02/01/2024. Alkin W31 total price delivered
- Thread starter TRIPP
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I dealt with a guy named Franz but spelled like Faranz i think. He was pleasant and accrately answered my questions. I decided to get auto condensate drain. Lol.
I get pretty busy most days and coming in the mail todau is the 400 dollar Alpha Filter from Joe Brancoto for my GX CS 4. But then i fricking realized the Alkin was just. 4 going to keep increasing in price. So reliable dry air for rest of my life cost under 5 k. In retrospect i should have probally gone this route in the beginning. But thanks to the shared knowledge of all of you non shoebox compressor guys and Alkin owners i decided to go all in. . Thats how i have been my whole life. Anyway fellas, thought i would share my pricing in case it helps someone make a decision to buy now. Thanks for all the posts from Alkin owners, you all made me a convert lol!
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Joe B has an old Bauer Oceanus that he now uses as a backup....told him if he ever is going to sell it I will buy it! They are indestructible!
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Farren is a font of knowledge and very helpful. I called him on a Friday night when I couldn't figure out that I had to install the final filter (that was included) when I first fired it up. He answered and solved my problem. My full cost was 4200, but I got the manual drain with the auto shutoff. I went straight from a hand pump to the Alkin and an older Venturi tank. No regrets 
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Damn they’re getting expensive. If you’re going to grab one, grab it when you can afford it. I don’t see them going down in price. Yea, it’s an expensive purchase but they’re worth it if you’re a serious airgunner and can see yourself getting good use from it over a minimum 5 year period, I think it’s worth it. Quite naturally we can expect Alkin W31 Mariner compressors to run longer than 5 years.
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Big difference between hand pump and the Alkin, lol.....that first fill had to be heaven lol............I have never seen even one person on here or elsewhere have a regret on buying that Alkin.....its getting delivered this week, so I am looking forward to my first tank fill with it!Farren is a font of knowledge and very helpful. I called him on a Friday night when I couldn't figure out that I had to install the final filter (that was included) when I first fired it up. He answered and solved my problem. My full cost was 4200, but I got the manual drain with the auto shutoff. I went straight from a hand pump to the Alkin and an older Venturi tank. No regrets
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What's the average hours of operation before major maintenance is required, like rings seals etc.
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@Ta-Ta Toothie I’m thinking around 100 hours, but I’d have to consult the manual.
Edit: oops looks like maybe it’s 2900 hours before one might have an issue like that. Because it reads “Based on 8 hr/day” implying that one may accrue that man hours on an annual run cycle (8 x 365 = 2920).
Alkin W31 series User Manual (Page 34 of 75) | ManualsLib
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Guess you need to add that all in for the overall cost. Just kicking things around. Currently I fill my tank for free at work, but having a backup would be nice.
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@Ta-Ta Toothie Well considering what the manual states, I wouldn’t be thinking about that any time soon. What I did take into consideration is how close the nearest service center is to me. I’d drive mine over for mainence. It is simply too bulky and too heavy to ship safely. The manufacturer took some serious precautions to ensure that it arrived safely. It arrived via freight on an 18-wheeler. At the time of purchase I also bought minor maintenance extras like oil and air/moisture filter media. An extra belt wouldn’t hurt, but I wouldn’t buy one too early in my region. The humidity and weather isn’t too kind to rubber.
Here’s a good thread to read if you’re seriously considering purchasing an Alkin compressor.
Official Thread - Alkin owners - check in!
Alkin owners We should start a thread! How many hours do you have on your machine. Any maintenance done? Filters, oil, issues? I have 4 hours on my w31. Working like a champ!
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Guys who read this thread should bear in mind that most of us will only be doing annual oil changes and filter media replacement every 3 or 4 years. During the winter I run mine for a few minutes each month to keep the insides lubricated. I have two tanks and don't shoot much from December through February. My Alkin will outlive me based upon the fact that I'm only running it about 4-5 hours a year which is less than a business would run theirs per day.
