Over the years I've become as interested in compressor options and setups as much as in PCP's. Our sport has been fortunate because manufacturers see the potential for affordable high pressure PCP compressors with each year providing more options for us to consider. Prices of affordable compressors are getting within reach of the single user who wants his own source of high pressure air.
Shoebox was the first manufacturer to offer a reliable compressor booster when the first generation Shoebox came out for $299. More options and better designs have been introduced over the past few years so the future looks bright for better, cheaper, and more reliable compressors aimed at our sport.
I am amused and baffled to see buyers who still opt for booster compressors to save money. What they end up with is a fill system that costs as much as a stand alone compressor but fills slower and requires more assembly, setup, and servicing. It must appeal to their inner Rube Goldberg to assemble elaborate plumbing and filtration systems to get dry air. Elaborate, overcapacity pre and post moisture filtration systems are overkill since a water separator does most of the moisture removal. It costs just as much or more to assemble a slow filling booster system as it does to buy a stand alone compressor which will fill much quicker an doesn't require outside filter assemblies, plumbing, and servicing.
An Altaros, AV Booster, or Shoebox F10 plus the cost of a quality first stage compressor, plus plumbing, plus filters is as much total cost as a Carette or Air Venturi compressor. Unless someone buys a first stage compressor for other uses, why spend the money and have to hook up all of the extra components? Elaborate filtration assemblies are costly, unnecessary, and defeat the purpose of an economy fill system. Refrigerators, oversize Wilkerson desiccant filters, and multiple water separators, filters, etc. are more Rube Goldberg devices than requirements to get dry air. Before I upgraded to a Carette, I ran a Shoebox for years with a $50 Wilkerson desiccant filter on the input side and had never had any moisture from the air output side
I am just as befuddled at guys who buy Chinese or Turkish made PCPs then spend hundreds more with tuners or for modifications to get their rifle to shoot like a name brand PCP. It's the old "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" story. It's the same with fill systems. Stand alone compressors are becoming more affordable. It is a false economy to buy a booster, adequate first stage compressor, filtration, and plumbing instead of a standalone compressor in an attempt to save money.
Shoebox was the first manufacturer to offer a reliable compressor booster when the first generation Shoebox came out for $299. More options and better designs have been introduced over the past few years so the future looks bright for better, cheaper, and more reliable compressors aimed at our sport.
I am amused and baffled to see buyers who still opt for booster compressors to save money. What they end up with is a fill system that costs as much as a stand alone compressor but fills slower and requires more assembly, setup, and servicing. It must appeal to their inner Rube Goldberg to assemble elaborate plumbing and filtration systems to get dry air. Elaborate, overcapacity pre and post moisture filtration systems are overkill since a water separator does most of the moisture removal. It costs just as much or more to assemble a slow filling booster system as it does to buy a stand alone compressor which will fill much quicker an doesn't require outside filter assemblies, plumbing, and servicing.
An Altaros, AV Booster, or Shoebox F10 plus the cost of a quality first stage compressor, plus plumbing, plus filters is as much total cost as a Carette or Air Venturi compressor. Unless someone buys a first stage compressor for other uses, why spend the money and have to hook up all of the extra components? Elaborate filtration assemblies are costly, unnecessary, and defeat the purpose of an economy fill system. Refrigerators, oversize Wilkerson desiccant filters, and multiple water separators, filters, etc. are more Rube Goldberg devices than requirements to get dry air. Before I upgraded to a Carette, I ran a Shoebox for years with a $50 Wilkerson desiccant filter on the input side and had never had any moisture from the air output side
I am just as befuddled at guys who buy Chinese or Turkish made PCPs then spend hundreds more with tuners or for modifications to get their rifle to shoot like a name brand PCP. It's the old "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" story. It's the same with fill systems. Stand alone compressors are becoming more affordable. It is a false economy to buy a booster, adequate first stage compressor, filtration, and plumbing instead of a standalone compressor in an attempt to save money.
