Alkin W31

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oldsparky

oldsparky

Member
Feb 15, 2018
1,148
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arizona, United States
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I decided to try an Alkin W31 compressor. I bought the compressor directly from Alkin US. The compressor has a two year warranty. But they are in NJ and I am in Az so I hope I the warranty will never be tried. Communication was good. David from Alkin was quick to answer e-mail, text or calls. I got the compressor delivered to my residence. Shipping was a week from Nj to AZ The compressor was packaged well. I have only used the compressor twice filling my Omega tank from 200 to 300 bar. It takes less than ten minutes to top off like that. The noise from my compressor is about the same as my 80 gallon shop compressor. So some may consider it too loud. I expected the level of noise so that is not an issue for me. You also need a 20 Amp. 220 circuit. The compressor seems well built. I am pleased with my buying experience and the compressor. I will include a few pictures of how it was packaged. The picture of instructions is just something I put together for my use.
 

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I have never filled from empty.

I looked at my logs and I filled from 2500 to 4600 in 56 minutes. Cylinder is a 6K Working Pressure 475 cu/ft.

I did not record time for individual fills after the first several I did.

I top off a 475 cu/ft, 437 cu/ft, a 100 cu/ft SCBA and a 90 cu/in in 56 min from a starting pressure of 3700 to 5K Hot fill.

Edit: Several minutes of the total time in the line above involved venting and line switching between bottles as well as stopping and restarting the compressor each time..

After cooling the SCBA bottle's settles at 4500.

The cylinders have too much mass to heat up much from topping off.

Standard SCBA Fire cylinders usually take around 5 to 6 minutes to top off.
 
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Since the compressor is capable of 5K I am using it to fill the bottle rather than haul it 80 miles one way and paying for a fill that is only around 5300 psi after the bottle cools from the N2 fill.

I have filled from the 6K tank direct to gun for several years but now since I have a bank of 2 tanks I have interconnected them to fill my smaller bottles. I use my 4500 psi first then shut the valve and open the valve on the higher pressure tank to complete the fill. I still occasionally fill direct from the bottles to gun if I don't want to go back to the house for a fill (the tank farm is in my shop). The 4500 psi cylinder was a gift from a user of this forum ... Jimmy King.
 
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If you have a club or if your a frequent Big Bore Shooter like Nielsen, Noble, myself and lots of others who have several bottles and tanks it is quite easy to "KILL" the MCH-6 in fairly short order. It's duty cycle doesn't even approach the Alkin. If your a small bore shooter with one or two bottles and one or a few guns then the MCH-6 is an good choice.
 
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At $2500 for the MCH-6 it would be a toss up. At only $400 difference it's a no-brainer. Alkin. It's built for much heavier duty than the MCH-6.
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The pertinent question seems to be how many air gunners would ever approach even the duty load of the MCH-6. If situation permits, maybe the Alkin would be better. Maybe not.
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Exactly. Everyone's needs, budget, and taste varies. Good that we are getting more affordable choices and better quality at lower prices than there used to be. Twenty years ago there was only the $1,000 direct to gun 3000 psi FX compressor which was a motorized hand pump in a box. Dive compressors started at $3500 for an Airtex W45 or $4000 for a Bauer Jr. II. As the demand increased from air gunners, many more choices became available at many price points. It's unfortunate that so many of the affordable ones don't last very long.
 
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If you have a club or if your a frequent Big Bore Shooter like Nielsen, Noble, myself and lots of others who have several bottles and tanks it is quite easy to "KILL" the MCH-6 in fairly short order. It's duty cycle doesn't even approach the Alkin. If your a small bore shooter with one or two bottles and one or a few guns then the MCH-6 is an good choice.
Click to expand...

I have filled several bottles at a sitting with my MCH6. No problem. It won't be "easy" to "KILL" an MCH6 even with heavy use. Both the MCH6 and Alkin W31 are constant duty cycle between service intervals. That said, the Alkin W31 is heavier duty with a 2x longer service interval.
 
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