Official Thread - Alkin owners - check in!

[markT]

@markT I hope you make as close to a full recovery from surgery as possible. You’re not dumb. If in doubt, ask. I don’t blame you for being cautious. I was the same way. These compressors are expensive. I bugged a few people for help, but all were gracious in assisting me. Even an Alkin employee who is no longer with the company.

Appreciate that. I’ve been around compressed air most of my career and fully understand and respect the amount of energy we are dealing with. Yes, they are expensive and I’m very happy I spent the extra $$$$ for something I don’t have to work on. At least I hope not to. I was so excited when I did my first full for my neighbor. Not as much fun as making contact with a starling with a 18 gr JSB, but exciting.

 

[elittle1234]

Just got mine a few weeks ago. Noticed the hour meter wasn't working and contacted alkin. They asked me to check the voltage to the meter. Trying to open the panel i snapped a piece of the power switch off, only to find that the power wire to the meter had been smashed flat between the panel and the body during install.

Voltage to the meter was 248v, not the 24v they said it should be. I sent them a photo of the smashed wire and they asked me to try fixing it.

There is nothing I like more than spending $6000 almost and it shows up not working, was never QC checked at the factory, then I'm expected to fix something that should have been working in the first place.

This seems to be the new standard for pretty much every company now. Build it, if it breaks tell the customer to fix it, but hopefully it works! No point in making sure at the factory it works, why spend the extra time and money.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Just got mine a few weeks ago. Noticed the hour meter wasn't working and contacted alkin. They asked me to check the voltage to the meter. Trying to open the panel i snapped a piece of the power switch off, only to find that the power wire to the meter had been smashed flat between the panel and the body during install.

Voltage to the meter was 248v, not the 24v they said it should be. I sent them a photo of the smashed wire and they asked me to try fixing it.

There is nothing I like more than spending $6000 almost and it shows up not working, was never QC checked at the factory, then I'm expected to fix something that should have been working in the first place.

This seems to be the new standard for pretty much every company now. Build it, if it breaks tell the customer to fix it, but hopefully it works! No point in making sure at the factory it works, why spend the extra time and money.

@elittle1234 Do you know where the closest service center is? Proximity to a service center was a factor I considered before purchasing. I wouldn’t want to work on an expensive new compressor like that. That’s what warranties are for.

 

[elittle1234]

They said they will send me a replacement hour meter. Maybe that works? If it's supposed to be getting 24v and it's getting 248v idk lol. I can buy a quartz 248v hour meter for 36$ and solve the issue quicker than scheduling a service.

I hope the replacement works. Alkin seems to be a well liked company. I love the compressor and they answer my emails in minutes, so it would be nice if it works.

I think i need to lower my caffeine intake by a lot.

 

[elittle1234]

@elittle1234 Do you know where the closest service center is? Proximity to a service center was a factor I considered before purchasing. I wouldn’t want to work on an expensive new compressor like that. That’s what warranties are for.

No. That probably would have been a smart thing to do though right?

 

[Ezana4CE]

No. That probably would have been a smart thing to do though right?

@elittle1234 I looked and didn’t see an Alkin service center in the San Francisco Bay Area. I don’t know if you have a diving industry in your area, but if there is you may want to find a shop that services breathing air compressors so if your compressor needs service and you’re out of warranty you have options. While that compressor is under warranty I suggest you use it. Alkin should not charge you shipping for warranty repair since they sent you a defective unit. BE SURE TO FILL OUT AND MAIL IN YOUR WARRANTY AGREEMENT.

If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t work on a damn thing on a brand new compressor. I believe it will void your warranty. The ”Warranty Agreement“ should be a separate page in the envelope containing manuals and associated paperwork.

The warranty certificate should be on the last page of the “Operator Manual.”

Note: I’ve had mine for a few years and I don’t know if any of the literature has changed. the above is included for reference. I advise anyone reading this to consult the literature that came with their Alkin compressor.

 

[L.Leon]

The need for a dedicated circuit and a concrete pad and fact that I couldn’t afford such a beast. Is why I chose the 110 volt Daystate Super Legerro. It plugs into any of my household outlets and fills my SCBAs without any fuss or special requirements.

 

[elittle1234]

So my new Alkin w31 apparently had the wrong hour meter installed in it at the factory. They sent a new one that runs on 230 volts instead of the 34 volts the installed one was rated for.

The best part: the new one was used, a totally different brand, looks to be years old, was in an open box, and requires me to cut the spade terminals off the wiring inside the compressor to attatch this new meter that accepts bare wire connections.

I ordered a good meter from grainger. Don't expect Alkin to replace something they broke with original equipment. They wrote the replacement off as a warranty repair even though they screwed up.

 

[markT]

So my new Alkin w31 apparently had the wrong hour meter installed in it at the factory. They sent a new one that runs on 230 volts instead of the 34 volts the installed one was rated for.

The best part: the new one was used, a totally different brand, looks to be years old, was in an open box, and requires me to cut the spade terminals off the wiring inside the compressor to attatch this new meter that accepts bare wire connections.

I ordered a good meter from grainger. Don't expect Alkin to replace something they broke with original equipment. They wrote the replacement off as a warranty repair even though they screwed up.

Wow... I can't believe that? I would call them and reject the "new" one.

 

[elittle1234]

The correct meter i ordered already got here. I had to 3D print a face plate for it to hold it steady in the cutout of the metal box. It's working perfectly, and runs on a voltage of 90v to 264V.

I just didn't want to waste anymore time on emails, calls, waiting on whoever to deliver it.

 

[elittle1234]

The one with the spade connectors is the original meter that burned out, rated only to 36V.
The other is rated to 230V but I would have had to cut off the connectors to use it, and the face plate on the new one was too large. It came into contact with the HOUR METER raised label on the compressor and wouldn't sit flush.

Edit to add: if I had to guess, they put a gas engine meter in this electric unit on accident. I'm pretty sure the gas engine would generate a much lower voltage with some kind of a transformer or other electrical magic to make the meter work.