Small compressors poo-pooed?

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shutinsquid

shutinsquid

Member
Nov 16, 2024
6
5
South Texas
Hello all,

New guy/first post. Was perusing the videos posted under how to fill tanks and in one of them the guy is basically saying don’t buy a smaller compressor unless you also get a “proper” water filter that costs around $400.

I am familiar with moisture in compressors, but I figured dedicated PCP pumps like the Air Venturi RovAir 4500 I purchased would have that covered. So now that I know that’s not the case, short of spending $400 on a filter what do y’all do to mitigate moisture when using a similar compressor?

Aside from that concern, I caught an acute case of airgun GAS quickly after seeing how much my daughter enjoyed shooting in the backyard with me (kinda lame excuse I know, but she really does like it and it’s a good excuse!). So I sold some safe queens and acquired a Bulldog .357, an Avenge-X Tactical in .22/.25 and a Reximex RPA .22 pistol.

Been into shooting sports for many years and I reload for every caliber I shoot (except for 22LR) and also cast my own boolits. But I really like the notion of just casting with no lube/gas checks needed, cans shipped to my door with no NFA garbage, and shooting with the whole family in the backyard!

Cheers to all, and thanks for reading.
 
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Compressors are an odd issue in this sport. If you don’t shoot too much or you shoot a lot and have the time to mess with a small compressor, many here make them work and are quite happy with them.
I tried them and was sorely disappointed. I ended up with an upper end compressor. I put a shade over 50 hours on it in less than a year filling my two 98 cf bottles. I also have a 75 cf and an 18 cf bottle that I can use when they fit a situation.
It all depends on your situation. I would hold off for a while on a high dollar one until you are comfortable knowing your interest is long term though.
 
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I agree don't Skimp on the compressor , If you start with a Alkin you can not go wrong, 12 years ago I jumped on a Shelden compressor 1,800 bucks or so.
It just died and the man that ran the shop retired , So I jumped on a Alkin , Top of the line , Somethings you just can't skimp on ,, Yea , the 4500 $ hurt but setting on empty air gun tanks would have been a nightmare for me,,
In the sport deep..
Mike
 
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Some of us don't have the financial resources to spend as we'd like to. I had to go with a Yong Heng. I have 4 SCBA tanks that, as a rule, I keep topped off. The YH has served me VERY well as it has hundreds of others here. Would I PREFER a bigger, quieter, faster compressor? Of course, who wouldn't but being air independent was the goal & for me, Yong Heng has been a great solution. I have had ZERO moisture problems so don't believe that one has to spend $400 on filters. It's more about the efficiency of the filtering media than the size or cost of filter!
 
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Gerry52 said:
Some of us don't have the financial resources to spend as we'd like to. I had to go with a Yong Heng. I have 4 SCBA tanks that, as a rule, I keep topped off. The YH has served me VERY well as it has hundreds of others here. Would I PREFER a bigger, quieter, faster compressor? Of course, who wouldn't but being air independent was the goal & for me, Yong Heng has been a great solution. I have had ZERO moisture problems so don't believe that one has to spend $400 on filters. It's more about the efficiency of the filtering media than the size or cost of filter!
Click to expand...
Good to hear. Is there a smaller, inline filter you use now?

Also, I should have clarified that the videos I saw were posted right here in the forum under the newbie section, so I thought it interesting that particular video and those comments would essentially have the imprimatur of the mods. I can understand why it would though because it does break down the different types of compressors, but as you observed many of us are poors who can’t drop $4K on a compressor without going into debt and/or getting divorced.
 
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I use an Airmega filter that I bought on ebay. Refilled it with better filtering media & run it in conjunction with the small filter that came with the YH compressor. I've never had any moisture problems using this method. The Yong Heng has a cyclonic water separator that I bleed every 5 minutes for a few seconds. All of this works!
 
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This type. There are other brands/quantities available but this type of hard beads, NOT GEL type. I cut 1/2 inch "plugs" from cotton filters to put one at each end of the filter housing to prevent any dust, debris from getting into fill line or gun.

www.ebay.com

HFS(R) Molecular Sieve Zeolite 3A 8X12m 5lbs | eBay

This drying agent is versatile, ideal for applications such as dehydration and desulfurization of natural gas, LPG, liquid paraffin, and ammonia synthesis gas, as well as the desulfurization of aerosol propellant deodorants.
www.ebay.com
 
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Gerry52 said:
This type. There are other brands/quantities available but this type of hard beads, NOT GEL type. I cut 1/2 inch "plugs" from cotton filters to put one at each end of the filter housing to prevent any dust, debris from getting into fill line or gun.

www.ebay.com

HFS(R) Molecular Sieve Zeolite 3A 8X12m 5lbs | eBay

This drying agent is versatile, ideal for applications such as dehydration and desulfurization of natural gas, LPG, liquid paraffin, and ammonia synthesis gas, as well as the desulfurization of aerosol propellant deodorants.
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...
Thanks again, sir!
 
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I used to scuba and know of the federal requirements for filling tanks which are pretty stringent... humans breath this air underwater. You need a high pressure pump to fill these tanks and it seems all of these high pressure pumps are designed to fill scuba tanks. That means all of them will have more than adequate filtering media to not only prevent water but also oil from the compressor getting into the air. Actually they are overkill in the filtering department for PCP air guns.

With that in mind I bought this one from Walmart. It looks to be a decent unit, has all kinds of spare filters, o-rings, a spare fuse and so on, although the instructions are a bit comical. If it doesn't work, Walmart will probably take it back.

I'm going to try it out tomorrow and I'll create a post about my experience.
 
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shutinsquid said:
Hello all,

New guy/first post. Was perusing the videos posted under how to fill tanks and in one of them the guy is basically saying don’t buy a smaller compressor unless you also get a “proper” water filter that costs around $400.

I am familiar with moisture in compressors, but I figured dedicated PCP pumps like the Air Venturi RovAir 4500 I purchased would have that covered. So now that I know that’s not the case, short of spending $400 on a filter what do y’all do to mitigate moisture when using a similar compressor?

Aside from that concern, I caught an acute case of airgun GAS quickly after seeing how much my daughter enjoyed shooting in the backyard with me (kinda lame excuse I know, but she really does like it and it’s a good excuse!). So I sold some safe queens and acquired a Bulldog .357, an Avenge-X Tactical in .22/.25 and a Reximex RPA .22 pistol.

Been into shooting sports for many years and I reload for every caliber I shoot (except for 22LR) and also cast my own boolits. But I really like the notion of just casting with no lube/gas checks needed, cans shipped to my door with no NFA garbage, and shooting with the whole family in the backyard!

Cheers to all, and thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the best AGN @
 
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