Reliable air compressor

For that money ($2500.00) you can buy a Daystate. Reliable? It's not if it will fail but when.

They all will at some point need rebuilt

If your budget is $2500. I'd get the daystate. It's not 100% reliable. Nothing is. Some people reported having problems with the daystate. But it's the best bang for the buck. If you dont wanna spend 2k on a compressor I recommend the hatsan lighting. I own one for 1 year now and still kicking strong. I have not rebuilt it yet. Only 2 oil change, and one filter cartridge change since. Its probably as fast as the daystate for 1/2 the price. About 20 mins to top off 75cf tank from 3000 to 4500 psi. Hatsan sells it for $1345. You can get it on field supply for $1093. Had auto purge, tower filter, digital gauge, auto stop. Has everything need but a time meter. I put a vibrate meter on ebay on it. If you have problems with it, contact hatsan and they send you free shipping label to send back. What's there to lose

The problem is no one person here shoots enough and has enough money to have thoroughly wrung out a representative sample size of every major compressor option. As a result, opinions vary dramatically. There is one resource though which is absolutely fantastic:
https://www.airgunnation.com/topic/compressor-survey-results/

This aggregates the data so you have at least an educated guess on what to buy. My takeaway was that, for less than "big money" your best options are the Altaros Booster and the Shoebox Compressor. The latter is..... a bit challenging to purchase. It is basically a one man band selling a compressor based on pretty simple parts which is easy to rebuild, and needs that done somewhat regularly. The Altaros booster is based of another pressure booster, and seems to require rebuilds less frequently than the Shoebox, probably because it runs a LOT cooler, however it requires a much much more powerful air compressor as its pre-booster/power source. Ultimately the Altaros is what I went with.

No option is perfect, but one of the aforementioned two would certainly be my pick. (having chewed through a Rong Heng and a Nomad in less than a year) I currently run an Altaros which I update my review on sporadically to say it is still working and almost maintenance free. No need for a rebuild yet..... 



As an aside, I considered a Daystate/Coltri, Omega, as well as a number of other big money compressor options made for big tanks. I ultimately chose not to go with them because no compressor is rebuild-free, they'll all need it eventually, and I quite frankly don't want to have to rebuild one of those things. They're also too heavy to reasonably ship somewhere to have someone else rebuild. So I wanted to go with simple and easy to work on, knowing that I'd be rebuilding it eventually. 


I hope that helps.  

I was preparing to start a thread about the need for an air tank for people who own more than one gun, which is most of us. Most any reasonably priced compressor will last quite a long time if you only use them to fill rifles. Having two rifles will probably yield at least100 shots when you're in the field, and for me, that's more than enough for a day's shooting away from home. Even just with a single gun, many will give you 50-70 shots. (obviously that depends on caliber)

My feeling from the start was to go with a compressor; I chose the Omega Air Charger from AOA. A tank would have been about $5-600 plus the cost of refilling, transportation, and the inconvenience. Actually they tried to talk me out of it, saying I'd be better off with an air tank. But I'm glad that I didn't go that route.

I know this approach isn't for everyone, but I think it's worth considering.

While my Daystate is new I absolutely love it so far. I did email DS as mine is a 3 stage and thought they were 4 stage. They replied explaining they had some issues with the 4 stage and all current units are 3 stage. Coming from a Yong was a tough price to swallow but I had nothing but problems with the Yong and it's easier to throw away and buy another vs trying to get them fixed or fixed under warranty. Bottom line if you have 5-6 dead Yongs you could have nearly bought a DS to begin with. 

Aside from being very quiet, the one thing I really noticed was nowhere near the smell of the Yong and also the bottle doesn't get hot which makes the pressure drift back down when it is cooled and much less of a hassle not dealing with water cooling!

What really turns me off to most other brands is that they use the SAME China-based compressor that the Yong has just that it is V twin looking unit and rebadge them and wrap them in a nice exterior. I know this wasn't a Yong vs X but I needed to vent lol. 

1st post , happy to be here

I bought the Air Venturi compressor about a year back . I fill two large tanks with it and haven't had one problem. But like others have stated, no one can guarantee you will not have any problems . I have seen the expensive compressors as well as the inexpensive compressors have some problems along the way. Good luck on your future purchase.

