Alkins vs. Coltri

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I’ve been looking at this myself. The coltri mch6 is much less expensive, but from what I’ve heard, the customer service is tough if there’s issues. Alkin has amazing customer service, and when spending this kind of money on something, if their service is bad, it’s a waste!

all just my opinion. 

My Coltri MCH- 6 has been going strong for many years. No issues, at all. It runs every time I need it. Would I buy it again? Yes.

Nuvair has been extremely responsive to all my needs. Parts are easy to obtain. Their repair videos are extremely helpful and anyone with a small amount of skill with tools can do their own work.

https://www.nuvair.com/support/video

Would I consider something else? Yes. The Bauer Jr 2 costs a little more but I could have purchased it locally (about 1 hour from my home), saving shipping, thus the extra cost would have been leveled out. Also, should repairs beyond my skills be needed they can be done locally. I would choose the Bauer, today, because of this.

https://www.bauercomp.com/distributor-portal-breathing-air

So, which one? 

I'm thinking to buy once and cry once. Going 220v because I have a spare 30amp 220v Circuit.

Is the Alkins worth the slightly more price than a Coltri?



Would love to hear from those who own one.

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That’s a decision you have to make, it’s your money. If money is not an issue, grab an Alkin. Some will advocate for Coltri and it seems that there’s always one guy that comes in and suggests that you save your money and buy a Yong Heng when asking about high-end compressors. There’s a decent amount of information on both brands you asked about in this forum. Here are a some links:

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/coltri-or-alkin/


https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/alkincoltri-or-other-high-end-compressor/



https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/alkin-w31/



https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/mch-6-coltri/

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/coltri-mch-6/

Alkin Review:

by @airgunadvisor https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/alkin-w31-review/

by @GeneT (this is a really good and thoroughly written review)

https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/alkin-w31-my-personal-review/



I’m biased towards Alkin. The Alkin is obviously more expensive, but I don’t recall reading threads about folks having many, if any, issues with their Alkins. If you run an AGN search on Coltri compressors there are people who have had issues with Coltri compressors. I encourage you to search the threads in this forum. There is a good amount of information to read. Good luck in your search. 

We're all missing the most key piece of information.

Duty Cycle:

• What capacity are you filling?
• How often are you filling it?
• Where are you filling it?
• How long will you run the compressor between breaks?

Without answering the above the recommendations will be grossly subjective based on individual experience. Additionally, do you plan to leave the selected compressor as-is or gnome-tinker with it?

I own a Coltri/Daystate LC-110 which is a Coltri MCH-3 EM LC.

My Duty Cycle:

• What capacity are you filling?
  • 90 cu-in top-off from 3000 PSI to 4500 PSI
• How often are you filling it?
  • About once a week or every two weeks depending on weather.
• Where are you filling it?
  • Conditioned living space
• How long will you run the compressor between breaks?
  • ~8-10 minutes total top-off time; 2 mintutes warm-up, 3-5 minutes fill, 2 minutes cool-down.

I got a Coltri.

Dont trust that bastard Erdogan and the Turks with 50 of your nukes!

So no Alkins and no Hatsans. Just my own little trade war.

Literally just changed the oil in my LC-110 at 17 hours runtime. Last change was at 5 hours runtime. ~330mL of CE750 after a good and zesty drain by removing the 14mm crankcase vent nut and the 17mm oil drain nut. Good as new.

I stocked up on CE750 before it went away; got enough of the same oil for this thing until it's dirtnap time.

Every opinion here is anecdotal. The only way one can provide an empirical observation is by comparing compressor A vs compressor B, vs. compressor C, etc. under similar load demands and conditions. I have yet to see any such comparison.


Many airgun shooters are happily using Coltri, Alkin, Airtex, Bauer, Yong-Heng, Carette, compressors. The question is what makes you, the buyer, happy! Happy compressor hunting!

So, which one? 

I'm thinking to buy once and cry once. Going 220v because I have a spare 30amp 220v Circuit.

Is the Alkins worth the slightly more price than a Coltri?



Would love to hear from those who own one.

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The Alkin weighs more and costs a little more. I've heard that the newer Coltri's might be even lighter if that's important to someone. Portability of a 220v compressor was not a concern for me, so more weight is OK. I would likely have bought an Alkin, but no dealers near me. I went with the Coltri because the nearest dealer provides great advice and customer service if you buy from them. I've only been using it for 17months, but no regrets so far.

