New Xisico Compressor - Initial Impressions

I received my new Xisico Compressor from Flying Dragon Air Rifles yesterday. It was packaged well and was smaller than I had expected, which is a good thing. The first thing I noticed was the shipping label to me was placed on top of another shipping label. It was sent to Flying Dragon from Travis Whitney, not Xisico. From what I've read on GTA, apparently Travis is doing the switch from grease to the oil bath. Having said that, it only came with a half bottle of oil and no instructions as to how much oil to add. Again, being a member of GTA, I had seen a video on the initial set-up. The video shows a full bottle of oil and it appears the whole bottle was used.

This to me is very misleading, and if a consumer was NOT a member of GTA and had NOT seen the video, they could assume that the amount of oil provided is the proper amount needed, and could be running it with only half the required amount of oil. Again, since there were no instructions included, I don't really don't know how much oil is actually needed to properly fill the crankcase!

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I have not tested the compressor yet because I need to get more oil first! I don't feel comfortable mixing oil since the bottle had no markings other than the hand scribbled word "oil" on the side. I'll pick up some good synthetic HPA compressor oil and use that instead.

The other thing I found were half the sheet metal screws securing the top of the case had stripped out the sheetmetal, one to the point it could not be removed! It just spins, so the cover can not be completely removed until that screw is extracted. It's as if the screws were over torqued when installed or reinstalled. I have no idea if this occurred at the factory or when the conversion was done, but it's not something a consumer expects to find on a brand new compressor.

I'd like to inject a quick note: It was obvious the compressor was not opened and inspected by Mike at Flying Dragon, the shipping label was intact and taped over the seam of the top of the box. I don't fault Mike or Flying Dragon, I just assume he trusted whatever was done to the compressor between factory and him was done correctly. I have sent him an e-mail to let him know of what I have found thus far... I feel he needs to know because the uninformed consumer would most likely hold him accountable. I just want to ensure he knows what's happening so he can address it with the factory.

So, initial thoughts aren't that great. I had read that Xisico was going to be shipping these already converted to the oil bath, so by purchasing from Flying Dragon, I guess I was expecting to get a factory fresh compressor. That's wasn't the case, so finding out it wasn't was a little disappointing. Hopefully, once I get the right amount of good quality oil, I'll have it up and running and will be happy with it's performance. I have read good things about this compressor, so I have faith things will work out for the best.

Update:  I did hear back from Mike at FDAR and he said he'd be adding some instructions on the amount of oil needed in future units. He also said he should start receiving them direct from Xisico within the next 2-3 weeks. I probably should have asked before I ordered, but he also told me to be sure to let him know if I have any other issues. I doubt I will, but it's good to know I purchased from a vendor who will stand behind the product he sells, and is quick to respond to an e-mail from a customer! 👍
 
I bought it from Flying Dragon Air Rifles, their price is $450.00 with free shipping, so about $49.99 less than the one being sold on Amazon, and you have the backing of a reputable vendor. 

http://flyingdragonairrifles.org/index.php?route=product/product&path=60&product_id=71

UPDATE 2:  I picked up a quart of synthetic HPA Compressor oil and filled it to ¼" below the fill opening, per the set-up video and ran it through the set-up procedure. All works as advertised!

https://youtu.be/CH33_Apu3ps

I added a temperature gauge, jut so I could monitor what's going on. The compressor doesn't have one, they say it doesn't need one, but heat is the nemesis of all things mechanical, and easily the one thing that will kill a compressor. And yea, I'm probably annal as well.

In any event, I then filled my ARA Backpacker to 3400 psi. It ran about 5-6 minutes before it reached pressure and shut down. As it was getting past the 3000 psi mark you could notice a change in the sound, almost as if it was slowing down just a tad. It chugged along until it reached the set pressure and shut itself off. This run topped out at 100.2 degrees.

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For comparison purposes, my Benjamin Recharge would have topped that same tank in probably half the time and the temp would have reached about 55 degrees Celsius (about 131F) so it dies seem to run a bit cooler and the higher speed, water cooled compressors. The Recharge will reach about 60C (140F) when filling an air gun to 4500 psi and 65C (149F) when filling my 90ci Guppy Tank to around 4300 psi.

So, despite the rocky start, it does run as advertised! I'll probably swap out the sheet metal screws with some machine screws and JB weld the nuts to the inside lip of the case. This should make it easier when it comes time to perform any maintenance and will prevent the holes from being stripped any further.
 
To be fair, there were instructions, just not for the one with an oil bath! The instructions were for the one you add grease to. So, no mention anywhere as to how much oil is actually needed or where you add it. The fact the video shows adding a full bottle when only a half full bottle is provided just further adds to the confusion. Mike said he's going to add a note about watching the set-up video with each new one he sends out and indicated he appreciated the feedback. That note will work for those of us who are on one of these forums and see the video. Someone who does not partake in any form of social media is going to be in the dark!
 