I'm with Hawkeye69. I currently have an Omega Super Charger that I bought about 2 years ago and paid $2000 for it at AoA. Now it sells for $1600. When and if this compressor dies, I will probably go with the Omega Air Charger selling currently for about $1149.00 It is the same as the Super Charger without all the bells and whistles. I have never heard anything bad about the Air Charger from anyone. It has the least amount of maintenance on it of any charger, just keep the grease in it, never have to change the oil. I asked Todd about changing the oil and he said that the oil in it would last a lot longer than the compressor would. He said he knows customers that have over 600 hours on their compressor and it's still chugging along like it was on day one.

Thanks for the inputs. I’ll look into the daystate for now.

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It's my opinion that if you take this route, you do the following:

• Buy from AoA, they service these, and they are the US importer.
• Always fill to 330mL of oil and ensure it is valid on the dip stick. When the dip is fully seated it should measure to just below the high mark.
• Always run for 2 minutes, perform your pumping, and run for 2 minutes of cool down. I have a FLIR images thread that shows why it is important
• Consider not adding the Grade D breathable air filter. The cooling lines and condensate tower are just fine even in the South East in a 45-55% relative humidity pumping environment. mtnGhost has the sieve filter setup but I've seen pictures of his stuff slung off a Honda generator in the field in the Pac-West with fog so thick you could walk on it He gets a thumbs up. I think those of us using these Grade D filters are chasing some level of obnoxious OCD/perfection for the moisture boogeyman. There is no mass influx of reports of people with destroyed air guns over the moist boogeyman on a proper compressor setup with cooling lines and a condensate tower.
• Bleed the system every 5-10 minutes.
• Optionally consider keeping the duty cycle light to no more than 30 minutes at a time.
• Consider using an in-line check value so you're not doing the tank-pressure-mating-dance.
• Change the oil at 5 hrs break-in, AOA says they pre-break-in but I recommend doing it anyway. Mine came out dark and looked like water saturated copper hydroxide.
• Keep an eye on oil color, change it when it starts to look yellow/brown. Oil is cheap all things considered.

I hope this helped. If you check my post history I have scanned the LC-110 insert from AoA as well as posted some other picture/content/analysis. I like my LC-110 and would purchase it again. That said, I'm still sticking by my axiom -- the best compressor is one that works, the worst is one that is broken

Ive had an Omega Super Charger for 3 years now...no issues. I probably fill my 75 cubic foot tank every 30 to 45 days. I do start for a few minutes to get everything warmed up and water cooling, then pump...takes 30 to 40 min to go from 3000 psi to 4500psi on my tank. After fill I leave running for 5 or so minutes to allow the water to run and cool. Interesting thing is after filling I will unscrew the knob for the water fill take to check temp with my finger. It’s never hotter than Luke warm water. Fingers crossed no problems as of yet. I understand that I will have to rebuild one day. There are plenty of vids on how to....or I could send to AOA. I’m very satisfied.

I have the premium Altros and it failed just shy of 2 years. Factory would not order warranty. A booster is suitable for filling rifles but not for filling tanks. It takes way too long, it requires a second compressor to run it and it puts a heavy demand on the compressor running it. Taking into account the cost of the booster and the compressor your cost is going to be right up there with a stand alone compressor. Spend the extra money and buy the best compressor you can afford.

I'll chime in with an AV 4500 psi compressor. I top off a 74' CF tank at least once or lately twice a week to keep my PCP's happy. As mentioned above, oil changes are cheap, I use royal purple (I get it from Summit Racing). Another thing as mentioned above if you decide to fill a completely empty tank it is a good idea to fill it in under 30 minute increments. It may not be a good idea to let your compressor run for the hour plus it may take to fill it. I also never fill my tank to the full 4500psi. I stop at 4300psi. Maybe not a big deal but if you ever hand pumped, that last couple hundred psi is a "killer".

Also I don't get the "auto purge" feature on the Hatsan. I manually purge every 8 to 10 minutes and only release enough air to expel any water. I know you can set the interval, but I'm wondering how long this thing thinks is required to expell less than a teaspoon of water? It only takes the AV one second.

