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What version alkin did you purchase?

  • Auto

    Votes: 13 38.2%

  • Manual

    Votes: 21 61.8%
  • Total voters
    34
@archerhmr I’ll double check. I was reading over the long-term storage instructions a couple of days ago. Some of what you’re saying doesn’t look familiar which is why I asked. I could’ve have overlooked or read something incorrectly. What is the date on your manual? And which model do you have, gas or electric? I believe my manual was printed in May 2021.
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
My Alkin manual says to change the oil every year, not every 6 months, unless you hit the hour limit within a year.
Manual was printed in January 2020.
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@Chuck-in-Ohio If I remember correctly, mine says the same. Didn’t want to say anything because I don’t have access to the manual at the moment.
 
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The 2 hours a month thing is only applicable if you are storing your compressor without using it and HAVE NOT done the long term storage prep as recommended. That would be the misting of oil in the intake scenario. If you do not do that, THEN you are recommended to run the compressor twice a month to stir up the lube.

Long term storage according to Alkin is 6 months or more.
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
The 2 hours a month thing is only applicable if you are storing your compressor without using it and HAVE NOT done the long term storage prep as recommended. That would be the misting of oil in the intake scenario. If you do not do that, THEN you are recommended to run the compressor twice a month to stir up the lube.

Long term storage according to Alkin is 6 months or more.
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Let’s clear up some confusion here. Below are a couple of photos I have stored from the hard copy manual with a May 2021 date on it. These photos are of instructions in regards to long-term storage for the electric 220V Alkin W31 Mariner (vertical) compresor .
A3DFA7A7-382B-4A56-BA3A-7CFC92E895FF.jpeg

788EB8E6-2BF9-4EB0-9D54-8E8F8ABD93CB.jpeg

If you have information that is more current or different as it applies to other models, please post evidence and specify where the discrepancies are in the information. This has been a good thread so far. Let’s keep the confusion down so that it remains that way for others that will come looking for information behind us.
 
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@Chuck-in-Ohio I spoke with Aydin earlier. I’ll try to remember to bring this up when I speak with him again later in the week. I’d like to get some clarification so that we know what we’re supposed be doing at least for minimal maintenance. I realize the manuals have changed over time. I also think the company may depend upon discussions like this one to work out the rough spots in the manuals for these small units they sell us air-gunners compared to those huge industrial looking compressors they sell to other markets.
 
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Agreed.

I believe that the requirements may have changed on the newer units.
Due to what, I have no idea. Maybe new internal parts, or made of better material?

Yours is the newest manual date that I have seen, so I am betting on that version.

The Alkin download center is at the bottom of their web page.
May have to be on a tablet or lap top to see it though. Phone limitations may be preventing you from accessing it.
 
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@Chuck-in-Ohio I found the download center links through a search engine search. As for the variance in maintenance recommendations in these manuals, I also wonder if it’s due to some sort of improved design changes over the years. It would be good to sort out which information is good for what specific production model (year) and document it in this thread. As the market expands and more air-gunners buy these compressors, Alkin owners need to know exactly which models require what type of maintenance and when. For regular folks that aren’t tradesmen a lot of this compresor information (that may be common to tradesmen or people in the breathing air/dive industry) is foreign to them, myself included. @Humdinger stays on top of this sort of stuff. Hopefully he can chime in. That man is a wealth of knowledge on compressors.
 
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Humdinger is absolutely an authority on compressor lore, he helped me make a choice along with James D. They are responsible for me choosing Alkin.

It would be of great value if you could get an opinion or feedback from Aydin on the procedural change in the user manual over the years.
It may turn out to be that one should follow the manual that was issued with the model you purchased, but at least we would know that for fact instead of guessing or supposing.
We might all be doing it wrong Lol.

Thanks in advance for your effort!
 
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Ezana4CE said:
@Chuck-in-Ohio I spoke with Aydin earlier. I’ll try to remember to bring this up when I speak with him again later in the week. I’d like to get some clarification so that we know what we’re supposed be doing at least for minimal maintenance. I realize the manuals have changed over time. I also think the company may depend upon discussions like this one to work out the rough spots in the manuals for these small units they sell us air-gunners compared to those huge industrial looking compressors they sell to other markets.
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I spoke with Matt at Alkin this afternoon and told him about the discussion in this thread on maintenance, long term storage of the W31 Mariner, and differing instructions in the owners manuals over the years. Here what was communicated to me:
  • Use Anderol 755 synthetic compressor oil
  • Change oil every 100 hours or annually
  • Follow the recommendations in the 2021 owner’s manual even if you have an older compressor.
I was also told that some design improvements have been made on the W31 compressors over the years, but I didn’t ask the details of said improvements. If you have an older compressor and you’re in doubt about any of this, I encourage you to contact an Alkin representative and ask for clarification.
 
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Chuck-in-Ohio said:
Thanks for taking the time to look into things and for getting a definitive answer straight from the source.
Great info and much appreciated!
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No problem. It also appears that the 2018 owner’s manual is the most current digital version that they have uploaded. I was told to double check parts numbers in the 2018 digital owner’s manual against the numbers in the 2021 hard copy.
 
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