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Checking in on the Hatsan Lightning owners

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Bigragu

Bigragu

Member
Jul 8, 2018
4,896
2,388
CA, United States
Well, it’s been since 2018 since it’s release, and it lived a short life after being discontinued at around 2020. I remember initially there were two bad reviews on it between here and the GTA, then no more comments except for some fix it and maintenance posts from me and LLeon if I remember correctly. It’s too bad this compressor isn’t around anymore as it was easy to service, repair, and when it was at 100% it was as good if not better than the compressors in the $1800-$2400 range.

so I thought id check in to see if the original owners still have them, and if so, how’s it doing?

@ 2D1C, ha ha, I already know the status of yours so no need to comment
 
That’s great news, LLeon.

Thankfully, a good bulk of the maintenance parts are available thru Tuxing to keep yours plugging along.



Along with the Lightning, those vortex supreme 30 cal pellets should’ve never been made NLA. From a sorting and weighing perspective, you got more consistency out of a tin of those than you did with the JSB equivalent(which is weird as JSB made those vortex pellets). And they were accurate with the right tune. 
 
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Mine is right at 2.5 years old and has 16 hours of run time on it & doing well. I have only had one major problem with it that caused me to take it apart at 7 hours because it quit making pressure above 20 bar. Turned out to be carbon build-up in the high pressure cylinder check valve. Pay attention to what oil you use, these high pressure compressors require specialized oil with a higher flash point than your standard shop compressors! Cleaned up the check valve, replaced the high pressure piston sealing rings, miscellaneous gaskets & O-rings as needed, and back in the fast lane. However it is far from ‘as delivered’ configuration, I have performed some upgrades to overcome primarily electrical design flaws in the system. Every time I use it I keep my fingers crossed, and so far so good. Used it Friday to top off my 66 cu/ft and 100 cu/in bottles (piggy backed together) from 3200 to 4300 in just under 19 minutes.
 
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@Bigragu Yes, I did both of those things thanks to input from you in one of your posts. I was shocked when I got inside the electrical box on that thing and found that they were feeding the entire load across what was one piece of either 16 or 18 AWG wire! That compressor draws 15+ amps at 110V... it was never really designed to run on 110, pretty much the rest of the world is standardized on 220V in which case the compressor would be drawing half the amps across 2 legs. That would be a much better deal.

@tutuan I haven't had any problems with the digital gauge or the auto purge on mine. Mine seems to be pretty accurate and hasn't needed re-calibration.


 
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I bought a Hatsan Lightning compressor new in 2019 that did not run. Sent the whole thing back to Hatsan and got a new unit. This has served me well until now. First problem was coolant leak fixed with silicone sealant around the hoses. Next a hot wire on the compressor switch burned the terminal off the switch, so I bypassed this wire and everything has run well for the last 2 years. Last week, in the middle of a 300 bar fill, the compressor suddenly stops. No more burned wires that I can see, lights come on when plugged in and the voice states that the compressor is ready, but nada. Faulty switch? I just bought 3 replacement switches and I will re-wire all 3, but I could really use a wiring diagram (even a sketch) so I can solder pigtails onto the switches and upgrade the wire gauges. Also, is there a fuse somewhere in the circuit?
Right now the coolant pump is also not working and I am reading 110 volts from the coolant switch. I assume this is converted to 12 V by an inverter in the system? Besides the electrical issues, the compressor has always worked effectively.
If money is no object and portability is not needed, what would be considered the "Ferrari" of airgun compressors?
Thanks,
 
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Jimbo512 said:
I bought a Hatsan Lightning compressor new in 2019 that did not run. Sent the whole thing back to Hatsan and got a new unit. This has served me well until now. First problem was coolant leak fixed with silicone sealant around the hoses. Next a hot wire on the compressor switch burned the terminal off the switch, so I bypassed this wire and everything has run well for the last 2 years. Last week, in the middle of a 300 bar fill, the compressor suddenly stops. No more burned wires that I can see, lights come on when plugged in and the voice states that the compressor is ready, but nada. Faulty switch? I just bought 3 replacement switches and I will re-wire all 3, but I could really use a wiring diagram (even a sketch) so I can solder pigtails onto the switches and upgrade the wire gauges. Also, is there a fuse somewhere in the circuit?
Right now the coolant pump is also not working and I am reading 110 volts from the coolant switch. I assume this is converted to 12 V by an inverter in the system? Besides the electrical issues, the compressor has always worked effectively.
If money is no object and portability is not needed, what would be considered the "Ferrari" of airgun compressors?
Thanks,
Click to expand...
Yes, I upgraded the incoming wiring on my Lightning to (i believe) 10AWG photo attached. The 'reset' button on the control panel is a circuit breaker, you may wnat to check to be sure that has not gone bad. No, the water pump does not run on 12VDC... it runs on 120VAC see photo attached. I did not do a schematic or any kind of a sketch of the electrical. The plastic box attached to the top of the compressor motor contains (i believe) a start capacitor and a run capacitor, that may be where your problem is? Keep us posted and good luck. Chip

P1140960edit.jpg
Water pump.jpg
 
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Jimbo, read thru the Alkin thread on this sub forum. The Alkin, Bauer, and the Coltri are considered to be the best compressors one could own if seriously investing into this hobby. The Alkin and Bauer’s are up there in price and not getting any cheaper. Prices on the Alkin units have risen a lot within the last couple of years. I have not followed price increases on the Coltri but I’m sure, like everything else, their costs have gone up, also.
If money were no object and portability wasn’t required, these three are the ones to target. I had a lightning as my first compressor, and sold it to a friend after a complete re seal and new pistons and cylinders were installed. I upgraded the wiring and also installed new like for like switches. EDIT ON THE WIRING UPGRADE-
(Besides upgrading the wiring in size, I also soldered the wiring to the switch terminals on the new switches. Looking ahead, if one of the switches ever fried again I wanted to make replacement quick and easy so on all the new switches I soldered 6” lengths of wiring at each blade of a switch, then re attached the wires using wire nuts and electrical tape. This change alone made the compressor run way better, I could tell by the sound. I dislike plug in terminals, especially in areas that vibrate. Those push in connectors get loose over time and then comes arcing, which is why switches fry out.)