Crap. Just yesterday I ordered the Amazon version because I could not find a Xisico in the U.S. I only found them in Canada. I thought the oil bath was the V1 and the grease was V2 - but then again I am wrong a lot.



I was briefly enticed by the Gx5 - but at $2400, it was a bit more than I can safely remove from the fun money. I will have to work up to it while I use the Gx3 filling the guns directly.
 
I used a Refrigerator Temperature Gauge I got off Amazon, it's just like those that come on most compressors (YH, Spark, etc.) but it reads Fahrenheit instead of Celsius.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RP1476/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I ran the sensor line through the plastic cap on the back of the case, It's the one that's between the 2 fans. I then slip the probe between the fins on the head of the compressor and just used a tie strap to secure it place. I wrapped the tie strap around the body of the top fan. It's mainly just to keep the probe from slipping out of the fins. The holder is 3D printed, I found the file on Thingiverse and used double sided tape to secure it to the top of the compressor. The compressor sits long wise against the wall on my bench, so it makes it really easy to see the temperature when it's running. I also like the fact I can monitor the temperature as it cools off and I let the fans run until it cools to close to the ambient temperature before shutting off the fans.
 
I purchased the same compressor from this site in Canada. https://airgunarcheryfun.ca/jts-gx-e-cs3-compressor/

He offers both the grease units, shipped from Canada, and the oil bath model, which is shipped from California. I bought the oil bath version, and it arrived in three days. Wes was extremely helpful, and responded to my questions within minutes, except when I couldn’t sleep and thought of something new to ask at 3 am. Absolutely great customer service, and I highly recommend him. 


My only problem is I haven’t received my rifle yet, so I haven’t been able to use it!
 
FLgunner,



I haven’t even opened the box yet. I will let you know when I do, but I will probably follow your advice and fill it with synthetic HPA oil from the start. 


Out of curiosity, are you planning to fill your guppy or other tanks with this? I don’t really want to schlep this thing around on bumpy roads in the desert, and was looking at buying a CE tank from Wes. He recommended that I stay at 3L or less, and to be diligent in keeping to 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off when filling anything, but especially a tank. He also recommended a second oil-water separator filter on the line out, just to be safe. 


Also, have you come up with a way to drain it, or will you just use a syringe like the video from GTA?


Kevin
 
I’m not sure I’d want to push this one to fill a tank. It’s probably going to struggle filling the 580cc tank I have on my Crown! LOL! It seems the case is sealed pretty well, as long as you keep it upright, I don’t think you’d have any issues with it in a vehicle, even if you are bouncing through the desert. In a desert environment, I’d worry more about over heating that I would moisture. The air is probably pretty dry and it does have an oil/water separator. I’d recommend getting a temp gauge just to keep an eye on things.
 
Nope, this is all that came with mine:

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There is some sort of ring, but I have no idea where it would go. Don't know if it's a piston rig or a gasket since it's fairly thick. There aren't any instructions included as to what to do with any of the tools, other than the grease injector, but the one I got doesn't use grease! Typical of the Chinese though, so I'm not surprised...
 
Interesting, and I hope the compressor works out well. I had previously purchased one as well. I contacted Xisico and they passed me over to Wes. When Wes told me Travis had designed the new changes into the compressor I was onboard. Fortunately I canceled the order soon after I paid for it when Wes contacted me back and said that there were no more in-stock from Travis in California but he was ship me one from Canada and hoped I would not mind and was going to ship it out now. All this before I even had an opportunity to say yes or no. BIG RED FLAG!! It got much more weird and worse dealing with Wes.I have all the email exchanges. But long story short is I'm glad I backed out of the deal. I didnt know any of this stuff was going on over at GTA at the time. This is a bit of light reading for those who have not seen this topic over at GTA. 

Xisico JTS Compressor  

So I hope you guys got good compressors that outlast the value paid for them. Please keep us informed and up to date on how the compressor performs.
 
Well, I feel better know I ordered from Mike at Flying Dragon and feel if I do have any issues, I'll be taken care of and won't have to deal with return to a company in another country. For what it's worth, Mike did tell me he should start receiving the compressors direct from Xisico in about 2 weeks. It might be best to wait and know the conversion was done at the factory instead of being done by a third party.
 
FLgunner, I finally opened the box and checked, after reading the 16 pages on the origin of this compressor on GTA. My bottle was not quite 2/3 full, with no signs of leakage. From what I read over at GTA, they overfilled some and it caused issues. Since I still don’t have my gun, I will wait for Amazon to deliver my bottle of HPA oil, and measure it very carefully using a syringe. From the video, I guess that’s how you’re supposed to drain it as well. 
On another note, I checked Wes’s site for some other things, and saw that he has them back in stock. Grease models are still shipping from Canada, oil from California. I feel a little better knowing that Travis did the oil mod on mine. He also is now offering the vibration triggered hour meter someone mentioned in the GTA thread, as well as an inline filter, both as options. I think I will go with both, and also try to replicate your temp meter. I’m also going to watch that thread, and this one, like a hawk. I wasn’t aware I was getting something so bleeding edge. 


Kevin