Hi any recommendations on a good reliable air compressor my budget is $1,500. Thank you...
Air compressor
- Thread starter Abemoreno
- Start date
I’m a big fan of the Booster systems. I use an Altaros. Probably around $900 for everything you need to get it running & filling. Very reliable, but slow. If you need fast, I will defer to other’s opinions.
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'Authentic' Yong Heng compressor. @ $300.00
Then spend a bit more on a quality oil/water separation system.
Then take the thousand or so left over dollars, and put it towards another gun!
I'm being dead serious too!
Over a year ago, I was set on buying 1 high end rifle and 1 high end compressor..
Instead, I got a nice bit carbon fiber tank, Yong Hang compressor,
and dumped the rest of what I had to spend on Several Guns.
IMO, it was definitely one of the better decisions I've made in this hobby..
Over the next year+, I constantly checked out different / new compressors,
and then kept a close eye on reviews, people's thoughts, etc..
Most of the expensive / 'high end' comps were experiencing random/intermittent issues..
Some of them are even built to where they are 1 expensive to maintain and 2 not user friendly to repair.
A lot of us are still putting our Yong Heng comps through the ringer with very little or no issues..
Those who experienced issues with them helped us all see a few pros/cons in their initial model runs,
but replacement pars were cheap and easily found, and repairing was pretty much a breeze.
The new[er] versions of their comps have even better internal & external components,
so won't suffer from the issues that some of the old ones did..
Price to Functionality - They're extremely hard to beat!
On the flip-side, if you really don't mind dropping most if not all of what you mentioned having to spend..
People seem to like a few of the higher end Omega comps, as well as the new Benjamin ReCharge.
Sam -
Then spend a bit more on a quality oil/water separation system.
Then take the thousand or so left over dollars, and put it towards another gun!
I'm being dead serious too!
Over a year ago, I was set on buying 1 high end rifle and 1 high end compressor..
Instead, I got a nice bit carbon fiber tank, Yong Hang compressor,
and dumped the rest of what I had to spend on Several Guns.
IMO, it was definitely one of the better decisions I've made in this hobby..
Over the next year+, I constantly checked out different / new compressors,
and then kept a close eye on reviews, people's thoughts, etc..
Most of the expensive / 'high end' comps were experiencing random/intermittent issues..
Some of them are even built to where they are 1 expensive to maintain and 2 not user friendly to repair.
A lot of us are still putting our Yong Heng comps through the ringer with very little or no issues..
Those who experienced issues with them helped us all see a few pros/cons in their initial model runs,
but replacement pars were cheap and easily found, and repairing was pretty much a breeze.
The new[er] versions of their comps have even better internal & external components,
so won't suffer from the issues that some of the old ones did..
Price to Functionality - They're extremely hard to beat!
On the flip-side, if you really don't mind dropping most if not all of what you mentioned having to spend..
People seem to like a few of the higher end Omega comps, as well as the new Benjamin ReCharge.
Sam -
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I got my yong heng for $230 from ebay a year ago. Works as advertised. Filled my 74cf tank to 4500 psi every time. But I dont like having external water bucket so spend an extra $1093 on a hatsan lighting compressor. Everything you need all in one unit. Has a gold filter, auto purge, digital gauge, auto stop, water tank build in it, radiator and fan also build in it. Fill speed is about the same as the yong heng imo. But it is much quieter. But also much bigger and heavier and more expensive than the yong heng.
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I'm to in the market for a compressor to..I think I go with the omega air charger..I have not se a bad review on that one and now is only $1150 n they have the omega super charger $1550..
