Fill station compressor for HPA

[Simonsza1]

Looking for some knowledge on a good compressor for here at the house that can do air rifle tanks as well as hpa paintball tanks. Thanks.

 

[Kiba]

What's the budget? Alkin W31 vertical is what I would buy if I didn't have a friend at the fire station half a mile away from the house that fills my bottles for me.

 

[Defender32]

I just bought this one and it's good so far. I did buy the 3 year extended warranty. I also bought a better filter system for it.

Amazon product ASIN B09JWF89XF

 

[Simonsza1]

What's the budget? Alkin W31 vertical is what I would buy if I didn't have a friend at the fire station half a mile away from the house that fills my bottles for me.

That Alkin is so far from what the budget is it’s not even funny. I think that’s more for a shop or field. I’m just looking for something in my garage for personal use and some of my friends to use.

 

[Simonsza1]

I just bought this one and it's good so far. I did buy the 3 year extended warranty. I also bought a better filter system for it.

Amazon product ASIN B09JWF89XF
View attachment 8085811

I’ll look into this one thanks.

 

[Kiba]

That Alkin is so far from what the budget is it’s not even funny. I think that’s more for a shop or field. I’m just looking for something in my garage for personal use and some of my friends to use.

It is an industrial grade unit for sure, parts are available, it's serviceable, and has it has a high CFM output for quick filling along with a good moisture separator and is properly cooled for long run times.

One thing to consider... after you've burned up a couple of the cheap Chinese compressors you realize it would have been cheaper to buy a Coltri, Alkin, or Bauer to start with.

That being said, some of the cheaper Chinese compressors have been getting better over the last couple years and for light duty occasional use they can be ok, but when they wear out you often can't get parts and in the trash it goes. If you shoot a lot and frequently fill tanks for others too I'd strongly suggest going Coltri, Bauer, Alkin, or similar... buy once cry once, and any of those should last a long, long time with oil changes. If you fill your tank maybe 5-6 times a year one of the cheaper Chinese compressors might last several years, but don't skimp on a good inline filter and moisture separator as most of the cheaper compressors are very lacking in that department.

The large Mako 6k psi compressor and 4 stage cascade storage system with regulated fill output pressure at the fire station down the street ran about $60k... Lol!

You might want to do some reading and asking here... Lots of use reports and feedback on the cheaper compressors. Seems you can actually get parts for the Yong Heng units...

Tanks, Pumps, Compressors

Air production, storage, facilities, etc.

www.airgunnation.com

 

[B y r o n]

You might want to take a look at the Umarex ReadyAir compressor. It's not meant to fill large tanks but has worked fine filling the cylinders on my guns. Besides working off house current, it will also work off 12 volt it you want to take it into the field.

 

[Coyote777]

I’ve been running the Nomad for a little over a year. Zero issues and normal fill time on 250bar bottle is 4-5min from 150bar.

Air Venturi Nomad III 4500 PSI Portable PCP Compressor | Utah Airguns

Air Venturi Nomad III 4500 PSI Portable PCP Compressor

utahairguns.com

 

[fpgt72]

What I use, and have been using for the past 5 years I am not sure I would suggest anymore. Yes it was cheap, yes it has worked.....BUT if I was going to buy today I would need to really do some research as the market has changed that much.

Back when I bought mine you had 3 choices, one for roughly $5k, A "booster" pump for about $600, and the "cheap chinese shit".....I went cheap chinese.

Back when I bought it I kept a log book with it to record the date of the fill, and the run time of the compressor. I quite keeping a log about 3 years ago. My original idea was if this thing lasts to the even money mark I would be happy. The stupid thing WILL NOT DIE.

It is LOUD as all get out, slow, but it works and works fine. I think when I bought mine it was....stand by let me check....

I can't see how much I paid, but want to say $300-ish. I can't imagine I had it that long, I could have got it cheaper from other places back then over amazon, but it is easy to return stuff to amazon, so I figured the extra money was worth it if the thing was "cheap chinese crap". I highly doubt they are the same now.

I will say your life will change, you will shoot so much more. I don't think it is like reloading, where people say they don't save money they shoot more, but it is along those same lines.

When the one I have finally does die, I will do some research.....watch it croak tonight now that I talked bad about it.