I’ve been looking at this myself. The coltri mch6 is much less expensive, but from what I’ve heard, the customer service is tough if there’s issues. Alkin has amazing customer service, and when spending this kind of money on something, if their service is bad, it’s a waste!

all just my opinion.

Click to expand...

When I did my research to purchase, the Coltri was only about 25%-30% less than an Alkin. But the customer service at Nuvair seemed really good for the Coltri compressors that they sold.

@Harv24 No problem. There’s plenty to read. Once you can supply your own air then your next challenge will probably be keeping up with your guns’ dietary expenses. 

Bought an Alkin after going thru a booster and a Hatsan Lightning. Wish I had bought the Alkin first. Would have saved myself a lot of money.

I’ve been looking at this myself. The coltri mch6 is much less expensive, but from what I’ve heard, the customer service is tough if there’s issues. Alkin has amazing customer service, and when spending this kind of money on something, if their service is bad, it’s a waste!

all just my opinion.

Click to expand...

When I did my research to purchase, the Coltri was only about 25%-30% less than an Alkin. But the customer service at Nuvair seemed really good for the Coltri compressors that they sold.

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This is also an important part of researching items before purchasing. To take it a step further in addition to locating readily available parts, I’ve found that locating service centers for warranty work to be a significant factor in contributing to my final purchasing decision. In @Scotchmo ‘s case Nuvair would like be a good choice to purchase a Coltri, especially if he’s in Southern California, because they’re located there. Generally for a heavy item like a compressor, if you are within driving distance of a service facility you’re at an advantage and I’d say that’s an element to seriously consider when shopping around for high-end compressors. I have called distributors to locate service centers and looked online.

For example, when looking online before considering purchasing a Crosman Recharge I saw on sale, I went on the Crosman site, found a list of service centers for a Crosman compressors, and called a couple. I found that they have either never serviced a Crosman compressor or don’t service compressors, only airguns. So don’t just rely on what’s listed online. If you can, call the service center. When I decided to make a purchase I’d found a service facility within a reasonable driving distance.


I think another good piece of advice I got was from @Humdinger. He told me that some guys will buy cheap compressors over and over again and by the time some realize what they spent on scrapped compressors or the time they put into working on the cheap units they may as well have paid more and bought a quality one up front. Then if you need cash or get out of the hobby, high end compressors like Bauer, Alkin, and Coltri hold and have a good resale value and not just to members of the airgun community. So you can potentially get more of a return on your investment if you can afford to make pricier high-end purchase and get it out of the way upfront. I questioned a number of other members when I was doing what you’re doing. So don’t hesitate to ask questions if you read a thread and someone seems knowledgeable. Sometimes one member may refer you to another. We have some great members who are willing to help others on AGN. 

I think service is the major consideration because shipping them is well challenging. Alkin was best for me but depending on your location ..,,,

When I decided I was going to get a commercial grade compressor the first one I looked at was the Bauer because of their extensive dealer network. I wanted a compressor with auto shutoff and the other bells and whistles. The Bauer Junior didn’t even come with an on/off switch and some of the features I wanted required that I upgrade to the next model which increased the price considerably. I then started looking at the Alkin W31 upright. I could get the Alkin W31 with all the bells and whistles for less than a stripped down Bauer Junior. But then I wondered about warranty. I contacted Alkin about their warranty. They told me if they couldn’t resolve a problem over the phone or by sending parts they could arrange a technician to fix it. They gave me the name of a few technicians and although they were about 3 to 4 hours drive from me they said they would do warranty work on Alkin’s. Even the Bauer dealer was 3 hours from me so warranty work availability for either brand was available to me but I would have to drive a bit. The Alkin was considerably less in cost but of equal quality for the model and features I wanted so I chose the Alkin. To date I have not had to use the warranty.

I purchased a new Alkin 6 months ago. Has exceeded every expectation.

A used Coltri is for sale in the classifieds in Southern California. I have no idea what he’s asking. He also has others for sale. https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/wts-wts-compressors/?referrer=1

https://youtu.be/9Cw7rkWPPZg