Altaros Double Booster B2B Edition seems ideal

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R

Reuel

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May 23, 2023
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Huntsville
After much thought I have decided that the Altaros Double Booster B2B Edition is the best solution for me. I personally don't know why anyone would go with a specialized compressor just for PCP applications. Seems to me that no matter what brand or what price you pay, all the compressors eventually break (some very quickly), need servicing and the water filter thing keeping the air dry is always an issue. Have read too many articles where a guy uses his pump once or twice, puts it away for 6 months then gets it back out and it does not work. I like the idea of a SCUBA tank filled with nice clean dry air from any local shop being my source. Its a tank, literally no moving parts to break. My thought is let the SCUBA shop have the high dollar pump and maintain it. I can take my 80 Cu Ft tank there once a year and get more air than i can ever use in a 288cc PCP gun, no matter how many times i use it. Yes, i have a typical shop compressor but why bother? Unless I am missing something here and I may be, seems to me that having a single 80 Cu Ft SCUBA tank filled with nice dry air to fill my PCP gun with a setup like the Altaros Double Booster B2B Edition is a simple straight forward deal. Help me out here am I missing something?
I read this over again and decided I should clarify I am a home shooter 22 cal only, nothing in the big bore which may justify an actual live pump. In other words i can shoot all day long and just not need much air. I should also mention the CF tank solution. Maybe just get a 78 Cu Ft CF tank and direct fill. That would work fine but maybe i read to much. I already have SCUBA tanks. Yes, they need to be hydro tested every 5 years. They are 35 years old and still work perfectly fine. CF tanks have a 15 year hard life expectancy and need to be tested every 3 years. Also again maybe I read to much, to many stories about CF tanks going bad before their time and the shop refuses to fill them or even have them tested. I have a hard time spending money on a CF solution knowing the tank simply will not last, no matter what.
 
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Reuel said:
Yes, i have a typical shop compressor but why bother?
Click to expand...

I do not know much about these but if you have a shop compressor, why not get the hybrid unit?

Doesn't it use the compressor just to run the mechanical side of things and only the dry air from the source tank ends up in the tank being filled?

Or am I completely wrong?
 
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Carbon fiber tanks can be filled years after they expire, I have been filling them for years. The US 15 year limit here is a 30 year limit in Europe on the same tank. Scores of us with compressors that can fill tanks use expired bottles.

Get both use a scuba for your donor bottle.

BTW I am going on 2.5 years on my Altaros booster. I had no access to a scuba shop so I purchased the compressor run version.
Regards,


Roachcreek
IMG_0084.jpeg
 
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No disrespect intended to you Roachcreek, but I see pics posted of your Altaros setup fed by 3 CAT shop compressors quite often. While it may be a workable solution for you personally, it would scare the crap out of any compressor novice without your level of expertise. It is a Rube Goldberg compressor rig if there ever was one. I'm wondering what the total cost was as compared to buying a dive quality compressor. With all of its plumbing, filtering, and shop compressors in addition to the Altaros it adds lot of pontential failure and leak points. Just out of curiosity, what is the total cost of the setup? Regardless of cost, it fills slower than almost any other compressor option and requires electricity to power all seven components.

Over twenty years ago I was bitten by the PCP bug and have tried lots of ways to find the holy grail of affordable, reliable, and convenient ways to supply air to my PCP collection. Everything from the original FX electrical handpump in a box, 2 Shoebox models, Carette, Daystate LC110, Bauer Utilus, to the Alkin W31. In addition, I've owned every type of tank size and type.

My worst mistake ever was buying an aluminum SCUBA tank. Regardless of how anyone fills their tank, a SCUBA tank is heavy, unwieldy, and holds the least amount of fills of any tank type. Do not spend money on a SCUBA tank unless you are a diver. Any size 4500 psi SCBA tank is a better way to fill PCPs. If someone gets a SCUBA tank because it's cheaper, it's a false economy. SCUBA tanks weigh 3 times more and give far fewer fills due to their lower pressure limit.

Altaros boosters are a reliable option for long term usage. If a PCP owner has many airguns and can afford it, they will enjoy the reliability, convenience, speed, and overall long term cost savings if they buy once, crys once with a dive quality compressor. Used Bauers, new Coltri MCH6's, etc. I used to recommend Alkins until they crossed the $4K price point. Great compressor but they are pricing themselves out of reach of most buyers.
 