 

[Defender32]

The little compressor I have is slow on my big tanks. Both of my tanks are 74 or 75 cubic ft. I typically don't let them get below 3000psi. It typically takes 4 - 30to45 min run cycles to get my tanks back to 4400psi. I don't let the compressor run a long time or get too hot. If im filling direct to my rifle it takes 15 min or so to fill from 200bar to 300bar on my 700cc bottle. My small 300cc bottle from 180ish to 250/260 is just 5min or so. My 580cc bottle from 180 to 250-260 is maybe 10 min.

I bought the 3 year warranty for that just in case moment!!!

For the most part on my filling I can top my tanks off at the gun club as many times as I want for $10 per month. I fill both tanks there 2-3 times a month.

 

[DellaDog]

You’ll go through several rebuilds, tear downs and replacements of all cheap compressors before you eventually end up with an Alkin W31 or give up.

I had two tanks and eventually dropped the $$ on an Alkin - I wish I had done it a long time ago, it’s that nice. 2500 to 4500 psi in 7 minutes.

And as a bonus, I turned one of my tanks into a regulated, always available, portable source of dry air for shop tools.

 

[WeeHooker]

That Alkin is so far from what the budget is it’s not even funny. I think that’s more for a shop or field. I’m just looking for something in my garage for personal use and some of my friends to use.

I'm not sure of your needs. If you are just wanting to fill your rifles to 3300psi or so (with 700 cc or less), then you can get away with allot less compressor. If your looking to fill 74CF to 100CF Carbon fiber tanks to 4500 PSI, then your requirements (and cost) goes up considerably. I'm in the first camp and bought one of the Chinese compressors off Amazon last year for $265. So far it works great and meets my needs nicely. Fills any gun I have in 3-10 min, has auto shut-off and needs no external cooling source. I splurged on a 4 year extended warranty for $35 just to make sure I'm covered for at least that long. I figure if I can keep my guns filled for less than $75/year, I'm good. Here is the one I purchased but I'm sure there are others that are comparable in the same range.
Amazon product ASIN B08ZS516DX

 

[Chickentoast]

$50 Amazon hand pump here - fills mine to 300 Bar no problem - been going for 2-3yrs now

 

[WeeHooker]

Anybody using N2 as a source? I've wondered what the costs and logistics are of just leasing a bottle of Nitrogen from a local welding gas supply house. I'm thinking I could run for years on a 5' , 6000psi bottle.

 

[Simonsza1]

Anybody using N2 as a source? I've wondered what the costs and logistics are of just leasing a bottle of Nitrogen from a local welding gas supply house. I'm thinking I could run for years on a 5' , 6000psi bottle.

If your going to keep it for 5+ years you need to look into buying the tank. I’ve bought all my welding tanks so I only pay for the fill/swap

 

[Kiba]

A K size 6k psi nitrogen cylinder will last a long, long time. Don't forget the cost of a 6k capable regulator though, you really don't want to be filling 3k or 4.5k psi rated cylinders or rifles from an unregulated 6k source.

 

[Arc Light]

Anybody using N2 as a source? I've wondered what the costs and logistics are of just leasing a bottle of Nitrogen from a local welding gas supply house. I'm thinking I could run for years on a 5' , 6000psi bottle.

This is exactly what I did. I was able to rent the bottle for something like $15 month after the initial fill and delivery which was like $100. The biggest expense is the regulator, it was like $500 and you don't want a cheap one. The beauty is that you can refill your gun literally hundreds of times in like 30 seconds. You also don't have to worry about moisture, debris, etc. being introduced via the air compressor. If this is an option, I wouldn't do it any other way.

 

[Big Bo]

Daystate.

 

[Mike Weldon]

This is exactly what I did. I was able to rent the bottle for something like $15 month after the initial fill and delivery which was like $100. The biggest expense is the regulator, it was like $500 and you don't want a cheap one. The beauty is that you can refill your gun literally hundreds of times in like 30 seconds. You also don't have to worry about moisture, debris, etc. being introduced via the air compressor. If this is an option, I wouldn't do it any other way.

You can also use CO2 which is innert like helium but much cheaper.

 

[Kiba]

You can also use CO2 which is innert like helium but much cheaper.

I would not recommend using CO2 in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen.

CO2 is fine for low powered rifles designed for it, but if used in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen the valving is completely wrong as CO2 is much more dense than air or nitrogen alone. You’ll have to retune the rifle completely, plus the valve passages that were designed for lower density air will be far too small for CO2 and the power potential of the rifle will be much lower.

