anal about maintaining things
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I just got into the pcp world not long ago and buying my 1st compressor to fill the gun and also a 2L tank for.out in the field
I ended up with a Yong heng
Ran it and it did good just heats up
So I went a step.further and added some cooling to it and it works very well
I only run it for 1/2 hr at a time
Biggest thing I see is heat
I just got a Gx cs4 off Ali ex
419.00 delivered
It's supposed to have a run time of 5 hrs also ac/DC so it's portable. Also watercooled
Used 2 times once to.fill my 2L tank and also to fill my huban
Very quiet
To new to the market for longevity
I'd say either onewill.do justice
I ended up with a Yong heng
Ran it and it did good just heats up
So I went a step.further and added some cooling to it and it works very well
I only run it for 1/2 hr at a time
Biggest thing I see is heat
I just got a Gx cs4 off Ali ex
419.00 delivered
It's supposed to have a run time of 5 hrs also ac/DC so it's portable. Also watercooled
Used 2 times once to.fill my 2L tank and also to fill my huban
Very quiet
To new to the market for longevity
I'd say either onewill.do justice
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No Question two cylinder Tuxing for the price you stated. The yong heng , GX2 compressors are budget compressors.
they are both good compressors for what they are, (budget) simple as that. The two cylinder compressors are heads
above the single cylinder compressors. That is why everyone does all these mods, to keep them cool ect. If you were
on a smaller budget these budget compressors will get you by but the price range you stated The two cylinder Tuxing
are affordable for your price range. https://www.amazon.com/TUXING-Compr...1&psc=1&mcid=8a12c78dfd003d158726444208910a42
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No Question two cylinder Tuxing for the price you stated. The yong heng , GX2 compressors are budget compressors.
they are both good compressors for what they are, (budget) simple as that. The two cylinder compressors are heads
above the single cylinder compressors. That is why everyone does all these mods, to keep them cool ect. If you were
on a smaller budget these budget compressors will get you by but the price range you stated The two cylinder Tuxing
are affordable for your price range.
This guy?
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