Looks like Shoebox is calling it quits

I was going to by a shoebox when all this corona crap is over, but at 1300 I will go omega or alpha. I’m an ironworker and like to try and buy US made stuff.

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Is Omega the same as omega enviromental that make the AC stuff?...or is it a different outfit?

Hate to see a Business quit but, I didn't like the shoebox. I had one had to work on it more than air anything up.

Is Omega the same as omega enviromental that make the AC stuff?...or is it a different outfit?

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No, different outfit. They're made by Raptor Pneumatics.

There is a nice 'behind the scenes' type of article from Hard Air Magazine featuring Raptor Pneumatics.

I have their lowest priced model with no shroud around it (Air Charger) and it has worked flawlessly hour after hour after hour after hour...

Highly recommended.

Here's a link to the article:

https://hardairmagazine.com/features/ham-meets-man-makes-omega-compressors/

Very surprised it took this long. Back in ‘17 Tom had pretty much told me as much when I saw the radical price drop. At that time I figured they were coming out with an upgraded model. Instead I was met with a baffling response. See below. He went on to tell me that they were going out of business, but I thought something had changed & they kept selling units this long. 

Too funny ChuckInOhio! Yeah, I bought the F10 years ago specifically for it's simplicity, ease of maintenance, and, purportedly, made in USA content/quality. The latter being the ability to source replacement parts, support, etc. That said, ordered the replacement derlin sleeve kit, felt pads, springs, brass valve thingys, belt, and all bushings....basically all of the expected wear parts before stock runs out (although some of bushings are off the shelf items from national suppliers). Have had zero issues for past 4+ years...expect to get at least another 5-10 years out of it (hopefully much longer if parts remain available) and I'll call it good if it takes the proverbial dump.

Just ordered a TigerShark tank and HPA filter from Joe B at Expert HPA. Plan to do the basic Shoebox oring maintenance/rebuild before hooking up the new filter/tank for the first fill. 

Jim

Crazy

Where can you purchase an altaros booster?

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https://www.altaros.cz/en/compressors/48-altaros-compressor-booster-unit.html

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Does anyone sell one state side? I did see that you could only buy one from across the pond but was wonder where to purchase one here in the states

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The Altaros Booster is a great choice if you already own a compressor of reasonable size, I would suggest 5 HP at the minimum - and a buffer tank to keep the air temperature down to make the water condense in tank instead of going to the booster, there is a moister filter on the inlet side though and you can ad an extra high pressure filter on the outlet that according to (my) logic should be more efficient

Also to consider the total energy cost, the efficiency of an air driven booster compared to a direct electric motor driven high pressure unit is very low

That being said, I do own and use a Altaros Booster to fill all my PCP's and is very pleased with it, got it from CZ direct, very nice people, fast on communication and delivery, works very well for me, have no complains about the product whatsoever

I had an Altros Booster for almost 2 years, let me tell you the down sides to this booster. First they only honor their 2 year warranty in the EU. They will offer advice on how to fix it and small parts but if you have a catastrophic failure like mine did they will not accept it back for repair even if you pay for shipping. The unit uses a large amount of air, is very slow and really requires a large compressor to run it. The new Hill Pump compressor would probably be a better choice and a lot cheaper when you consider you need a large compressor to run the Altros. With a large compressor to run it the fill rate is about 10 CFM an hour. That means an 88 cu ft SCBA tank is going to take 9 to 10 hours to fill. If you are not there to monitor it all the time and have a failure of some type you can kiss your compressor goodbye. There are a lot better choices out there for about the same cash outlay all costs considered.

I received my ShoeBox replacement parts Friday. Feel relatively confident for a long useful life. Had 40 hours run time on it before rebuilding earlier today. Wanted a fresh start for the ExpertHPA Tiger Shark tank and filter. Surprisingly easy rebuild of the cylinders. The upper cylinder was fairly gunky around the check valve. I admittedly over oiled over the years. The lower cylinder was very clean...whatever was happening stayed in the first stage. 

I plan to rebuild at about the 25 hr mark henceforth after realizing how quick/easy it is. 

It's slow machine but it is what it is. =)

Cheers



Jim

I also own the Altaros and it is a much more sophisticated design than the Shoebox.

You do not really need a large compressor, it helps but not needed. The Altaros is also self cooling.

The Altaros is also largely made from off the shelf parts. It has one shaft and a few pistons; very few parts.





Hill; I have very bad experiences with their hand pump. Poorly made, non-existent customer service and full of proprietary parts. Also their new compressor is direct drive and at that price... For a little extra you can have a second hand Coltri.

What happened to my Altros was an o-ring in the control module that you plug into failed. That caused the high pressure air to go cover to the low side and blow up the desiccant filter, damage the low side gauge, blow crap through the entire booster and crack one end plate. Even after replacing everything the unit still would not build pressure. Even though the unit was still under warranty Altros would not allow me to send it back for repair. They told me their 2 year warranty was only for the EU market.

I am not doubting this, but how can this happen?

The control module only deals with air straight from your 1st stage compressor and never gets in contact with the HPA. Also the air that drives the booster is separate from the air that is boosted to high pressure. If the control unit were to fail, the booster would just stop pumping. Or am I missing something here?

The silica filter is in direct line with your first stage compressor, there is no non return valve or something like that. So your 1st stage compressor would also receive this air and blow its safety valve.

Did you you use a lubricant that detonated?

Do you have any pictures of the damage?

I

I found 2 of them. When I told Altros what happened they immediately told me to look for a damaged o-ring in the control unit. They sent me an o-ring and a new desiccant housing made out of aluminum. When I installed them and it still didn't work I told them what else I found that was damaged. That is when they wanted me to pay for anymore parts. That is when I asked them for permission to send the unit back for repair. They refused and told me they didn't honor the 2 year warranty in the US only the EU.

But somewhere in suburbia an unsophisticated Shoebox is still chugging along keeping an unsophisticated airgunner happy.

Wow, quite some damage on the paint as well.

I hope it never happens to mine.

Did Altaros ever tell you why this happened?

As far as they told me it was the middle o-ring in the control. When I changed it I wasn’t getting high pressure on the low side but the booster still wouldn’t build high pressure. I even bought a new end plate from them and it still wouldn’t work. At that point I was not going to throw anymore time or money at it. And like I said they decided they were not going to honor their warranty in the US. Lesson learned, don’t buy from a foreign company unless it has a US presence. I should not have had to pay for any part and they should have accepted the unit back for repair. The reasons they gave for not honoring the warranty were everyone else who were selling equipment like theirs in the USA was only giving a one year warranty and if they accepted a unit back for repair they would have to pay duty on it. Pretty lame excuses I think.

I

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Dare I ask what on Earth that brown stuff sprayed everywhere is?

It is really orange, it is desiccant from the filter.