Air Venturi EC-3000 EVO Compressor

[Joey 69]

Hello
I ordered a Hill EC-3000 EVO with the drypac adapter, anybody have this compressor?
looking for good and bad reviews. There are a ton of vids on it so i went with that one.
I have 2 scuba tanks i would like to use to fill my rifles, i think it will handle them. I hope!!
Thanks Joey

 

[Dogowski]

Hello
I ordered a Hill EC-3000 EVO with the drypac adapter, anybody have this compressor?
looking for good and bad reviews. There are a ton of vids on it so i went with that one.
I have 2 scuba tanks i would like to use to fill my rifles, i think it will handle them. I hope!!
Thanks Joey

Nice choice man! Let us know how it works out. You've got a great setup to last for years to come with proper maintenance.

 

[Danman]

Hello
I ordered a Hill EC-3000 EVO with the drypac adapter, anybody have this compressor?
looking for good and bad reviews. There are a ton of vids on it so i went with that one.
I have 2 scuba tanks i would like to use to fill my rifles, i think it will handle them. I hope!!
Thanks Joey

Very nice! I have a hand pump made by Hill anyways... That's the one I'd get too, interested in your thoughts as well when you put it through its paces.

 

[Soren Drost]

I have the old Hill EC-3000 and have 28 hours on it so far and over 2 years of use

I have had no issues at all so far

 

[J86388723]

Hello
I ordered a Hill EC-3000 EVO with the drypac adapter, anybody have this compressor?
looking for good and bad reviews. There are a ton of vids on it so i went with that one.
I have 2 scuba tanks i would like to use to fill my rifles, i think it will handle them. I hope!!
Thanks Joey

I have that same set up. Very happy with it. The full automation is nice. It starts/stops on it's own when it is too warm. I use it to fill a Great White tank, and my Skout Epoch directly. Very easy to use and smaller/lighter than I expected. I didn't have a good sense of the size in the videos I watched. Anything you would need to access on the unit is easy to get to. Good design and thoughtful configuration. I had a cover made for it by Alco Custom Covers to protect it from the dust in my wood shop where I store it.

 

[Dogowski]

I have that same set up. Very happy with it. The full automation is nice. It starts/stops on it's own when it is too warm. I use it to fill a Great White tank, and my Skout Epoch directly. Very easy to use and smaller/lighter than I expected. I didn't have a good sense of the size in the videos I watched. Anything you would need to access on the unit is easy to get to. Good design and thoughtful configuration. I had a cover made for it by Alco Custom Covers to protect it from the dust in my wood shop where I store it.

Very nice setup man. Just want to welcome you to the HAM Forum as well. Enjoy your stay here and happy shooting!

 

[Danman]

I have that same set up. Very happy with it. The full automation is nice. It starts/stops on it's own when it is too warm. I use it to fill a Great White tank, and my Skout Epoch directly. Very easy to use and smaller/lighter than I expected. I didn't have a good sense of the size in the videos I watched. Anything you would need to access on the unit is easy to get to. Good design and thoughtful configuration. I had a cover made for it by Alco Custom Covers to protect it from the dust in my wood shop where I store it.

Smart to keep it outta the dust, and welcome to HAM! Your right about the size, hard to gauge a bit from videos....it is nice and compact. One was on the front desk, set out by a salesman (pure evil) when I went in person to purchase a Brk Ghost this past March. Hint, hint...lol. I will probably snap one up next year. Good to know it can handle a bigger tank...I would just fill my guns and hopefully a 3 liter or so spare tank and be all set.

 

[PasadenaMike]

Personal experience with one. They aren’t meant to fill SCBA tanks. They are air cooled and have a temp sensor that shuts the unit down when it reaches a set temp and restarts again. I’ve filled my 100 cubic INCH bottle it took forever and did I mention loud? There are better choices out there for filling tanks IMO and again from experience the Omega line of compressors can’t be beat because of the simple fact that I can text Todd at Omega and he will help me with anything Omega related. The omega is a GX that’s carried by AOA just rebranded but the difference is customer service. I read too many stories about GX bought on Amazon and you’re on your own when, not if something happens. Just my .02

 

[Scriv]

I have the old Hill EC-3000 and have 28 hours on it so far and over 2 years of use

I have had no issues at all so far

Soren, if I may ask, how often do you have to add silicone oil to the reservoir on your compressor?

 

[Soren Drost]

Soren, if I may ask, how often do you have to add silicone oil to the reservoir on your compressor?

Maybe a couple of times per year

 

[Joey 69]

I just topped off mine, it was a little past 1/4 mark on the sight glass after 3hrs of use. Not a lick of trouble with it.

 

[SDsteph]

I got mine (non-EVO) at the end of 2021. I have 17 hours on the unit. I have filled large bottles (45 minute) but do it in stages; I.E. 25 bar at a time and allowed the unit to cool off after. So far I've had two issues, both of which I was able to repair myself. One was a broken bullet valve and the other a top cylinder o-ring. Hill's videos are easy to follow and give me the confidence to dig in.
Now, I use it to fill my rifles and leave the topping off of bottles to a Shoebox compressor - slow but not a problem for me.
I've change the oil, never the silicone, nor does it seem to use any ?!?!

 

[Scriv]

Maybe a couple of times per year

Thanks for the help. I don't use mine as much as you do, and was wondering if it used oil at all. Thanks again.

 

[SDsteph]

Wouldn't you know it - was using the Hill to top off rifles last night and it stopped, struggled and died again. Seemed VERY similar to the top (green) O-ring failure that happened last time.
The fact that I haven't topped off the silicone in 17 hours of use has me worried as others seem to be consuming the silicone fluid.

I'll dive into it eventually and see what the issue is this time....

 

[Danman]

Wouldn't you know it - was using the Hill to top off rifles last night and it stopped, struggled and died again. Seemed VERY similar to the top (green) O-ring failure that happened last time.
The fact that I haven't topped off the silicone in 17 hours of use has me worried as others seem to be consuming the silicone fluid.

I'll dive into it eventually and see what the issue is this time....

Does the Hill sense that it's not building pressure and it shuts down then?.... Curious! That green o-ring lol, their hand pump runs em as well! When u have it apart check for a lack of lubricant (heat/scoring) inside maybe?

 

[SDsteph]

Hi Dan - last time no scoring. There was no excess silicone but nothing was dry. The messed up o-ring actually builds either too much pressure or in the wrong location and thus offers too much resistance and the fuse goes PUFF.

It's a pain that these things happen, but I have a back up and I feel confident fixing it myself. I do like it far better than the GX 4 I had - caveat - that unit (GX) never quit on me in 20 or so hours of use. The Hill is faster and less noisy.

 

[Semião]

I have 20 hours on mine, since 2022 no issues whatsoever.
I pressurize two PCPs and a 7L scuba tank without any concerns.
Best purchase i made!

 

[Danman]

Hi Dan - last time no scoring. There was no excess silicone but nothing was dry. The messed up o-ring actually builds either too much pressure or in the wrong location and thus offers too much resistance and the fuse goes PUFF.

It's a pain that these things happen, but I have a back up and I feel confident fixing it myself. I do like it far better than the GX 4 I had - caveat - that unit (GX) never quit on me in 20 or so hours of use. The Hill is faster and less noisy.

Thanks for the info. Yeah when that o-ring blows on the Hill hand pump it back feeds into the second stage and locks the handle....then I blow my fuse They are very nice compressors, kinda like the AC system on your car has oil in it to keep everything lubed similar to the silicone oil on these compressors, it's a great idea and should theoretically need less maintenance. Still hoping to buy one myself next year, the Hill checks off all my boxes!