I looked at what the fire departments and dive shops used since I knew they saw a lot of use. All but one were using Bauer compressors. After the initial sticker shock I started saving and looking. I found one in excellent shape that was taken off a yacht and almost unused. I paid 2500 for a Bauer Oceanus. I have filled all my tanks, friends tanks, paintball tanks etc without a hiccup. It's also nice to know that you are putting completely dry (as possible) breathing certified quality air in your guns. As close as possible to a bullet proof compressor.

Here is one on E-Bay right now. 1/2 your budget.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bauer-U3EH-330-BAR-BREATHING-AIR-COMPRESSOR-YEAR-1998-MADE-BY-GERMANY-2-6KW-1200/372860728081?hash=item56d03b3311:g:-6kAAOSw7FFdo11r

Here is one on E-Bay right now. 1/2 your budget.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bauer-U3EH-330-BAR-BREATHING-AIR-COMPRESSOR-YEAR-1998-MADE-BY-GERMANY-2-6KW-1200/372860728081?hash=item56d03b3311:g:-6kAAOSw7FFdo11r

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Yea someone gonna paid $1300 plus $350 shipping on a seller with only 9 review. Lmao. Build in 1998, says barely used, but then says been use in emergency 50 to 100 hours. But still listed it as brand new. Wtf lmao. I have my compressor for a year and had about 10 hours run time. I'm guessing they be using it for years to get that many hours on it. Good luck to whoever buys it. Lmao

many old bauers are still better then new cheaper ones from competitors

you can order all parts - even for 30 years old ones!

Here is one on E-Bay right now. 1/2 your budget.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bauer-U3EH-330-BAR-BREATHING-AIR-COMPRESSOR-YEAR-1998-MADE-BY-GERMANY-2-6KW-1200/372860728081?hash=item56d03b3311:g:-6kAAOSw7FFdo11r

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Yea someone gonna paid $1300 plus $350 shipping on a seller with only 9 review. Lmao. Build in 1998, says barely used, but then says been use in emergency 50 to 100 hours. But still listed it as brand new. Wtf lmao. I have my compressor for a year and had about 10 hours run time. I'm guessing they be using it for years to get that many hours on it. Good luck to whoever buys it. Lmao

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I saw that as well and the location was very suspicious. No Thanks ! 

Here is one on E-Bay right now. 1/2 your budget.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bauer-U3EH-330-BAR-BREATHING-AIR-COMPRESSOR-YEAR-1998-MADE-BY-GERMANY-2-6KW-1200/372860728081?hash=item56d03b3311:g:-6kAAOSw7FFdo11r

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The Ebay ad says Kuala Lumpur, USA. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia, hence the $350 shipping charge. However, that being said that model Bauer compressor itself is a very robust compressor and 100-200 hours run time is nothing. I owned a similar Bauer Utilus that was built in 1998 when I got it in 2013. I purchased it from a dealer in Ft. Lauderdale and ran it without any problems for 3 years. I sold it because it requires a 230 volt outlet, weighed 170 lbs, and was overkill for my personal use. The current owner runs a commercial paintball field and uses my old Bauer to fill a bank of storage tanks. He runs it more hours per month than I did in 3 years. It is still running flawlessly with only annual oil changes. If you can find a used Bauer from a U.S. seller that was well cared for it is a better compressor than any brand of compressor you can buy new for under $3K. A Bauer is a Rolls Royce, a Coltri/Daystate is a Chevrolet, an Alkin is a Dodge Ram, and an Omega is a motorized bicycle. Most Chinese compressors are breakdowns waiting to happen. Take your pick.

Humdinger

"A Bauer is a Rolls Royce, a Coltri/Daystate is a Chevrolet, an Alkin is a Dodge Ram, and an Omega is a motorized bicycle. Any Chinese compressor is a Yugo. Take your pick."

Many have and will. Not every air gun shooter needs the Rolls Royce, or even the Dodge Ram. Many have been served very well by their "Yugo". My "Yugo" is still working normally after over a year of use. The relative value for that purchase has been way beyond my needs. And I recall several issues of Daystate failure recently. It is all relative, there is no one absolute answer that fits everyone. Certainly the reputation of the Bauer is unsurpassed and certainly seems completely deserved. It would probably be a great purchase for a very high volume shooter due to probable resale value. But what percentage of air gun shooters actually need (or want) such?