The web presence does not give me a warm fuzzy, I googled them, and their web site does not seem to work very well, and you can't click on anything or see any info or pricing.
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Private Label Compressors
- Thread starter flpcp
- Start date
It was that way for the Alkins for the longest time as well. Made you feel like you were calling a car dealership and they can make up any price they wanted depending on how much they think you have. That's what stopped me from buying a Alkin. I got my bauer and in many ways I feel like I did better. Their dealer and service network is much better and should I ever want to sell it, Bauer has a bigger name when it comes to quality breathing air compressors than Alkin in that field.
Allen
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If I’d had the patience, I would have waited for a decent deal on a used Bauer, they IMO, are the standard. Living on the coast would make finding one a bit easier. I think their design is fantastic for airgunners, and you don’t see Alkins being cloned. That said, I love my Alkin! Looks like I’ll rack-up about 10 hours this year.
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$1500 Chinese junk compressors aren’t worth the hassle imo
If you can’t afford a Bauer or Aklin…or somthing in the commercial price range. Find a local FDR or dive shop that can fill your tanks. You’ll be money ahead. Most shops in my area are around $10 for a 90cf bottle….that’s going to fill ur bottle a lot more often than that Chinese compressor will before failing
If you can’t afford a Bauer or Aklin…or somthing in the commercial price range. Find a local FDR or dive shop that can fill your tanks. You’ll be money ahead. Most shops in my area are around $10 for a 90cf bottle….that’s going to fill ur bottle a lot more often than that Chinese compressor will before failing
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I've been a "buy once, cry once" kinda guy in the later years of my life... but over 4k made me re-think that a bit.
I'm new to the PCP game, and decided to dive in with somewhat high-end PCP (Maverick), and new Omega tank with the upgraded valve. I called around to Scuba shops in my area (before my tank purchase) to see my options, and found one willing to fill to 4500psi, and a second said ~4250psi. Long story short, it cost me $32 each time to top off the tank, sometimes it's "too cold" or "too rainy" to run the compressors, so they can't get to 4500 (still same price), and it's a 45min drive one-way - it's turned out to be a pain, and I'm searching for a way to provide my own air.
Looking at compressors, I just couldn't justify $4k plus. So, I started researching $1200-$2000 range thinking that I just need to "buy once, cry once". To my surprise they all look kinda similar, and all seem to be made in China (I get it, cost saving), and I don't really see parts available on mainstream sources. So, what are my service options? From what I can tell it would be either me begging for assistance on the forums to figure it out (and pray I could get parts), or if the seller is willing I gotta figure out how to ship an odd shaped 75lb item back and wait for repair or replacement. Heck, those options seem to be the same for the cheap compressors... although, because so many people on this forum have the YH, GX, etc... I feel better about my options of getting help if it goes down and I feel better if I have to ditch it and buy another... although, it's more likely that I get one that doesn't work.
I typed all that to say, I would be willing to spend in that $2k range if
I'm new to the PCP game, and decided to dive in with somewhat high-end PCP (Maverick), and new Omega tank with the upgraded valve. I called around to Scuba shops in my area (before my tank purchase) to see my options, and found one willing to fill to 4500psi, and a second said ~4250psi. Long story short, it cost me $32 each time to top off the tank, sometimes it's "too cold" or "too rainy" to run the compressors, so they can't get to 4500 (still same price), and it's a 45min drive one-way - it's turned out to be a pain, and I'm searching for a way to provide my own air.
Looking at compressors, I just couldn't justify $4k plus. So, I started researching $1200-$2000 range thinking that I just need to "buy once, cry once". To my surprise they all look kinda similar, and all seem to be made in China (I get it, cost saving), and I don't really see parts available on mainstream sources. So, what are my service options? From what I can tell it would be either me begging for assistance on the forums to figure it out (and pray I could get parts), or if the seller is willing I gotta figure out how to ship an odd shaped 75lb item back and wait for repair or replacement. Heck, those options seem to be the same for the cheap compressors... although, because so many people on this forum have the YH, GX, etc... I feel better about my options of getting help if it goes down and I feel better if I have to ditch it and buy another... although, it's more likely that I get one that doesn't work.