More importantly CO2 bottle working pressures are much lower than air or nitrogen because CO2 pressures vary wildly based on ambient temp because of the pressure vs temp phase change properties of CO2. The typical fill method for CO2 bottles is to fill them by weight to about 65% of their water volume capacity and not to a set pressure as CO2 pressures vary wildly by temperature, even everyday ambient temp swings. A normal fill in a CO2 bottle yields about 850 psi @ 70F, warming that bottle to 90F will yield about 1100psi, and if you put it out in the sun and it gets to 120F it’s now about 2000psi, and if it’s in a hot car parked in the sun and gets to 145F you’re looking at about 3000psi. The pressure of CO2 in a pressure vessel is wildly temperature dependent because of the phase changes, and thus the CO2 bottle pressures at typical shooting temperatures are far below the typical working pressure of your usual PCP air rifle.

Compare this to say compressed nitrogen; at 70F your bottle is filled to 3000psi, at 145F in a hot car the pressure is now 3420psi. Much more stable pressure vs temperature because there is no phase change involved at these temps and pressures, unlike CO2.

Stick with air or nitrogen for PCP’s. Dry nitrogen is the most consistent (pure N2 and not a mix of various gasses like air, so zero moisture content plus uniform T v P response as it’s a pure gas) and it’s also easier on the o-rings as there’s no oxygen in the reservoir to react with and oxidize the o-rings.

You can get more power out of a PCP by filling with helium because of the reduced density so you can physically send more molecules of helium through the passages and valving and down the barrel, but helium will leak out of even the tiniest leak paths that regular air or nitrogen won’t leak out of because the helium molecules are much smaller. Making a pressure vessel and o-ringed joints helium leak proof is a very fun task…

 

[Arc Light]

I would not recommend using CO2 in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen.

CO2 is fine for low powered rifles designed for it, but if used in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen the valving is completely wrong as CO2 is much more dense than air or nitrogen alone. You’ll have to retune the rifle completely, plus the valve passages that were designed for lower density air will be far too small for CO2 and the power potential of the rifle will be much lower.

More importantly CO2 bottle working pressures are much lower than air or nitrogen because CO2 pressures vary wildly based on ambient temp because of the pressure vs temp phase change properties of CO2. The typical fill method for CO2 bottles is to fill them by weight to about 65% of their water volume capacity and not to a set pressure as CO2 pressures vary wildly by temperature, even everyday ambient temp swings. A normal fill in a CO2 bottle yields about 850 psi @ 70F, warming that bottle to 90F will yield about 1100psi, and if you put it out in the sun and it gets to 120F it’s now about 2000psi, and if it’s in a hot car parked in the sun and gets to 145F you’re looking at about 3000psi. The pressure of CO2 in a pressure vessel is wildly temperature dependent because of the phase changes, and thus the CO2 bottle pressures at typical shooting temperatures are far below the typical working pressure of your usual PCP air rifle.

Compare this to say compressed nitrogen; at 70F your bottle is filled to 3000psi, at 145F in a hot car the pressure is now 3420psi. Much more stable pressure vs temperature because there is no phase change involved at these temps and pressures, unlike CO2.

Stick with air or nitrogen for PCP’s. Dry nitrogen is the most consistent (pure N2 and not a mix of various gasses like air, so zero moisture content plus uniform T v P response as it’s a pure gas) and it’s also easier on the o-rings as there’s no oxygen in the reservoir to react with and oxidize the o-rings.

You can get more power out of a PCP by filling with helium because of the reduced density so you can physically send more molecules of helium through the passages and valving and down the barrel, but helium will leak out of even the tiniest leak paths that regular air or nitrogen won’t leak out of because the helium molecules are much smaller. Making a pressure vessel and o-ringed joints helium leak proof is a very fun task…

Very true. I've been using CO2 cylinders for years around the shop and in my off-road vehicles for things like airing up tires, shocks, running tools etc. All low pressure tasks. What you said about temps is spot on. In summer the tanks have excellent pressure, in winter it is drastically less. Also CO2 regulators will literally freeze, with frost visible on the outside, after several minutes of continuous of usage. The air flow is reduced drastically when this happens. Nitrogen is the way to go for PCP use.

 

[Mike Weldon]

I would not recommend using CO2 in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen.

CO2 is fine for low powered rifles designed for it, but if used in a PCP rifle designed for air or nitrogen the valving is completely wrong as CO2 is much more dense than air or nitrogen alone. You’ll have to retune the rifle completely, plus the valve passages that were designed for lower density air will be far too small for CO2 and the power potential of the rifle will be much lower.

