How much did your setup cost?
How often do you use it?
How often do you perform maintenance?
How reliable is it?
How do you fill your PCP?
- Thread starter Michael
- Start date
How much did your setup cost?
How often do you use it?
How often do you perform maintenance?
How reliable is it?
My setup (Alkin W31 vertical w/ auto shut off) cost ~$4000 a few years ago.
I'm very irregular in my usage. I might average 8-10 tank fills a year. Certainly less than some (many?) on this board.
Maintenance is pretty much zero. Due to low hours, I haven't done any maintenance.
Reliability is rock solid - fire it up and top off a tank in minutes.
GsT
Edit: typo
I'm very irregular in my usage. I might average 8-10 tank fills a year. Certainly less than some (many?) on this board.
Maintenance is pretty much zero. Due to low hours, I haven't done any maintenance.
Reliability is rock solid - fire it up and top off a tank in minutes.
GsT
Edit: typo
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- GX CS3 $200
- Every other week or longer spans, depends on pests or weather for plinking
- Says after 50hrs, not there yet
- Still working
Does what I need it to do in relation to the budget I had. If I had more $, would have bought a higher end everything.
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Omaga Trail Charger....Had it for a few months now and have around two hours on it, which is quite a bit considering I only fill guns with it...most take 3 to 4 minuets from normal refill pressures. Only added a little water so far...Very impressed with this unit thus far...seems to operate effortlessly. One of the guys at AOA discussed this model (recommended) to me a year or two ago and convinced me to give it a try...Was 800 bucks plus shipping...gone up a little since then...imagine that...AOA has always done right by me and a person has to believe someone...Time will tell...Health issues stopped me from hand pumping. Going through a lot of pellets but that's the idea. I usually fill several guns when I start it up about weekly.
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Ole faithful..................8 years young this April. 33 1/2 hours on the clock. I fill my tanks (cascade set up) and 3 of my shooting buddy's tanks plus
tanks for the local airgunsmith. $2995 plus $185 truck freight from Arlington , TX to Hickory , NC . Best investment I've made in all my years of
shooting air guns.
tanks for the local airgunsmith. $2995 plus $185 truck freight from Arlington , TX to Hickory , NC . Best investment I've made in all my years of
shooting air guns.
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Yong Heng, $300ish with warranty. Last one was 3.5 years dependable, trouble free, maintenance was oil change every 10 hours. Only had my new one less than 2 weeks. We'll see how it compares. So far, so good. Never filled my pcp's, only top off tanks.
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$100 vevor YH type. Works well enough but very noisy, and air is leaking into the water coolant line when running. Never gets above 40c. Use it to fill a guppy tank and guns directly.
$460 for a gx cs4. I got it so I can top off the gk1 to 5K and have a portable unit to power with my car battery/generator. Quiet and drama free. I just read that it’s actually made by the same factory that makes Omega trail chargers, and it is the same rig in a different wrapper.
I have done no maintenance yet as the cs4 is new and the vevor is holding up. It will be a back-up air source going forward.
$460 for a gx cs4. I got it so I can top off the gk1 to 5K and have a portable unit to power with my car battery/generator. Quiet and drama free. I just read that it’s actually made by the same factory that makes Omega trail chargers, and it is the same rig in a different wrapper.
I have done no maintenance yet as the cs4 is new and the vevor is holding up. It will be a back-up air source going forward.
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Assembled June 2021, total cost <$400. Fill session every 3-5 days. Perform dead head pressure test @ annual oil change (SecoLube 500), or if fill times noticeably increase. Replaced several Delrin washers, quick-disconnect "O" rings and leaking gauge. WM
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My first PCP-Rapid MKII with 1st gen. FX Stirrup pump...
A lot of sweat, when I was young...yr"02
Well insearch of solution...I contacted Curly (Bruce) at Airetex, got a great deal on a floor model Alkins W31
Customer Loaner low hrs(less than 40) . Also got an Airhog 88 cu.ft. tank..yr"07
Everything has been running great other than normal maintenance and valve rebuild on the third stage..
Now I got an Impact M3 w/300 bar bottle.
So I picked up a Hills EC3000, with my own upgrades....
So I fill off my bottle and Top-off to 300 bar using the EC3000...yr"22
A lot of sweat, when I was young...yr"02
Well insearch of solution...I contacted Curly (Bruce) at Airetex, got a great deal on a floor model Alkins W31
Customer Loaner low hrs(less than 40) . Also got an Airhog 88 cu.ft. tank..yr"07
Everything has been running great other than normal maintenance and valve rebuild on the third stage..
