Altaros Booster questions

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Franklink

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Sep 3, 2017
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Asking anybody with Altaros booster experience.....

(and with realization that manufacturer supplied CFM ratings are likely...optimistic)

In regards to shop compressors, it seems pretty standard for them to have an inverse relationship between CFM and regulator pressure (decrease the regulator pressure and the CFMs go up).

With the goals of:
  • relatively quick fills (I used a Shoebox F10 for a few years so I have realistic expectations on fill speeds from boosters)
  • and minimizing the production of moisture
is it better to try to maximize CFM or increase the shop compressors regs output pressure so the Altaros sees higher pressure air?

Perhaps not wording that properly...I'll try another way: My shop compressor has a 20gallon tank and is rated to put out 5.3cfm at 90psi. Altaros website specifies 10 bar (145psi) as the max for the first stage/input (shop compressor). Am I going to want to set the regulator on the shop compressor at 90psi so I get that 5.3cfm or will I accomplish my goals of relatively quick fills and minimization of moisture by running the shop compressor with a higher regulator pressure (and therefore lower CFM)?

And a third way to word it: does the Altaros booster like to see (from the shop compressor) higher CFM or higher pressure?

I also have a smaller 6 gallon pancake compressor that is rated for 2.6cfm at 90psi. I understand they can be ran in tandem to get a combined 7.9CFM if I'm unhappy with fill rates from the bigger compressor alone....
 
The higher the pressure of the feed air the more moisture you can dump before the booster but your compressor will run less efficiently and generate more heat. You will also waste more air on the drive side. It runs great on 90 psi, most shop compressora are happy at that pressure. Answer: run 90 psi works great.
 
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I have found that the closer you are to the Altators CFM and PSI recommendations the better it will run, meaning less heat and water.

I have run mine with one 1.5 hp, I believe if memory serves me, it was used on my Shoeboxes, HF compresser, it made huge amounts of water and was loud and very slow.

All the California air tool compressors (CATS) below incorporated 12 inch fans strapped above the motor and pistons. The CATS are oilessless and 110Volt.

I ran it with one 2hp/125 psi 5.5 cfm CAT, it was a little better, but still put out a lot of water and not as fast as the 3 generations of Shoeboxes I have run

I went to two of the CAT 2hp/125 psi units an that speeded up things dramatically, perhaps a little better than a Shoebox in speed I used 3 media water filters .

I then went to 3 CATS. And speed went up, water problems went down.

I turned the CATS up to 135 psi from 125 PSI and speed picked up, perhaps 90 minutes to top off a 60 minute scba from 3800 to 4400 psi, one dessicant filter need changing.

You need to be as close to the max Altaros recommends to work best and keep your drive/air supply compressor(s) from being too hot and thus producing more water. You want your compressors to run at a 30/70 % on/off run time to avoid heat, water and wear. Without my 12 inch fans, I doubt my compressors would last two years.

90 psi seems to be too low in my experience. Running the two compressors you mention would not work either, they need to be matched.

Turning them up to 135 psi made a noticeable difference, but makes them difficult to tune to the same exact pressure. You need a new safety relief valve of higher relief pressure and to tune them at the switch box for the pressure. Their is a safety issue with turning them up also.

They need to be putting out that exact pressure if your cascading them, If not the highest set pressured compressor will run all the time, so I would advise against that unless you have lots of time to fuss with the pressure .

Imagine the cascaded compressor as a team of horses, they need to be matched in strength, psi in the case of the compressors or you run in circles.

Regards,

Roachcreek
 
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I have my compressor shutting off at 140 and back on at 90. The higher the pressure, up to the stated max, the faster it will fill, although it’s not going to set any speed records. In my opinion, set your compressor to the max and adjust the valve on the Altaros to have your compressor run 60% of the time, I.E. six minutes out of every 10.
 
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Thanks for the input.