More importantly CO2 bottle working pressures are much lower than air or nitrogen because CO2 pressures vary wildly based on ambient temp because of the pressure vs temp phase change properties of CO2. The typical fill method for CO2 bottles is to fill them by weight to about 65% of their water volume capacity and not to a set pressure as CO2 pressures vary wildly by temperature, even everyday ambient temp swings. A normal fill in a CO2 bottle yields about 850 psi @ 70F, warming that bottle to 90F will yield about 1100psi, and if you put it out in the sun and it gets to 120F it’s now about 2000psi, and if it’s in a hot car parked in the sun and gets to 145F you’re looking at about 3000psi. The pressure of CO2 in a pressure vessel is wildly temperature dependent because of the phase changes, and thus the CO2 bottle pressures at typical shooting temperatures are far below the typical working pressure of your usual PCP air rifle.

Compare this to say compressed nitrogen; at 70F your bottle is filled to 3000psi, at 145F in a hot car the pressure is now 3420psi. Much more stable pressure vs temperature because there is no phase change involved at these temps and pressures, unlike CO2.

Stick with air or nitrogen for PCP’s. Dry nitrogen is the most consistent (pure N2 and not a mix of various gasses like air, so zero moisture content plus uniform T v P response as it’s a pure gas) and it’s also easier on the o-rings as there’s no oxygen in the reservoir to react with and oxidize the o-rings.

You can get more power out of a PCP by filling with helium because of the reduced density so you can physically send more molecules of helium through the passages and valving and down the barrel, but helium will leak out of even the tiniest leak paths that regular air or nitrogen won’t leak out of because the helium molecules are much smaller. Making a pressure vessel and o-ringed joints helium leak proof is a very fun task…

Thank you for the thorough explanation! That's why I love this site, extremely knowledgeable people. I will be more careful passing on unverified info I hear.

 

[Mike Weldon]

You can also use CO2 which is innert like helium but much cheaper.

Sorry, my info was from an obviously unreliable source and I shouldn't of passed it on; Kiba schooled me on my mistake.

 

[ironman56]

When I first got into airguns I went the scuba tant route, that lasted about 2 months , then found a used Nuvair Mch6 , used it for 4 years then it started getting smoke in the air , while waiting on 4 stage refurb parts I found a Alkin W 35 on a airgun forum for a good deal been using it for 4 years now with no problems , will probably out live me , also had the Nuvair repaired so now I have backup , it can be a expensive hobby, I have approx 15 pcp's now so having g a good source of dry clean air is a must.

 

[kthomas]

I’ve been running the Nomad for a little over a year. Zero issues and normal fill time on 250bar bottle is 4-5min from 150bar.

Air Venturi Nomad III 4500 PSI Portable PCP Compressor | Utah Airguns

Air Venturi Nomad III 4500 PSI Portable PCP Compressor

utahairguns.com

I've gone through 2 Nomads so far.

The first time was because I restarted the unit halfway through a fill, and unbeknownst to me the unit will nuke itself if you don't release pressure in the system before restarting.

I got a replacement unit for that mistake, thankfully through warranty. But now after some use the compressor will not build any pressure, so it needs to be sent back.

The Nomad is a nice size and decent price, but I'm not convinced of it's reliability. IMO, I think you have to spend a lot of money to get a reliable and robust high pressure compressor.

 

[Heyboy]

I bought the JTS1 and used it like others said to get my feet wet. Got it for a little bit under $500. It is a Chinese brand. Loud and slow plus I used and inline filter to get MOST of the water out but not all. I ended up getting a daystate 110 volt 4500 psi when AOA was running a sale for under 2K. Glad I did, I can fill my gun in like 4 minutes but I just got my omega 75cu ft tank and it filled that from empty a little over an hour the first time. It’s also 3 times quieter than the Chinese one. It only uses oil and air to cool, no water. The JTS does have a 12 volt dc with jumper cable connects so it can be used in the field. It takes 25 minutes to fill my 300 bar (4350 psi) Skout Airgun tank from empty.

 

[alpineboard]

Got a Yong Heng a few weeks ago, Amazon Smarketbuy has a true 100% Yong Heng. Run it with a cooler filled with ice, just enough water to float the cubes.

 

[Precision Quest]

What I use, and have been using for the past 5 years I am not sure I would suggest anymore. Yes it was cheap, yes it has worked.....BUT if I was going to buy today I would need to really do some research as the market has changed that much.