Now I got an Impact M3 w/300 bar bottle.
So I picked up a Hills EC3000, with my own upgrades....
So I fill off my bottle and Top-off to 300 bar using the EC3000...yr"22
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i have a basic yongheng setup with cheapo gold filter, an expired firemans tank and various hoses/fittings .. total cost involved - under 5 bills ... ive had it 3-4 years and have done nothing to it but lube things but my usage is lower than most id say .. my airgun use is all business, pesting, i dont 'bench' shoot other than to sight in and plink occassionally .. fill my 2 tanks every couple of months ..
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Alkin W31 vertical, March 2022 IIRC. $3500+ maybe $185 shipping.
I keep my two 74cf SCBA’s filled with it.
Swapped out the Foster quick connect with a DIN 300. Zero maintenace or repair other than oil change.
I keep my two 74cf SCBA’s filled with it.
Swapped out the Foster quick connect with a DIN 300. Zero maintenace or repair other than oil change.
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Coltri mch 6 so far I've had a belt failure and safety valve fail other than changing the oil and those 2 small things failing it been good just under 3000.00 a couple years ago
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I thought I'd have quite a bit of hours on it all ready but doesn't take long to top off the tanks being that I fill 6 or 7 tanks that includes my 3 my friends 2 and a couple others but I still only have 6 hours on it but I'm never waiting for air either
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No shortage of air here!! LOL But, when you stumble on an absolute no brainer of a deal, you have to jump on it!!
The Benjamin ReCharge was my first compressor that I used for almost 2yrs. I had a warranty issue so Benjamin sent me a brand new unit which is still in the box and listed in the classifieds. While I was working thru the replacement with Benjamin, I came across a "too good to be true" deal on a Bauer Compressor and Hydraulics International booster pump. Don't need both but I use both to keep my 2 large SCBA tanks full.
The Bauer only has 450hrs on it and has needed no maintenance. No way to know the hours on the booster but it has run maintenance free. Both units are super reliable and just might out live me!!
The Benjamin ReCharge was my first compressor that I used for almost 2yrs. I had a warranty issue so Benjamin sent me a brand new unit which is still in the box and listed in the classifieds. While I was working thru the replacement with Benjamin, I came across a "too good to be true" deal on a Bauer Compressor and Hydraulics International booster pump. Don't need both but I use both to keep my 2 large SCBA tanks full.
The Bauer only has 450hrs on it and has needed no maintenance. No way to know the hours on the booster but it has run maintenance free. Both units are super reliable and just might out live me!!
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I fill from two great white 97 cu ft tanks, that get topped off ever 10 days to 2 weeks using an Alkin 31 - only takes about 5 minutes to go from 3000 t0 4500 psi.
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I've been running a Shoebox Max for the past ten years - which of course pre-dates the revolution in cheaper compressors. As such, I bought it new for about $700, as I did not want to spend the $1100 on the Shoebox F8 at the time. I also spent about $150 on my pre-filtration set up.
Based on my log book I have used it for ~380 tank refills, and it has pumped over 2100 cubic feet of air to 4500 psi through those fills over 305 hours of run time - it is on the slow side, but it is so rock solid and is a "set it and forget it" compressor (especially with a timer that I run so that it can't run longer than a calculated max fill).
I have only rebuilt the cylinders (meaning swap out the o-rings) once at ~140 hours of runtime, and I probably did not really need to do it then - I just thought I should. I now have over 160 hours on these o-rings and it shows no signs of needing another rebuild yet - I have o-rings for many more rebuilds on hand, plus lots of other spare parts I bought when Tom closed up shop.
I love this design so much that I bought a backup unit that is like new, in case this one dies - it is one of the last F-10s built and the original owner only used it for ~6 hours of run time before selling it to me. I put about 1 hour on it testing it out and slowing it down with an F8 pulley so it runs cooler with less load on the bearings, and I plan to run it once every six months until the Max eventually dies - which it shows no sign of doing. I should be set with these for the rest of my life, and then my kids can take over with them . . .
Based on my log book I have used it for ~380 tank refills, and it has pumped over 2100 cubic feet of air to 4500 psi through those fills over 305 hours of run time - it is on the slow side, but it is so rock solid and is a "set it and forget it" compressor (especially with a timer that I run so that it can't run longer than a calculated max fill).
I have only rebuilt the cylinders (meaning swap out the o-rings) once at ~140 hours of runtime, and I probably did not really need to do it then - I just thought I should. I now have over 160 hours on these o-rings and it shows no signs of needing another rebuild yet - I have o-rings for many more rebuilds on hand, plus lots of other spare parts I bought when Tom closed up shop.