On a related note...just for clarification....benefits of a larger tank/volume on the shop compressor supplying the Altaros booster are:
  • Shop compressor doesn't cycle on and off as often (hopefully increasing longevity)
  • Air has a better chance to cool, allowing more air to be expelled out the blow out valve in the shop compressor, therefore getting rid of it earlier in the system
  • Anything else?
 
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Franklin is absolutely correct on the large shop compresser. That is if your living environment will support it.

In my case I did not want the cost to rewire my garage for 220v or to have the oil smell the iarger and faster piston compressors either shop or 4500 psi, put out. That and the design of the houses and yards here would not help. Another issue is cost. I have 3 CATS, they are great little compressors, 400 bucks to your door and 3 of them cost as much as a bottom line, economy grade 220 volt compresser.

My personal best option would be to move to Maui with a bottle to bottle option and use one of my daughters 70 scuba tanks, another thing my budget will not allow.

RC
 
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I needed to rebuild mine recently, scared me to the brink of chronic nose picking.

It ended up being a simple task.

I also turned my compressors back down to 90 psi psi as I was tired of trying to match them at 140 psi. Being retired the slightly faster fills with a booster were not worth the time and trouble, besides running 3 works so well and keeps them very cool. The longer run time to refresh the compressors at higher pressure also created more heat.

You can order from Altaros just Google it.

The booster will come with a oil water separator inside the cabinet. My oil/water separator ended up with a leak, so due to the fact I run oil less compressors, I just removed mine.

RC
 
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Had a member wondering about fill rates and moisture a few days ago....

I filled a 45min SCBA from 3600 to 4400 this morning. Took 2hrs and 10 min.

I replaced the orange/green dessicant in the external (upper right) predryer one time during the fill, at the 1hr mark. It's green again when this photo was taken, at the end of the 130minutes.
PXL_20230809_164922777.jpg

The orange silica container within the Altaros was not changed, and it's just starting to change to green at the entrance side (right).

I did remove water from the external blowouts a couple times during the 130minutes. I never got any liquid moisture from the blow out within the Altaros.

The tampon within the brass colored filter on the high pressure side was completely dry after the 130minutes (bottom left in photo).

Pretty much outside as its in the gunroom in the garage and I opened the gunroom door and garage door during the fill. Temps from 75-80 with relative humidity between 38-42%, dew point of 54 degrees.
 
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rodm1 said:
Thanks! I'm getting ready to order one just saving up the cash. Do you happen to have the bottle to bottle option?
Click to expand...
I did not opt for the bottle to bottle version, mines just the one that uses a low pressure shop compressor as the air source.

I should have included earlier that I'm feeding the Altaros with a shop compressor that has a 20gallon tank and rated for 5.3cfm. A larger shop compressor would be an improvement to my system.
 
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beerthief said:
Question . can you use air or c02 tank as a drive source and Nitrogen as a fill source (high pressure to gun or tank ?
obviously i know nothing about this type of compressor .
Click to expand...
Yes. Drive air and feed air can be separated. Co2 drive and nitrogen feed is what we did in paintball when we first started using boosters.
 
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xindaris said:
The Altros is quite a bit slower than the Shoebox was and puts a lot more demand on the compressor. Save up and buy an Alkin W31. In the long run it will cost you less and last a lifetime. And there is no comparison in performance, the Alkin wins hands down.
Click to expand...


I turned down the restrictor quite a bit on mine and ran it for a few hrs this morning while I was irrigating, taking kids to school, spraying weeds, etc.

I did drop by a couple times to monitor the temps of the shop compressor, as well as the run/rest times, and the moisture in the dryers. I liked what I saw much better here. Shop compressor heads never got too hot to hold my hand on (they were before). Much less moisture in my dessicant, with it instead being in the blow out at the bottom of the low pressure tank on the shop compressor.

Trade off for lower shop compressor temps and moisture not making it past the shop compressors tank? Slower fill time. A completely acceptable trade off in my opinion.
 
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