Others Best compressor

[Xindaris]

Small compressors and boosters are fine if you are filling guns and very small tanks but when you start using them to fill large tanks they are not going to last long and any money you thought you were going to save will be lost to repairs and replacement. And don’t believe advertisers who say their small compressors and boosters are fine for filling tanks. There are commercial grade boosters and compressors that can handle the job but the cost is high compared to the hobby grade equipment and in the end the commercial grade equipment will pay for its self where the hobby grade equipment is like throwing money away if you try to make them do what a commercial unit is capable of. And commercial equipment is strong enough to fill tanks for others if you want to recoop some of your investment. And if you ever decide to sell your commercial compressor they usually have a high resale value, not so with hobby units. This is my take but in the end it is your decision.

 

[Franklink]

Both boosters that I've owned were purchased specifically to fill large tanks.

The Shoebox lasted 5 or so years, filling lots and lots of tanks. And would still be going if there was a reliable source of parts for them. The company quit selling to the public so parts dried up. And everything has consumables that will eventually need replaced. I sold that Shoebox to another airgunner who had parts stashed away and he got it operational again.

I've got about 100hrs on the Altaros, and no signs of any issues.

The booster method isn't the right answer for everyone. But it is an option to consider.

 

[Xindaris]

I think you made my point. If you enjoy working on it all the time and don’t mind spending money buying parts which can become hard to find and expensive and warranties that aren’t honored then maybe a hobby unit is for you. I went thru all that and finally bought an Alkin just before the COVID epidemic and to date all I have had to do to it is regular maintenance. All I can say is I spent more money on those hobby units than I spent on the Alkin. When I got into the hobby I didn’t realize how expensive a hobby it can be but I could have saved a considerable amount of money if I knew then what I know now and bought the Alkin at the beginning.

 

[Franklink]

I'm not saying a booster is better than an Alkin, just saying it's an option to consider when trying to figure out how to feed a PCP. If somebody's sitting on $4-6k then sure, spring for the Alkin. I just checked prices online and they look to be $4200-6000 right now, and I'd guess another couple hundred for freight and maybe more than that if sales tax is involved.

You've got me wondering how much I've spent on my air source now.....

$500 for Shoebox F10
$200 for DeWalt 5 gallon compressor and finish nail gun combo (have used both for TONS of non-airgun stuff)
Probably $50 for fittings.

So $750 for the F10 booster set up, sold the F10 for $200 so $550, and then also still using that DeWalt nail gun and compressor......considering what the only place near me charges for air x 5 years of use from the Shoebox, I'm in the positive on that deal, by alot. ($20-30 bucks to top off a 87cf tank to only 4300, the last time I was in there, depends on who's working the counter).

$250 for a Yong Heng while I was trying to decide what direction to go. And the Yonger is still running just fine.

So, second booster set up....
$350 for used 20 gallon California Air Tools compressor to feed the Altaros ( which I've also been using to run various air tools in my garage, VERY convenient)
$900 shipped for the Altaros plus a couple rebuild kits
Another $50-75 for fittings.

So bout $1400 for the Altaros set-up.

Looks like I've spent around $2400 for my air supply in the last 6-7 years. And getting peripheral benefits from both shop compressors.

Can't say that I'm unhappy with any of that.

@Xindaris, I've read more details or your less than optimal booster pump experience on the other forum, and if my booster experiences had been similar to yours, and I STILL had to pony up the $4k plus for an Alkin, I'd be pretty down on boosters too.

 

[Xindaris]

I don’t disagree with your choice. I live where there was no place to fill a tank. And it was during the start of the pcp craze. All the pumps they were producing at the beginning had major issues except the expensive commercial units. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money so I went the cheaper way and found out at the end it actually cost me more. Getting parts from overseas was hit and miss and expensive. And foreign companies that don’t have a US presence are hit and miss as to whether they will honor a warranty. And if they don’t you have no recourse. Sometimes you buy a unit from a company that has no presence in the US and it lasts for years but let’s say it’s a booster and you get one that has a problem. The whole setup with compressor cost you about 2 grand with hoses connections and extra filters. The Alkin at that time cost 3 grand. If the booster company doesn’t honor the warranty your out a thousand plus for the booster and now you got a compressor you may or may not have a use for. And in my case, next I bought a large compressor that Hatsan was selling. It lasted a little over 2 years before it broke and Hatsan to their credit offered to fix it. All I had to do was pay for shipping. When I saw shipping costs I decided to buy the parts from China and fix it myself. It didn’t take to long to learn that if you fixed one part it didn’t take long for another part to go. So I gave it away and bought the Alkin and haven’t had a problem since. I shot my guns a lot at that time so those early units were tested more than what most people would. Since I bought the Alkin it has been smooth sailing with no problems so far.

 

[Grunt64]

I totally agree with you. I got back into airguns big time around 2017/18. A couple of years before that I had gotten into Airsoft and then HPA airsoft rifles for play. So before getting into PCP airguns I was already filling up 3000 and 4500psi tanks for a couple of years. (As a side note - that definitely reduced the price of entry into PCP).

Over the time frame from say 2016 through late 2022 I can say I easily went through Alkin money on crappy (and what one would think would not be crappy due to cost) compressors. I’ve been through multiple Yong Hengs, a Shoebox F10 which had close to 500 hours on it when it was done, an Air Venturi 3or 4 stage, a GX CS3, and about 2-3 other compressors.

Finally in late 2022 before the price increase I bought an Alkin. Well justified as I expect it to last me a long time compared with all the other poor QC and low quality compressors I’ve gone through. The Alkin has been flawless for well over a year.

So, yeah, you want the Best - it doesn’t cost $500.

Alkin W31 Mariner HPA Compressor - Manual​

$4,150.00

 

[fastphil]

I've been refilling my tanks with a Bauer Jr 110v.

 

[pan60]

@fastphil
Welcome to HAM

 

[Dogowski]

I've been refilling my tanks with a Bauer Jr 110v.

Welcome to the forum man!

 

[Rick64]

I've had the GX CS3 for a little over a year and I've had no problems with mine. Paid 300 for it on Amazon on sale. It's a little more now but still very affordable.

 

[Dogowski]

I've had the GX CS3 for a little over a year and I've had no problems with mine. Paid 300 for it on Amazon on sale. It's a little more now but still very affordable.

It's better to pay a few dollars more for these GX compressors up front. Those cheap units have all blown out early and give me fits.

 

[Scriv]

Ah, the ol' compressor question. Just keep peeling off $100 bills.