There seems to be some confusion on how to maintain GX compressors. I get that some folks don't want to mess with maintenance and run them til they fail, and get another. There's nothing wrong with that if you accept that anything mechanical will eventually break, and unmaintained will break sooner. That's anyone's choice, and for ~$200 for a CS2, it's not a big deal.
But for those who want them to last, here's a few pointers.
I have three CS2 compressors, I helped my neighbor get a CS3, and I got two other friends CS2's, so I help all of them care for them. Some of them are HARD on them, some are careful, but all have lasted at least a year, and some longer.
Every so often, for me every 6 months or so, I take mine apart and clean and relube them, check for damage and overheating and so forth.
I take the head off and check the reed valve in the top, it will tell a lot about the condition of the compression parts. Take it apart and clean it very well, leave it dry. Pull the wrist pin and then pull the piston. Check all the seals and poly bearing rings for overheat and damage. Clean everything up carefully and fill the large open ring on the piston with grease (Renewable Lubricants EP food grade), Check the rings/seals on both ends of the piston. If you don't run your compressor for long fill sessions, it's likely these are fine. Any black, hard buildup means they need replaced. Parts are easily found at GX online or Target Forge. Clean the bores of both stages and take the bottom check valve block apart and clean it well. Lube the piston lightly and lube the walls of the cylinder LIGHTLY. You DO NOT want a lot of grease above the piston, as this will turn to crud and damage the system. A faint smear is all that's needed. I see online guys putting a big gob in the cylinder above the piston, and this just gums up the reed and check valves. Check the connecting rod and it's bearings, clean thoroughly and relube with something like a chassis grease. These are roller bearings, so it's questionable to use moly grease on them. I'd stick with a good litium grease on them. Put everything back together and run it for a couple seconds with the inlet and outlet open to distribute the lube and you're ready to go.
As far as the gearbox, I'd say it depends on the useage. For me I'm going to open mine for the first time, sometime this winter, and clean it out good and relube it. The grease in there is quite tacky and should be good for a long run, but after ... say two years, it needs looked at, possibly sooner, your call. Don't get all in a twist on which grease is best or not. These are not moving fast, or even under a lot of load as grease situations go, so on the gearbox, I'm thinking Lucas Red N Tacky would be excellent. On these straight gears, a moly grease is good, but I'm not sure it offers any real tangible benefit.
One other thing, while you have it apart, check the electrical connections, especially at the on/off breaker. One of mine had some pretty questionable connections, so I took it all apart and put on spades and used them for the clamp fitting to the breaker, a much better fix. It worked as it was, it just looked wonky.
So far, with this maintenance procedure, I've had all five compressors running for:
one just over a year now.
one for just over two years
one for probably 2-1/2 years
and my three are all around 3 years old now.
These are estimates, I don't keep records on them. I don't remember replacing a single part on any of them yet. Just clean, relube and go.
Also, I now only pump nitrogen through mine, so moisture is not a concern.
But, if you pump air, consider moisture abatement a real issue. There are many levels of concern. Open you airguns once in a while and see if there's any evidence of moisture. It only takes like 5 minutes to open an FX cf cylinder and have a look. Keep your fill line below the rifle when filling, to keep liquid moisture from rising into the gun, This is the minimum I would do, and then only if inspecting the rifles, they showed no signs of moisture.
If you do find moisture problems, then filters are your friend. Anything that holds up air flow will also hold up moisture to some minor degree, and the fact that you're using dessicant will help some too. In the end, it's inspecting the guns that will help you decide how far you need to go to abate moisture.There are many good threads on moisture filters and how to use them.
This whole rebuild sequence will take less than an hour for anyone even mildly mechanical. I usually pull the head every couple months and have a look and that gives me an idea when I need to dig deeper. That little inspection takes like five minutes. These compressors are pretty robust and with proper maintenance should last a long time. Proper use, ie short runs to fill guns, and proper care will reap many years of use before having to replace anyting.
But for those who want them to last, here's a few pointers.
I have three CS2 compressors, I helped my neighbor get a CS3, and I got two other friends CS2's, so I help all of them care for them. Some of them are HARD on them, some are careful, but all have lasted at least a year, and some longer.
Every so often, for me every 6 months or so, I take mine apart and clean and relube them, check for damage and overheating and so forth.
I take the head off and check the reed valve in the top, it will tell a lot about the condition of the compression parts. Take it apart and clean it very well, leave it dry. Pull the wrist pin and then pull the piston. Check all the seals and poly bearing rings for overheat and damage. Clean everything up carefully and fill the large open ring on the piston with grease (Renewable Lubricants EP food grade), Check the rings/seals on both ends of the piston. If you don't run your compressor for long fill sessions, it's likely these are fine. Any black, hard buildup means they need replaced. Parts are easily found at GX online or Target Forge. Clean the bores of both stages and take the bottom check valve block apart and clean it well. Lube the piston lightly and lube the walls of the cylinder LIGHTLY. You DO NOT want a lot of grease above the piston, as this will turn to crud and damage the system. A faint smear is all that's needed. I see online guys putting a big gob in the cylinder above the piston, and this just gums up the reed and check valves. Check the connecting rod and it's bearings, clean thoroughly and relube with something like a chassis grease. These are roller bearings, so it's questionable to use moly grease on them. I'd stick with a good litium grease on them. Put everything back together and run it for a couple seconds with the inlet and outlet open to distribute the lube and you're ready to go.
As far as the gearbox, I'd say it depends on the useage. For me I'm going to open mine for the first time, sometime this winter, and clean it out good and relube it. The grease in there is quite tacky and should be good for a long run, but after ... say two years, it needs looked at, possibly sooner, your call. Don't get all in a twist on which grease is best or not. These are not moving fast, or even under a lot of load as grease situations go, so on the gearbox, I'm thinking Lucas Red N Tacky would be excellent. On these straight gears, a moly grease is good, but I'm not sure it offers any real tangible benefit.
One other thing, while you have it apart, check the electrical connections, especially at the on/off breaker. One of mine had some pretty questionable connections, so I took it all apart and put on spades and used them for the clamp fitting to the breaker, a much better fix. It worked as it was, it just looked wonky.
So far, with this maintenance procedure, I've had all five compressors running for:
one just over a year now.
one for just over two years
one for probably 2-1/2 years
and my three are all around 3 years old now.
These are estimates, I don't keep records on them. I don't remember replacing a single part on any of them yet. Just clean, relube and go.
Also, I now only pump nitrogen through mine, so moisture is not a concern.
But, if you pump air, consider moisture abatement a real issue. There are many levels of concern. Open you airguns once in a while and see if there's any evidence of moisture. It only takes like 5 minutes to open an FX cf cylinder and have a look. Keep your fill line below the rifle when filling, to keep liquid moisture from rising into the gun, This is the minimum I would do, and then only if inspecting the rifles, they showed no signs of moisture.
If you do find moisture problems, then filters are your friend. Anything that holds up air flow will also hold up moisture to some minor degree, and the fact that you're using dessicant will help some too. In the end, it's inspecting the guns that will help you decide how far you need to go to abate moisture.There are many good threads on moisture filters and how to use them.
This whole rebuild sequence will take less than an hour for anyone even mildly mechanical. I usually pull the head every couple months and have a look and that gives me an idea when I need to dig deeper. That little inspection takes like five minutes. These compressors are pretty robust and with proper maintenance should last a long time. Proper use, ie short runs to fill guns, and proper care will reap many years of use before having to replace anyting.