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I have alot to think about 
... Buy cheaper compressor Yong Heng and have enough extra $$$$ for another rifle 
but struggle a little with a oil/water separation system. Or spend more $$$$ and buy an omegO Super Charger and not struggle at all but possible rebuild in about 100 hours
and no money left over for rifle or take my tank to a scuba shop and spend on driving gas and $12 ever time to fill it up basically money lost that could easily go toward the compressor 
... Buy cheaper compressor Yong Heng and have enough extra $$$$ for another rifle but struggle a little with a oil/water separation system. Or spend more $$$$ and buy an omegO Super Charger and not struggle at all but possible rebuild in about 100 hours and no money left over for rifle or take my tank to a scuba shop and spend on driving gas and $12 ever time to fill it up basically money lost that could easily go toward the compressor Upvote 0
I like the Air Venturi. It’s quick and also quiet if set on a mat. Low hours, but have had no problems other than the time I had a leak in my apparatus after the compressor and above 3500 which I wrongly thought for a time was the AV wimping out on me It is heavy
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I did a lot of research on compressors, mostly here on AGN. Ended up going with the Omega turbo charger from Airguns of Arizona. Could not be happier. I use it to keep my 74 cu ft carbon tank topped off to 4500 psi and am shooting more than ever before. No more trips to the dive shop and wasting half a day there and back.
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I bought a Carette from Joe B 2 yrs ago. I have about 40 hrs on it now without any problems. I got it with the Alpha filter and change the oil frequently. It will have paid for itself at around 60 hrs due to the outrageous cost per 4500# fill charged by local paint ball shop. Not as fast as some but totally reliable to this point. Uj
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Shoebox F10 has been great for me for over a year now. American made, easy to work on, good support and parts availability, a bit slow filling if that matters. It doesn’t for me. And it’s not stupid expensive....$500.
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Stay away from the air venturi/hatsan lightning compressors. Lots of bad reviews. More than a 50% failure rate. Omega turbo gets good reviews.
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Confused...you just replied on my Hatsan Lightning tread that you have a lightning and it’s been working out for you?!
The hatsan lightning got a bad rap over a couple of folks at its infancy when it first came out. Just like the Yong Hengs and all the low end to mid level compressors did. But for some reason, the Lightning hasn’t been able to “bounce back”. It actually is a good compressor for all the added doo dads that you get, which actually are important. Auto purge and auto stop, digital readings in either BAR or PSI, being able to calibrate the digital gage, temp readings in Fahrenheit, and the most important, a built in fail safe to keep one from turning the compressor on without the cooling pump on first, and also it won’t turn on with pressure built up in the system. I recently rebuilt mine, and with the help from JKING, and a link to Tuxing, I was able to source all the parts. If you can change your own oil in your car or put together a gas bar b que, rebuilding the piston rings, seals and gaskets to the cylinder heads are a piece of cake.
I recently picked up a used Alkin dive compressor, and even though that’s the chit when it comes to compressors, I miss the auto purge and auto stop feature of the Lightning. After the rebuild that lightning builds pressure so freaking fast it’s amazing. It used to take me 12-15 minutes to go from 3400 to 4640 psi to top off my tank, but now it takes 7 minutes!
if you’re shopping for a compressor, that means you’ve already got a gun or guns, and more than likely already own a tank. Your PCP no matter how much it costs is a hunk of chit without air. I say shop wisely for a compressor that will give you the less hassles to operate, truly be a plug and play, and one you feel you can maintain yourself and not have to ship off to get fixed. Also, buy one that’s truly meant to fill tanks, not guns only. Once you have the air supply on hand, the guns will always be ready to go, and later on you can get a gun that takes up a lot of air, like a dedicated slug shooter. Know what I’m sayin?’
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Agree-well said. Bigragu has provided lots of extremely helpful information on the Lightning, which seems like a very good compressor for the price point.
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I’m happy with my Carette with Alpha filter. I also like Daystate 110volt. It’s a few hundred more than Carette but I think it’s worth it.
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Shoebox has been a great compressor. Just have to hook up to larger compressor and haven’t had any issues. Fills my 74 cf tank no issues.
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So I'm curious....is the Hatsan now a worthy compressor? Have the bugs from the early days been ironed out. It looks very interesting old reviews not withstanding.
Of the compressors I have read about,
Daystate LC110
Hatsan Lightning
Carette
Which is the best of the three?
Of the compressors I have read about,
Daystate LC110
Hatsan Lightning
Carette
Which is the best of the three?