I typed all that to say, I would be willing to spend in that $2k range if
- the unit had good quality control. Nothing worse than getting something and on the first attempt it doesn't work.
- it was repairable with available parts and large "how-to" knowledge base.
- There was a company willing to stand behind the product, whether that be honoring warantee or helping with repair knowledge.
- it came with everything you need - so, you don't need to go to one vendor to buy special oil, another to buy desiccant filter, another to buy centrifugal filter, etc...
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Yep, my compressor has been a beast. The AirTex I have may be a little overkill. But I love that it can top off my tank from 200b to 315b in under 5 minutes.
Crusher
Crusher
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I’m nowhere near the either coast (Missouri) but I was fortunate enough to find a Bauer at an auction house a few years back. Had a Yanmar diesel on it. All records since new with 202 hours on it. Paid $1500.00 for it. That little 7 HP diesel was a booger to pull start - so much so that I never did fill a tank with it before I got a call from someone who had seen it on the auction but was unable to place a bid. The guy owned a dive shop and wanted that model because of their boats fuel source - diesel……He said it was always a pain to have to have a can of gasoline on the boat. He offered to trade me for a Max-Air 35 with 21 hours on it powered by a sweet little Honda gas engine. Have not had one moment of regret in getting the Max-Air. It’s a Coltri compressor. (4 stage) and I now have a little over 50 hours on it after 5+ years. Only one little hiccup when the 4th stage piston seized this past summer. A quick call to MAx Air and they had the parts to me in three days. Fourth stage cylinder and piston was about $150. Very easy fix as Coltri has some videos online. Literally a couple hours from tear down to back up and running. I believe their compressors run around $2500 and they are genuine Coltri. In fact, I was asked to verify my unit with a serial number before they would sell me filters and oil when I first traded for it. Tells me there are definitely Coltri clones out there…. Super pleased with my compressor and Mar Air’s support and just to to ice the cake, Alan (MAx Air employee) is an airgunner.
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If its chinese, all the parts. Ive had motor bearings fail, rods, pistons, seals, reeds gear reduction boxes, scotch yokes. Adding lube points in rotating assemblies and using high quality available piston rings would help, excessive levels of forced air cooling is nice too on the low speed 12v options.
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The base unit is about double brand new fully optioned Alkin that air gunners are buying today. It's the reason why you don't see that many of them on the air gun side. I think they made the junior 2 20 plus years. Literally many thousands more than Alkin has. There are different variations of the same unit. The majority of the units the air gunners have are probably originally purchased preowned, or do double duty for a scuba diver.
The jr2 has been doing duty for the military, Municipalities, as well as small fire stations. They sell them at auctions when they reach a certain age. Some are not used at all and the hours that you do see on them are for yearly or biannual testing only. Some are misuse abuse and no longer working. You do have to do your research if you are going to buy a used or auction unit. Be careful when buying from auctions. There are a ton of hidden fees. You can easily pay extra $1000s in taxes (even if you are from out of state!), closing cost (15% for gov auctions), outragous shipping, penalties and even extra credit card charges. 5% credit card charge is what I have been seeing at the auction site I visit so I have to wire funds bank to bank if I make a purchase at some of these auctions.
Actually I think I am wrong about price as I was thinking what it cost the military. I just did a quick check and saw 4650 eur. Which is $5070 us?
Allen
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Missed this thread before . . . I would not consider it unless it had at least three stages of compression, and four would be better. That's the key to a long robust compressor life. Two stages puts too much stress and heat load on all but the most expensive and precise components . . . .
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This subject comes up all the time here and the results are always the same. You get what you pay for. These cheap compressors are failures just waiting to happen. There are no short cuts to good reliable engineering. The failures are always related to excess stress and excessive heat. The Bauer compressors are all about 100% duty cycle and safety. A good certified safety relief valve alone is well over $100. It is easy to spend $500 on just filters and separators. I can go on indefinitely, but the best solution is a used Bauer. You just have to search for them. Parts are readily available worldwide even for the oldest models.
As for the OP's project, don't waste your time.
As for the OP's project, don't waste your time.
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