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Using a shop compressor sounds nice but does not work for me. My shop is 50 feet from my house. I don't want to take my $2,500 rifle setup out to my dirty shop and clear out a space to refill. I would rather set a SCUBA tank on the floor in my den, set a B2B Booster pump on a table, hookup a couple hoses, open and close few valves and know that I have nice clean air both in my gun and driving the pump. Moister is the killer of all precision pumps, valves etc. I have not done the calculation yet but a typical 80 CuFt tank will fill a 288cc tank way over 10 times if i read the literature correctly. This is plenty enough for my needs, Side note: i called the local fire chief in my area that has 19 firehouses. Yes, they fill their own SCBA tanks, But, as expected I got a hard and fast no for filling any tank for the public. Obvious liability issues. I mention this because browsing forums you always see someone suggesting to go to your local firehouse and they can fill your CF tank. Wrong. I suspect that suggestion is put forth as gossip that sounds good and would be great if it were true. But, in this day and age I seriously doubt any fire staion is going to fill a private tank.
So with all this in mind does it make more sense to go with CF tank and pump, filling it yourself? Or a SCUBA tank and a B2B booster pump? My hesitation with a CF tank and my own pump is the whole dry air thing. I live in the south and the air is humid, everyday, 80%, 90% or higher. I am really concerned about moisture and getting rid of it. Thats why I am gravatating towards the SCUBA solution, clean dry air for all parts involved. And i have local shops that can refill a SCUBA tank anytime.
 
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Reuel, if I am understanding you correctly, you are powering your Altaros from a SCUBA tank and getting 10 fills before needing to take the SCUBA tank to a dive shop for a refill? I don't know what the dive shop charges, the distance involved, etc. Most of the Altaros' air input is consumed to drive the pump's drive piston instead of a motor to drive the compressor piston. A Shoebox was similar in requiring a booster compressor but used a motor and compressed 100% of the air it consumed from the booster compressor. It seems that buying a large capacity booster compressor would be less inconvenient and expensive long term than using an SCUBA tank as an air source. Am I understanding your setup is to use a SCUBA tank's air instead of a booster compressor? Why not just directly fill from the SCUBA tank to the PCP?
 
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Humdinger,

Isn’t it amusing that when someone says no disrespect intended, invariably they do.

I had several reasons for the way I designed my set up.

First I did not want my house filled with the stink of oil that the oil bath piston compressors put out.

I knew compressors, especially the Chinese piston compressors break down often. If I needed to ship it out for repair it would be difficult.

I went with the Californiaairtools compressors because they are cheap to purchase and very quiet. If one breaks down or wears out they are about the price of the small aircooled pcp compressor. I purchased the 3rd compressor as a spare, but decided to add it to the system, it keeps things running cool and slows the wear to the system.

I have no problem with slow fills as I like you ran various shoeboxes for years.

I have about 2 k in the system, but that is my money to spend, not yours. As for hoses and fittings, I would have that cost regardless of which compressor design I choose. But I would never spend the kind of money you say you have spent on compressors, if they were that good why did you have to buy so many.

You are welcome to your opion on whether it is a “Rube Goldberg system”as long as your out of arms reach, no disrespect intended, but your the first to describe it as such.

I also like to post pictures of the system, as you have mentioned, because I am proud of it and will keep doing it.

I don’t care for scuba tanks either but they are in my future as I will soon move to Maui to be close to my daughter who owns 70 of them and closer to the Philippines where I am building a 2nd home. So I will need to consider a bottle to bottle Altaros also.

