I finally got around to installing an hour meter for my Omega Air Charger. Works great so far, however the mounting is temporary until I get a different bracket. I bought the hour meter from Amazon and went with an analog unit. I connected the hour meter to the terminal block inside the motor junction box (120VAC) so the meter will only spin if the motor is running.
Hour Meter
When I received my compressor I noticed a couple things that differed from the manual. First, the grease port on top is made from aluminum and brass instead the black/green plastic version shown in the manual. I asked AOA about this and they said the smaller metal grease reservoir is the latest version by Raptor Pneumatics however they didn't update the manual because it costs too much money to update the manual. You would think that when spending $1200 you would get a really good user manual but think again. I guess the grease port functions the same as the older version - turn top brass screw 1/3 turn every 6 hours? I topped off the grease reservoir prior to installing using the extra grease furnished with the kit, but the manual says nothing about doing an initial greasing so figured it must come pre-greased and ready to go.
The second thing I noticed was that my compressor didn't come with any purple ice for the cooling water. Again I talked to AOA about this and they said the purple ice isn't required and is no longer furnished with the compressors.
Overall the compressor seems to be working good so far. It's nice and quiet too, which allows me to run it in the basement with no complaints from the wife. Fit and finish will not blow you away for spending $1200, but hopefully it will function for many years to come. I decided on the Omega Air Charger over the Hill compressor for one reason and that was due to the fact that the Omega can fill my 66 CF tank, whereas the Hill cannot.
Hour Meter
When I received my compressor I noticed a couple things that differed from the manual. First, the grease port on top is made from aluminum and brass instead the black/green plastic version shown in the manual. I asked AOA about this and they said the smaller metal grease reservoir is the latest version by Raptor Pneumatics however they didn't update the manual because it costs too much money to update the manual. You would think that when spending $1200 you would get a really good user manual but think again. I guess the grease port functions the same as the older version - turn top brass screw 1/3 turn every 6 hours? I topped off the grease reservoir prior to installing using the extra grease furnished with the kit, but the manual says nothing about doing an initial greasing so figured it must come pre-greased and ready to go.
The second thing I noticed was that my compressor didn't come with any purple ice for the cooling water. Again I talked to AOA about this and they said the purple ice isn't required and is no longer furnished with the compressors.
Overall the compressor seems to be working good so far. It's nice and quiet too, which allows me to run it in the basement with no complaints from the wife. Fit and finish will not blow you away for spending $1200, but hopefully it will function for many years to come. I decided on the Omega Air Charger over the Hill compressor for one reason and that was due to the fact that the Omega can fill my 66 CF tank, whereas the Hill cannot.