I love this design so much that I bought a backup unit that is like new, in case this one dies - it is one of the last F-10s built and the original owner only used it for ~6 hours of run time before selling it to me. I put about 1 hour on it testing it out and slowing it down with an F8 pulley so it runs cooler with less load on the bearings, and I plan to run it once every six months until the Max eventually dies - which it shows no sign of doing. I should be set with these for the rest of my life, and then my kids can take over with them . . .
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Well…. I’ve been using my Omega Aircharger for 3 yrs. Has 38hrs on it and still going strong. I bought a GX CS4 last April for just in case. Then the brown truck brought this Monday night.
20 mins on it and it is outstanding so far..
20 mins on it and it is outstanding so far..
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I too run a Shoebox, had it for about 10 years. Got a backup as well, plus a boneyard one for parts.
Topping off two large tanks every week. I also have the Brancato high-pressure filter between the Box and the bottle, plus a three-filter set-up on the low-pressure side feeding the Box.
I kept track of hours in a notebook on my phone for about 5 years. Kept notes previous to that. I have rebuilt twice on both, one was a 'ground up' rebuild from a nice used Box bought from a member on this forum.
I missed buying from Tom but located Zack at OCO Labs (Tom's new endeavor) for some of the parts that still work on the Box. Other parts I watch for. Really the only parts that don't seem attainable from say McMaster-Carr, are the cylinders, main block, support rod and piston spacers, which I assume are all custom parts. I have a line on most other parts from various vendors (I'm working on a spreadsheet to confirm each part and where to buy along with part numbers).
About 3 months ago I installed a small water pump and 'radiator' in front of the computer fan to aid further cooling. It works great. At that time, I also cut the aluminum front shield and installed a hinge to open up the right side to allow lubricating the pistons without removing the shield. I wanted to keep the shield intact to see how the cooling worked out.
I just installed an hour meter a few weeks ago, so I can more readily tell how many hours Box #2 (in use) has operated.
Maintenance and service are a breeze, especially after working on several Boxes (friends as well as mine) multiple times.
AlanMcD has had some great input/ideas in conjunction with my quest to keep these guys running smoothly (thank you!).
I really enjoy using the Box and its simplicity.
Mike
Topping off two large tanks every week. I also have the Brancato high-pressure filter between the Box and the bottle, plus a three-filter set-up on the low-pressure side feeding the Box.
I kept track of hours in a notebook on my phone for about 5 years. Kept notes previous to that. I have rebuilt twice on both, one was a 'ground up' rebuild from a nice used Box bought from a member on this forum.
I missed buying from Tom but located Zack at OCO Labs (Tom's new endeavor) for some of the parts that still work on the Box. Other parts I watch for. Really the only parts that don't seem attainable from say McMaster-Carr, are the cylinders, main block, support rod and piston spacers, which I assume are all custom parts. I have a line on most other parts from various vendors (I'm working on a spreadsheet to confirm each part and where to buy along with part numbers).
About 3 months ago I installed a small water pump and 'radiator' in front of the computer fan to aid further cooling. It works great. At that time, I also cut the aluminum front shield and installed a hinge to open up the right side to allow lubricating the pistons without removing the shield. I wanted to keep the shield intact to see how the cooling worked out.
I just installed an hour meter a few weeks ago, so I can more readily tell how many hours Box #2 (in use) has operated.
Maintenance and service are a breeze, especially after working on several Boxes (friends as well as mine) multiple times.
AlanMcD has had some great input/ideas in conjunction with my quest to keep these guys running smoothly (thank you!).
I really enjoy using the Box and its simplicity.
Mike
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I have 2 hand pumps.
A used Crosman I bought for about $100, and a new chinese pump I paid about $50 for.
I don't use them very much for obvious reasons. I use the chinese pump the most.
I have treated them the way the Godfather of Airguns showed me, and I have never performed maintanance on either one.
Never had any problem with either one.
And, yes I am looking for an inexpensive compressor... I would shoot the PCPs a lot more if air wasn't an issue. I shoot the springer or pump pnuematics more just because of this reason.
A used Crosman I bought for about $100, and a new chinese pump I paid about $50 for.
I don't use them very much for obvious reasons. I use the chinese pump the most.
I have treated them the way the Godfather of Airguns showed me, and I have never performed maintanance on either one.
Never had any problem with either one.
And, yes I am looking for an inexpensive compressor... I would shoot the PCPs a lot more if air wasn't an issue. I shoot the springer or pump pnuematics more just because of this reason.
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