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"Which is the best of the three"? Which answer do you want. All have failed and all have been used successfully by many people. Those who have each one may probably recommend that unit. More opinions are good but an accurate "which is best"? Good luck with that. Seems that the Air Venturi version (which is apparently a Hatsan Lightning with a few less "bells and whistles") could be considered as well. Possibly different service if bought from PyramydAir?
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BandG has answered your(DRUMSNGUNS) question perfectly. Of all the compressors you listed, I have read on failures on all of them. Does that mean they are pieces of turds? No. It’s what to expect from mid priced($1000-$1800) compressors. They run too high an rpm, create a lot of heat, and are not meant to be used as a commercial type compressor. If your filling tanks back to back, say twice a week, their lifespans will be short. They are perfect for residential type use, and maybe will do best at topping off a tank once a week, which is what the average pcp enthusiast would be doing. If you’re a person topping off tanks for friends and family, or training for a benchrest or field target event on a weekly basis and just use up a lot of air, well, you’d be better served with the $3-$4K compressors.
now don’t let what I’ve just laid out dissuade you; these mid priced compressors all pretty much come with a rebuild kit(hint hint)and knowing what I know now, I would try and source three more rebuild kits, and find out who carries parts for these things, before you buy. You like working on cars? Then you’ll have no problem rebuilding these things back to factory like new performance. Maintenance on any pcp compressor is a must do. It’s just part of ownership.
The difference between the mid priced compressors that you listed vs the $500 and under compressors are these items- two stage design, built in water cooling tanks and water pumps, on board filtration, and fancy switches and gages. The Lightning with the auto purge and auto shut off definitely make it a spendy unit, but those are great conveniences. Also, understand that twin cylinder/two stage compressors like you’ve listed won’t run as hot as the single stage Yong Hengs. That’s why two stage compressors are advertised as tank fill compressors.
Yong Hengs are advertised as pcp compressors, but I’ve never seen(I could be wrong here) actual wordage that says suitable for tank fills and/or top offs. The few guys on here that I know of that have long lives on their Yong Heng compressors are using them exclusively for gun fills only. Once in awhile someone will pipe in with his still running strong after two years and he tops off his tanks all the time.
If you are ok with providing your own clean, fresh, cooling water source every time you use your compressor, and are ok with spending extra $$ on filtration protection for your prized guns, then go with the YongHeng types. If you like more convenience, plan on tank fills exclusively, then go with the mid priced range units. If you want the best of the best, one that’ll outlive you, one that will do all of friends and family members tanks, then now were talking dive shop equivalent compressors. Lots of choices.
now don’t let what I’ve just laid out dissuade you; these mid priced compressors all pretty much come with a rebuild kit(hint hint)and knowing what I know now, I would try and source three more rebuild kits, and find out who carries parts for these things, before you buy. You like working on cars? Then you’ll have no problem rebuilding these things back to factory like new performance. Maintenance on any pcp compressor is a must do. It’s just part of ownership.
The difference between the mid priced compressors that you listed vs the $500 and under compressors are these items- two stage design, built in water cooling tanks and water pumps, on board filtration, and fancy switches and gages. The Lightning with the auto purge and auto shut off definitely make it a spendy unit, but those are great conveniences. Also, understand that twin cylinder/two stage compressors like you’ve listed won’t run as hot as the single stage Yong Hengs. That’s why two stage compressors are advertised as tank fill compressors.
Yong Hengs are advertised as pcp compressors, but I’ve never seen(I could be wrong here) actual wordage that says suitable for tank fills and/or top offs. The few guys on here that I know of that have long lives on their Yong Heng compressors are using them exclusively for gun fills only. Once in awhile someone will pipe in with his still running strong after two years and he tops off his tanks all the time.
If you are ok with providing your own clean, fresh, cooling water source every time you use your compressor, and are ok with spending extra $$ on filtration protection for your prized guns, then go with the YongHeng types. If you like more convenience, plan on tank fills exclusively, then go with the mid priced range units. If you want the best of the best, one that’ll outlive you, one that will do all of friends and family members tanks, then now were talking dive shop equivalent compressors. Lots of choices.
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