AireTex L110 Mini Magnum compressor

Had to do it... Yes, I know I have a Daystate LC-110 that can be repaired, and that is a very good personal compressor. However, the one I bought also does DQA (Diver Quality Air) for my SCUBA adventures. The AireTex Mini Magnum is basically a replica of the Bauer Junior II compressor. Bruce Dodson has been in the compressor business for quite some time, and sources them from (china?), but are very good quality (hey, your iPhone is made in China!). So he had a sale on these for $2495, and I picked one up. If you sat it side by side with a Bauer Junior II the only way you could tell the difference is the Bauer is blue and the AireTex is red. Comes with a two year warranty.

When I got mine this week Bruce had already run it in for 4.4 hours run time, and changed out the oil and made certain that everything worked as it should. Plug it in and go. Its 220vac (NEMA 6-20 plug and receptacle), so I had to wire up an outlet in my basement, not a big deal, took about an hour or so; I used 10 gauge 30 amp wire, could have used 12 gauge 20 amp. Damn 10 gauge wire is a bear to work with.... 

I filled five tanks today back to back to back, four 66 cu ft and one 88 cu ft. All from about 200 bar to 310 bar. The 66 cu ft. took 6 minutes, the 88 took a couple of minutes more. Loudness is about the same as the DS LC-110. The compressor comes with a very good manual, extra crankcase oil, and some tools. It weighs about 100 pounds, and pumps about 3.4 SCFM. The Daystate LC-110 will be repaired and go to a good cause... I'll run this thing for a couple months and report back in how its doing. Hopefully this is the last compressor I ever buy. Happy about it so far!

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Who makes the electrical motor, is there a motor plate image you can share too? I assume in the box there is a run and start capacitor? Was this a used item as it shows wear on the motor fan shroud? Thanks in advance!

Don’t know who makes the motor. 2.2 KW, 3 HP 220 vac single phase, just like Bauer Junior II or Coltri MCH-6 (so of course it has run and start caps in the control box). Three stage compressor. The Bauer is a 3 stage, the Coltri is a 4 stage, don’t know which is better if any. Very similar compressor to those two as far as performance. It has no bells and whistles like auto stop or auto purge, but it does have cyclone separator between 2nd and 3rd stage, DQA filter at outlet, plus PMV. It is new, not used. Probably rubbed that minor scuffing on motor shroud during shipment. Like I said above, Bruce runs all the compressors he sells to break them in and ensure no faults and is performing as designed. So it had 4.4 hours run time on it when I received it as do all the compressors he sells. It now has 5.1 hours run time. 
 
Nice addition to the hobby, for sure!



its funny, but so far everyone that has picked up a compressor at this level has them on a furniture dolley in their first show and tell, pic, including myself when I picked up my used Alain a few months ago. These suckers are heavy!

Mine still sits on the same dolley. My plan is to set it on my plastic, commercial grade cart whenever I get my Lightning sold.

Where are your plans for a permanent mount for this, Mike? Floor mount, workbench mount? Seems I heard somewhere somebody had mentioned that it wasn’t a good idea to run these larger compressors off of a furniture dolley, or on wheels of any kind, and I can’t remember the reason why. It wasn’t for fear of vibration causing it to role around, it had something to do with the fasteners themselves. Hopefully the person that brought that up pipes in. I want to say it was JamesD
 
Had to do it... Yes, I know I have a Daystate LC-110 that can be repaired, and that is a very good personal compressor. However, the one I bought also does DQA (Diver Quality Air) for my SCUBA adventures. The AireTex Mini Magnum is basically a replica of the Bauer Junior II compressor. Bruce Dodson has been in the compressor business for quite some time, and sources them from (china?), but are very good quality (hey, your iPhone is made in China!). So he had a sale on these for $2495, and I picked one up. If you sat it side by side with a Bauer Junior II the only way you could tell the difference is the Bauer is blue and the AireTex is red. Comes with a two year warranty.

When I got mine this week Bruce had already run it in for 4.4 hours run time, and changed out the oil and made certain that everything worked as it should. Plug it in and go. Its 220vac (NEMA 6-20 plug and receptacle), so I had to wire up an outlet in my basement, not a big deal, took about an hour or so; I used 10 gauge 30 amp wire, could have used 12 gauge 20 amp. Damn 10 gauge wire is a bear to work with.... 

I filled five tanks today back to back to back, four 66 cu ft and one 88 cu ft. All from about 200 bar to 310 bar. The 66 cu ft. took 6 minutes, the 88 took a couple of minutes more. Loudness is about the same as the DS LC-110. The compressor comes with a very good manual, extra crankcase oil, and some tools. It weighs about 100 pounds, and pumps about 3.4 SCFM. The Daystate LC-110 will be repaired and go to a good cause... I'll run this thing for a couple months and report back in how its doing. Hopefully this is the last compressor I ever buy. Happy about it so far!

1589413541_5197304575ebc86a5cf91d8.71732959.jpeg
1589413542_4175214015ebc86a693da05.58811838.jpeg
1589413543_18630308955ebc86a74e95f7.13955920.jpeg

Gooooodness gracious! That LCS SK19 done your compressor in already? Yo!
 
I've mounted all of the 4 heavy dive compressors I've owned on an 8" rubber tire garden cart using heavy duty zip ties. They've been run on a cart for 7 years with no problems. It's a 2 man job to move a 145 lb Alkin horizontal model but a one man job with a cart. The cart is solidly braced and doesn't add to vibration during a fill. All of the compressors I've sold are still working for their current owners. Pictured is the Alkin W31 I purchased this year. I've read that some owners mount their compressors on thick rubber mats or the heavy rubber pads from the shipping containers they come in in order to reduce noise. There is no difference between insulated pads and mounting on a dolly. I prefer the yard cart because the large wheels allow easy movement over bumpy surfaces. I also have a ramp that mine requires to move it outside. The cart also provides improved air circulation during a fill session.

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Well Mike, I’m pretty jealous about this one! I hope you have great luck because I might go that route some day? Please do keep us posted. In the meantime I will keep running my 3 hang yangers until they die, I’m in those $700 and only one rebuild so far, but what you have is the sheot!

Thanks Jayson. I wish I would have just bought a real dive type compressor right from the start. Over 3 years ago I looked at the Bauer Junior II and Coltri MCH-6 but didn’t feel like forking over $4K+ at the time. This compressor is pretty much the same quality and performance for $2.5K. Two year warranty and good support from Bruce Dodson in Texas. 
 
Nice addition to the hobby, for sure!



its funny, but so far everyone that has picked up a compressor at this level has them on a furniture dolley in their first show and tell, pic, including myself when I picked up my used Alain a few months ago. These suckers are heavy!

Mine still sits on the same dolley. My plan is to set it on my plastic, commercial grade cart whenever I get my Lightning sold.

Where are your plans for a permanent mount for this, Mike? Floor mount, workbench mount? Seems I heard somewhere somebody had mentioned that it wasn’t a good idea to run these larger compressors off of a furniture dolley, or on wheels of any kind, and I can’t remember the reason why. It wasn’t for fear of vibration causing it to role around, it had something to do with the fasteners themselves. Hopefully the person that brought that up pipes in. I want to say it was JamesD

Nope, wasn't me.

I'm all for a compressor on a cart. The only thing I would say about being on a dolly is don't lay them down. Tipping to move is okay. Laying out in bed of truck not okay.