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High Dollar Compressor vs Chinese Compressors - to buy or not to buy . . .

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tgardner00

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Mar 10, 2017
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Daystates Compressors - $2000 - $3300. Omega Compressors $1100 - $1600. Yong Heng Compressors - $300 - $500 (depending on whether you are getting a water seperator or not plus misc supplies)

What am I missing? This would appear to be a no-brainer. $500 total investment seems to be the much better investment. What am I missing? Is there some measure of safety that I am risking by not going with the super high dollar compressors? Im looking for information that can push me one way or another. Thanks for your inputs everyone.
 
Hpa is dangerous but people are so scared they become paranoid about it. How many people you know been killed by a hpa compressor or tank blowing up? None I know. How many been killed by guns, car, drugs, etc. Yet we don't think twice about them. I've have used the yong Heng compressor in the past. It's small, probable, and fill your guns in minutes. It all depends on what you trying to do. Are you running a airgun shop, paintball club, and need to fill many tanks. If that's the case, you would want to go with the Bauer or airmax compressor. They are built to last and are made for suba and firefighters. But they are in the $3000-6000 range. If you just need to fill your guns or tank and maybe top off once a week or so. The yong Heng is your best choice. It's the cheapest, and gets the job done. And if it ever breaks, you only down $200. The only draw back of the yong Heng is, it's loud and needs a external water bucket. I switch from the yong heng to the hatsan lighting. Field supply have them for $1093. Best bang for the money imo. Same compressor as the air venturi, but has digital gauge and auto Purge, and cheaper. Av is $1399. No matter what compressor you choose. It will get the job done. It's like driving a car. You can pay $1500 for a Honda, or pay 1 million for a super fancy sport car. But they all do the same job, get you from point A to point B.
 
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quality, warranty, manuals, post filters oil and water filters (average 100 each and you need 2 usually), is what you are missing. YH compressors work, but mine expired after a bit more than a year, with piston failure (using it for 6.8L and 9Liter bottles) twise a week. But it was paid for itself and the replacement part is on his way for US$25.

If you ask me go for the top set pressure YH and also get a 12v (hatsan spark like for US$450) compressor. So you will have a travel compressor and a back up, for less than US$1.000 is all you need (and what I have now)

Check here https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/yong-heng-compressor-tips-compilation/


 
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It took me a couple years to make a decision between the AV, Daystate, and Omega. When Hatsan released the Lightning that added yet another choice.

I rejected outright the Yong Heng because I dont want to have to buy another anytime soon.

The Lightning has way too many complaints, so I rejected that. 

I have a large storage tank, and 3 scba tanks and was worried about longevity with the AV.

I decided on the Daystate LC110 just last week, so I dont have it yet, but I believe I made the correct choice.
 
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It would be crazy if the same factory made both the high-end and low-end compressors with the same supervision and QC. Jokes on us all. lol. Sort of like how Panasonic made Optimus receivers back in the day. I still dont know how to justify the high priced compressors sold on popular airgun sites. What am I getting for $1500 that I am not getting for $500 total investment?
 
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First step -- define what your fill goal is. Is it 4500 PSI? Is it 3200 PSI?

Second step -- define what you're going to fill. Is it buddy bottle? Is it a 480cc tank? Is it a 90cu-in tank? Is it a 90cf tank?

Step three -- scope how arduous the fill process is and how error prone it may be

Step four -- Do some ROI and cost-benefit calculations for longevity, maintenance, etc.

Step five -- define how long you're willing to wait for the object in step two to be filled.

Final step -- Select a compressor that will do the defined above and select it well. Ensure the duty cycle of the compressor will fit the needs of the above.

I dumped $850 on an AirForce E-Pump that trashed itself less than a month after purchase. I'm still waiting now a month later for a replacement under warranty. The thing is made in China and AirForce appears to have cut the origin data/printing off the box and slapped an AirForce sticker over the cut cardboard. I'm not joking. Make sure whatever you get has been around long enough that the engineering flaws are resolved AND you have a company that will stand behind the product in a timely fashion. AirForce stopped returning my E-Mails.

I currently am using a Daystate/Coltri LC-110 and I've done ... nine 90cu-in bottle fills to 4500 PSI. It says made in Italy so it's made there or they are liars. I don't eat brass and crap gold, it's just that the kiddos and I do a lot of plinking and I got tired of propping up a very clear market gap that exists for low/mid-grade compressors by companies who are purchasing from China under minimal QC and slapping their sticker on it. You see it with Hatsan, Benjamin, AirForce, Air Venturi, etc. I know someone with a Benjamin Traveler that came with the internal fan on the compressor not even connected to the PCB.

It is what it is, it's your money, so you spend it how you see fit. A bicycle, motor cycle, mini van, and sports car will get you from point A to point B -- it's how much work you want to do in between and how far you need to go that you need to figure out. Once you got that figured out you'll know what you need to purchase.

The only thing that irks me is the $854 I dumped into AirForce garbage would have been a little under half the cost of the LC-110. In trying to save money I ended up spending more money than if I'd have just got what I needed to at the beginning.
 