Regards,

Roachcreek
IMG_0084.jpeg


Here is another picture I like to post as I am proud of it.
IMG_7700.jpeg
 
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First, aluminum SCUBA tanks fill to about 3200 psi max, maybe only 3000 depending on who fills the tank. Gun requires 3600 psi. So right away if using a SCUBA tank a booster is required. When i started down this road i was trying to avoid a high pressure specialized 4500 psi pump, not for cost reasons but for seemingly reliability issues and the whole air drying thing. A high pressure pump these days from my limited knowledge based on scouring forums etc as the more i read the more it seems like everything else these days the quality just is not there. For every good review you see there is another right behind it detailing a story of the same pump lasting only a few months with only 2 or 3 uses. Addin the air drying requirements and my random light usage, i was after what i thought would be a simpler more reliable solution. I would have no problem with a large 78 or 90 CuFt CF tank filled at a local shop then direct fill my gun. However, getting the tank filled to 4500 psi does not seem possible where i live. My local SCUBA shop does SCUBA tank only, 3000-3600 (AL-Steel). Now add in my strong desire to not use my shop compressor (for reasons previously stated) and we arrive at SCUBA tank-booster pump, sole air source. As we speak i have sent an email to Altaros to verify how many tank fills with the SCUBA tank as the only source of air (should have done that at the start of this research). I don't know where i got my numbers from earlier but they seem "off" a bit. I will make another effort to find some place in my area that can fill a CF tank to 4500 psi then direct fill from there. That for sure is the simplest solution. Side note: all my shooting is done from my back porch so hauling tanks around in the field is not an issue.
 
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I think the Cal air compressors have Chinese pistons too. They are assembled in San Diego from parts made in China. WTF does assembled mean. Could mean that main assemblies like compressor with motor, tank, frame are separate assemblies that are bolted together in San Diego.


Read the questions and answer section from Home Depot.
www.homedepot.com

California Air Tools 10 Gal. 2.0 HP Ultra Quiet and Oil-Free Electric Air Compressor with Auto Drain Valve 10020CAD - The Home Depot

The California Air Tools 10020CAD Ultra Quiet and Oil-Free Air Compressor is designed to be one of the quietest 2.0 HP air compressors in the industry having only 70 dB of sound. The Powerful
www.homedepot.com
 
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At the time I purchased mine the parts were made in Mexico. I really don’t know if they have changed.

It is difficult to keep Chinese junk out of our lives. Many of my eBay fittings are crap, they vibrate apart.

One big reason I chose the CAT compressors may surprise you. My first drive compressor I bought came from a east coast vender, I live on the west coast, the compressor had beaten its way out of the box due to rough handling by the shipper. I sent back because it leaked due to the damaged it received.

I started shopping for a different 110 volt compressor, not wanting to rewire my house, and found the CATS had a roll cage, and of course are on the west coast. I figured I could send them back easier to get repaired under warrantee if needed. The system runs best with no 3 compressors, but it runs well on 2. So far after two plus years I have had very little trouble, with the exception centered around a leaking fitting on the consul.

That shipping experience combined with the posters on forums who were shipping their AV compressors back scared me away from the piston hpa compressors. I live 50 miles from a shipping point and the wife and I do not drive, combined with the fact that we don’t have great transportation options. As a result the component system like I have works for me.

And I prefer the term “steam punk”( ;)

RC
 
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Roach, that is one heck of a setup you have there. I applaud your resourcefulness. A true airgunner to the core. Reminds me of a friend of mine who rebuilt his Harley engine in his living room. Once years ago I confess I rebuilt a C4 in my kitchen.
I am leaning towards Altaros B2B Booster with SCUBA tank as sole source of nice clean dry air. All my shooting is done from my back porch. Size and weight of tank is not an issue. And of course the Altaros pumps are back ordered.
 
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One winter as I got snowed in with a brand new S&W Russian model, a hacksaw and files, spring time caught ne with a homemade S&W new model #3 that I would have never bought outright.

Yeah it it’s a great set-up, though it needs service now and then. Right now I am tracking a new fill hose and a 110/12V transformer for it. I believe you can set up a bottle to bottle booster to be driven by a small compressor so you can use more air to be boosted.

Goog luck on your endeavors.

Regards,

Roachcreek
 
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TN_Yankee said:
Check if your local dive and paintball shops will fill to 4500psi (mine can). SCBA is way better than SCUBA for our uses.
Click to expand...
Neither of my 2 dive shops fill over 3600 psi. Actually not entirely true just yet. One shop hemmed and hawed and said he could try but it would be best to leave the tank there for the day and come back. He said he would have to go real slow and it would really tax his pump. My one paintball place did the same thing, hemmed and hawed about the size of the tank, 97CuFt CF. I still need to go by and look at his operation. My suspicion is I don't trust his air to be totally dry. This is why I am leaning towards the SCUBA solution with a Altaros Booster. I know from my own diving experience the air those guys fill your tanks with is bone dry.
 
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