Back when I bought mine you had 3 choices, one for roughly $5k, A "booster" pump for about $600, and the "cheap chinese shit".....I went cheap chinese.

Back when I bought it I kept a log book with it to record the date of the fill, and the run time of the compressor. I quite keeping a log about 3 years ago. My original idea was if this thing lasts to the even money mark I would be happy. The stupid thing WILL NOT DIE.

It is LOUD as all get out, slow, but it works and works fine. I think when I bought mine it was....stand by let me check....

View attachment 8086394

I can't see how much I paid, but want to say $300-ish. I can't imagine I had it that long, I could have got it cheaper from other places back then over amazon, but it is easy to return stuff to amazon, so I figured the extra money was worth it if the thing was "cheap chinese crap". I highly doubt they are the same now.

I will say your life will change, you will shoot so much more. I don't think it is like reloading, where people say they don't save money they shoot more, but it is along those same lines.

When the one I have finally does die, I will do some research.....watch it croak tonight now that I talked bad about it.

I agree 100%. I have a Yong Heng and 2 tanks. Although it is a PITA, I like the fact that I can help control the temps properly with cool / cold water.

Check the output flow capacity of the pump you are buying...I did and was / am suprised by the output of the Yong Heng. It isn't the best made, but unless you are planning on doing tons of shooting, then it is one of the better places to start.
My $.02

 

[fpgt72]

I agree 100%. I have a Yong Heng and 2 tanks. Although it is a PITA, I like the fact that I can help control the temps properly with cool / cold water.

Check the output flow capacity of the pump you are buying...I did and was / am suprised by the output of the Yong Heng. It isn't the best made, but unless you are planning on doing tons of shooting, then it is one of the better places to start.
My $.02

So far the only thing I have had to replace, and it is not really a "had to", was the temp meter. I rather like that being there. I generally shut mine down when it hits 60c. Let it cool off a bit with the water pump still running, then if I need to fill more I will. The only time I have to do this, and I am not sure I have to it just seems like the cooler I can keep it the better, is when I have a tank with so close to nothing in it you might as well say nothing.

I have two moisture filters in line on mine, after a long run the first will be damp the second dry, so little fear of moisture getting into the guns.

 

[Precision Quest]

So far the only thing I have had to replace, and it is not really a "had to", was the temp meter. I rather like that being there. I generally shut mine down when it hits 60c. Let it cool off a bit with the water pump still running, then if I need to fill more I will. The only time I have to do this, and I am not sure I have to it just seems like the cooler I can keep it the better, is when I have a tank with so close to nothing in it you might as well say nothing.

I have two moisture filters in line on mine, after a long run the first will be damp the second dry, so little fear of moisture getting into the guns.

I had to change the breather cap as mine broke off. What a pain that was as the one I got was too long to fit under the horizontal line. Had to loosen and pull the lines out. tip...don't break off the breather cap - however, if you do break the oil breather cap, send me a note and pay the shipping and I have one or two spares I can give away.

 

[John_in_WYO]

Could a feller drop by his friendly volunteer Fire Dept to recharge his tanks?

But I know nothing about pcp airguns.

Studying on it.

 

[Kiba]

Could a feller drop by his friendly volunteer Fire Dept to recharge his tanks?

Depends if your fire department has a compressor, the correct fittings for your bottles, and is willing to do so.

Some fire departments won't fill bottles that aren't theirs, but you'll never know unless you ask.

A friend at the fire department down the street fills my bottles for me, which is why I haven't bought my own compressor. I did recently have to build an adapter fitting, as the station purchased all new bottles which have quick connect type fittings instead of the older threaded fittings, and they changed all the fittings on their compressor and fill station to the new quick connect style. My bottles still have the older threaded fittings, so I had to buy a couple of my own fittings to make an adapter so they could fill my older bottles. Making 1 adapter was cheaper than buying new quick connect valves for my 3 bottles.

 

[mauserfan]

Kiba.. Where did you source the parts for you're adapter? I need to do the same thing, but everything I can find is so expensive, it'd be cheaper just to buy the damn compressor

 

[Kiba]

Honestly, check eBay... There are often really good prices on surplus scba quick connects.

Drager makes one style, MSA makes another; you need to confirm which style your local fire department has on their compressor.

The Drager and MSA fittings simply screw on to your current bottles with the typical scba connection (not DIN300) to make them quick disconnect.