Had that thing running better than when I bought it new. Sometimes I wish I still had it. It did the job well when it was running
 
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Dear Chip and Bigragu,

Thank you for the input. When I get back home next week I will attempt a rewire and report (hopefully) some success. Since the compressor cut out suddenly during a fill it does not make sense to me it would be the start up capacitor. Is there an in-line fuse somewhere? My bet is a messed up switch. Can I just bypass the reset button/breaker?

I have checked out the Coltri/Bauer/Alkin compressors. Right now I'm thinking about an Alkin W-31 mariner in 5000 psi configuration. I have a few HPA rifles but I mainly use my Leshiy 2 for hunting squirrels. I am sure this compressor will be overkill, but nothing is more frustrating than getting ready for a hunt and your compressor craps out. I have been blessed with moderate fiscal success, so the cost is not a concern. I will keep the forum informed. Thanks
Jimbo
 
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Jimbo512 said:
Dear Chip and Bigragu,

Thank you for the input. When I get back home next week I will attempt a rewire and report (hopefully) some success. Since the compressor cut out suddenly during a fill it does not make sense to me it would be the start up capacitor. Is there an in-line fuse somewhere? My bet is a messed up switch. Can I just bypass the reset button/breaker?

I have checked out the Coltri/Bauer/Alkin compressors. Right now I'm thinking about an Alkin W-31 mariner in 5000 psi configuration. I have a few HPA rifles but I mainly use my Leshiy 2 for hunting squirrels. I am sure this compressor will be overkill, but nothing is more frustrating than getting ready for a hunt and your compressor craps out. I have been blessed with moderate fiscal success, so the cost is not a concern. I will keep the forum informed. Thanks
Jimbo
Click to expand...
Bypassing the reset button to test if it is bad is probably OK, but not as a permanent fix. I am not aware of any in-line fuse anywhere in the system, only the reset/circuit breaker on the control panel. We can speculate til the cows come home but the only way to figure this out is to start following the circuit path with a meter and see where you stop getting power. Good luck, let us know what you find. Chip.
 
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I just repaired an Air Venturi compressor today that had a bad / intermittent switch for the cooling system. This compressor is very similar to our Hatsan Lightning mechanically but much better (more robust) electrically. It actually has properly sized wiring (and relays) for the load it draws. With a bad cooling system switch the water pump and radiator fan did not work and it also kept the compressor motor from running, which is a good thing. New cooling system switch installed (exact same part as used in the Hatsan) and everything is back to running as it should. Couple photos of the electrical attached.


IMG_20240212_153623044.jpg
IMG_20240212_150718455_HDR.jpg
IMG_20240212_150732189_HDR.jpg
IMG_20240212_150737397_HDR.jpg
 
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Well, now I am more confused than ever. Chip, thanks for the photos. but you have obviously rewired everything and so the wire colors and attachments don't help me get mine rewired. At one point I had the machine telling me it was ready, but nothing else worked, so I fooled around and lo and behold the cooling fans and pump started running and that switch worked, but now it no longer says ready. The purge switch is easy and not part of the problem. The reset button is functioning. So now I basically have to figure out the wire sequence of the 110v input and the compressor switch. Several small gauge wires were burned or hanging by a thread, making me hopeful that the switches are the whole problem, but I am unsure where they attach. Can you look at your photo and tell me how you rewired all the switches (i.e., hot lead from 100 input to compressor switch A1. Yellow and red wire to Compressor switch A2, etc. These may not be proper electrical engineer designations, but I'm a doctor so you have to use simple terms that I can understand:unsure:. I am calling one connected side of a switch A1 and A2, and the other side B1 and B2). I'm going back out to the garage now and I'll get photos of my mess.
Thanks.
 
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Well, slap my Hatsan Lightning and call me Sally. I must confess to having a split personality and yes, ypou are correct, I am both Jimbo512 and Jimbobeast. Please forgive me for not indicating that I, too live in Manatee County, Florida - Bradenton to be exact. Small world.
So, I spent an unproductive 2 hours today fiddling with the Lightning. Currently (bad pun) I have 110 volts at all terminals of both the cooling system and compressor switches, but no lights on display, no voice telling me system is ready. There is a small black wire that starts the cooling fan if I ground it. 110v at both terminals of the reset button. I had the coolant pump working a few days ago but not now. Here are some photos:
IMG_8577.jpg

The lower switch is the compressor, the upper is the coolant system.
Here is another view of the coolant system switch:
IMG_8578.jpg


This particular black wire, if grounded, starts the cooling fan:
IMG_8579.jpg


This is the 110v input, where I suspect I have gone awry:
IMG_8580.jpg


I also tried this configuration without success:
IMG_8583.jpg


Here is the compressor as I left it:
IMG_8582.jpg


And that brings everyone up to speed. If anyone out there has a Hatsan Lightning compressor and could pop up the 110 input and the cooling system and compressor switches and take a photo it would be very helpful.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Jim
 
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Jimbobeast said:
Looks like I joined on Oct 27, 2023 as Jimbobeast and again as Jimbo512. I looked into updating my profile and adding an avatar, but I could not find out how to do it on this site.
Chip, where in Manatee County do you live? I would send a PM but I am not allowed to yet.
Contact me at [email protected].
Click to expand...
Sent you an Email with my info... will wait for you to text.

Chip
 
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