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I started with a Yong Heng-like compressor. It crapped itself after about a couple of months. Then I bought a Tuxing two cylinder compressor, which is the base compressor that the AV and Hatsan are based off of. Had fun installing my own cooling system so I wasn't doing the bucket, pump and ice thing every time I wanted to fill a tank. Moved from the 'burbs to the city, Tuxing too loud for close quarters, plus it started having troubles. Worked with Tuxing and @josoo to fix it, and was provided repair parts for free from China, Nick @socaloldman got it running last year and its been good ever since. Bought a Daystate LC110 after I gave the Tuxing to Nick, and never looked back. Hook it up, turn it on, 15 to 20 minutes later tank is at 4500 psi, and I'm good to go. I have over 7.5 hours run time on it now and never even so much as a hiccup. 

So, you can buy once, cry once, or not, its totally up to you. If I had to do it all over again, I'd just buy the Daystate and call it a day... ;) I look at it like I bought a Yugo, then a Chevy Metro, and then a BMW 328d. All three will get you to and from work. Which one would you rather drive?
 
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I would get the Daystate I currently have the Carette the Daystate wasn’t out yet when I got the Carette. It’s like buying a car some people are happy with basic transportation others want more than that. If you do get the cheap compressor and go cheap with moisture removal you’ll be spending a lot more in the long run. I would never by a PCP from someone who used a cheap compressor with a tampex filter system.
 
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T3PRanch, I have to disagree. I use my Yong Heng to fill my 45min SCBA bottle to 4500psi. No problems. 

As for the ROI, I figure I can buy 5-8 Yong Hengs for the price of one high dollar compressor.

Click to expand...

NO problems "YET"! Call me pedantic but what is the quality if your air. Is it particle free and is it dry (enough)? There is a whole lot more to high pressure air for a PCP than just high pressure.

A few years down the road there will be a fairly large number of gun failures due to inadequate clean dry air being used in them coming from "CSCC's and other "budget" compressors! I have handled, taken apart and repaired enough guns to see what wet particle filled air can do in a very short time to a high dollar gun! 

I like cheap as well as any one else but for the long haul the absolute best purchase of a compressor is one made to provide breathing air for the human body AND is well maintained on a regular schedule. Expensive? Yes. 
 
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 The Yong Heng and clones class of compressors is like comparing a plastic Crosman $60 air rifle from Walmart to an Air Arms, Daystate, or FX and asking why pay the difference? They both shoot pellets. The box on the Crosman says 1,000 fps. So why buy a pricier air rifle?

The difference is durability, ease of use, reliability, and resale value. For me, it's nice to know that when I fire up my Daystate LC-110 I don't have to worry about it dying today trying to fill a tank it was not designed for. Chinese built overdriven compressors burn up quickly, some even arrive DOA. I'd rather know my compressor was built to last and is not going to fail because it is being driven beyond its design limits. The other fallacy of economy chinese units is that they are a good investment if you get a year or two out of them before they become scrap. My Daystate will give me 5 years of trouble free service without hooking up buckets, listening to a loud racket, or needing to add components like water separator towers. A water separator tower should be on every compressor to prevent moisture from reaching a high pressure filter. Finally, if the state of the art advances to a better value compressors down the road a Daystate will still have resale value whereas a used $300 class chinese compressor is worth the weight of the metal it contains.

No way I'm going to depend on a cheap compressor to fill my tanks with minimally filtered air and risk ruining my PCPs or fill tank. If you buy a Vespa to travel the interstate, it's your choice. I'd rather rely on a Kia or Toyota. A Daystate LC-110 is a reasonably priced, durable, dive compressor design. It is a plug and play compressor. A $300 chinese compressor is a plug and pray compressor. It's using a hamster to pull an ox cart. It might do it a few times before dying from exhaustion and overheating.
 
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It seem to me that folks who spend $2k-4k on high end daystate and airmax 35/45 and Bauer will defend their money's worth, while folks who spend like $200 on a yong Heng will defend he isn't dropping a couple hundred on a cheap Chinese junk. It doesn't matter if it's Chinese junk or American junk. These compressor will fail one day, sooner or later. Nothing last forever. All I see is Chinese this, Chinese that. To be honest. That's kinda racist. To say Americans is better than Chinese. Smh. Some Chinese stuff are made really good. Better than some american made. Now put all that Chinese crap stereotype aside. To OP. Go with whatever your budget allows. If you can afford a $3000 compressor and think it's worth the money to invest. Go for it. If you just want to be able to fill you guns for the lowest cost. The yong Heng, (not those fake clones) is your best deal. The original yong Heng have the name written on the side. The fake doesnt. Also how often do you shoot? I spent $1200 on the hatsan lighting. I shoot once a week and only fill my tank once a month. So I probably never gonna break even cause I shoot less. But that's what I choose. Most yong Heng owners have already broken even spending $200 on a compressor vs getting it fill by a shop.
 
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