I have had to repair a few leaks in my Alkin fill hose assembly over time. There is an 010 sized o-ring that seals the fill hose at each end that can leak so I recommend owners check them. The fill yoke assembly has several threaded parts which can leak at the teflon taped connections. I replaced the white teflon with yellow teflon tape which is available at any hardware store. It is slightly thicker and is better for higher pressure sealing. It requires fewer layers of tape to seal than the white tape. Small leaks can be diagnosed several ways. After turning off the compressor leave the fill hose connected to your tank. Close your tank valve and see if the hose gauge starts to lose pressure. Listen for leaks. Check the connections with soapy water if you suspect a leak. If your fill times start to increase that is an indicator that there is an air leak in your system. Hose connections are the likeliest source of leaks.
I have had to repair a few leaks in my Alkin fill hose assembly over time. There is an 010 sized o-ring that seals the fill hose at each end that can leak so I recommend owners check them. The fill yoke assembly has several threaded parts which can leak at the teflon taped connections. I replaced the white teflon with yellow teflon tape which is available at any hardware store. It is slightly thicker and is better for higher pressure sealing. It requires fewer layers of tape to seal than the white tape. Small leaks can be diagnosed several ways. After turning off the compressor leave the fill hose connected to your tank. Close your tank valve and see if the hose gauge starts to lose pressure. Listen for leaks. Check the connections with soapy water if you suspect a leak. If your fill times start to increase that is an indicator that there is an air leak in your system. Hose connections are the likeliest source of leaks.
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Can't answer that specifically, but generally for high quality scuba compressors, and alkin is probably the "lowest" quality that gets to be called high end. Back in the 1980's I knew a rescue/commercial diver very well, he tried to convince me to get into it so he would have a buddy to dive with locally, he was also certified to teach anything and everything including commercial hard suit deep diving, and would qualify me for free to deep dive without gas mix, can't remember limit on depth before you have to mix gases. He used an old Bauer for his personal compressor. It had over 5000 hours and had never been taken apart in it's life, and was sampled and tested quarterly. Do the normal maintenance(oil/filter changes) on a high end compressor not used in a harsh environment, don't do stupid things like not run it for cooldown with all valves open after each use, and they can last crazy hours before needing anything beyond normal use maintenance. For someone using it for personal pcp's probably a lifetime, even if you shoot big bores.
I never took lessons from him to get certified, scuba diving to me was just too expensive for something I really wasn't passionate about.
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At one time or another I've owned all three of the brands referred to as high end compressors. Based solely upon design and build quality regardless of price I rank them in the following order. Bauer best but most expensive, Alkin a close second and best value for money, and Coltri is third and more than good. All three are perfectly acceptable for long term use by a PCP owner. Bauer Junior II and the Alkin W31 are both heavier duty and sturdier than Coltri MCH models. To use automobile brands as an analogy, Bauer is a Rolls Royce, Alkin is a Mercedes, and Coltri is a Honda. Owners will be well served by all of them.
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I'm familiar with Bauer, we have them at the fire stations. If money is not an issue, that would be my choice.
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I might add, the electric motor on any of them these days is probably the weakest point of any high end compressor. They simply don't supply them with the same quality motor that they would have 40+ years ago. Up until my barn burned down, I had 3 pieces of equipment that had commercial use at a general electric locomotive plant in PA in the 50's and 60's before dad got them, at the time he was an electrical design engineer at the plant. They were used every week by dad in the 60's-80's and very light use by me since I moved them from the parents last house in 2010. They needed new brushes a couple times in their lifetime, cheap and easy to replace, I had to replace rubber bushed bearings on one, cheap and easy to replace(although I guarantee those new bearings would not last like the originals did), and they all ran like the day they were made. You can buy motors like that today, but for a 2hp-4hp 220v high end motor these days, the cost will make your eyes bleed and pretty much made to order. I've seen a heck of a lot of burned out/ruined motors in the last 30 years on "high end" equipment, pretty much a non-issue before the 1980's on any quality equipment. Back in the day, you just replaced a brush or worse case a bearing and your as good as new.
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And you're most likely to lose a capacitor before a bearing on a decent single phase motor.
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I count capacitors as normal wear items, never think about them, they are just a normal everyday wear item. Just like brake pads on a car, no need to mention them as replacement wear items, it's a given.
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