IDE compressors

hi folks !!

dont know if this is the right forum for this but did not find any other forum dealing with the subject so here goes !!

after having used bauer compressors (portable as well as bigger ones) I am quite sore over their newer models which have given me more headaches than i wish for as compared to the older lot. am now considering buying a small portable one from IDE who have just come out with a new model called TT1 EM (i think!!). anyway, just wanted to check if there is anyone out there who has any experience with IDE as i dont personally know anyone in the industry who has used / is using them.

your opinions/ advice, etc will be much appreciated. thanks and regards.

venkat
barracuda diving india

Hey, Barracuda, what kind of problems are you having with the new block? I noticed that Bauer is using about 7 ceramic rings on the third stage floating piston. Also, a "low pressure" oil pump (the old pump ran at 750-800 psi). The new blocks should be reliable but maybe you can share.

The IDE looks like a German made version of the Coltri. Some nice engineering on paper, stainless stuff in the chassis of the four stage portable, high tech steel, ceramic and teflon piston rings, steel or stainless steel liners. No direct knowledge of these at all.

Looks to me like not even a German made version of the Coltri, but just another repackaged and rebadged Coltri. Notice they never say where the pump is made, even while boasting that the bearings are made in Germany!

Yeah, I noticed that too, about the bearings. LOL

hi pescador,

must confess i am not a techie and so dont know the nitty grit of compressors save for using them !! IDE is relatively new in Asia and have been promoting themselves quite a bit as Bauer has got the market by its throat.

Bauer opened its office in Mumbai, India and must say they have been really poor in offering servicing / parts. Our capitano had a leak in the cooling pipes and they did not have stock which i had to contact a supplier abroad and get personally. their singapore office refused to deal with us and directed us back to the Indian agent who also refused to service our compressor because i had bought all the necessary parts abroad, their contention being that we had to buy the parts from them at an extortionist price !!

Then their one and only technician capable of serviving this "old" compressor (7 years old) mysteriously fell sick with malaria and no one could make it down here for more than a month by which time i got fed up, shipped in the part and got it changed by a local technician. the servicing hasnt been done yet but i prefer to fly out and get it done elsewhere rather than call the Mumbai office again.

Am not sure abt the quality of IDE but their prices are very good and because they seem to have all the certifications from the German govt am tempted to go in for that instead of Bauer. Incidentally we have a very old compressor (Utilus) from Bauernicht - a museum piece really - which we dont use anymore - but this has proved to be much more reliable than the Capitano we bought 7 years ago which has given us more problems than the old one in the past years.

the portable Junior II we bought is also falling apart more rapidly than i expected and this is despite the fact that we change filters, oil and do all regular maintenance on time so to say the least I am not impressed with Bauer quality. so if anyone out there has any info in IDE i would be grateful. regards.

venkat
barracuda diving india

I'd email IDE and ask who is making the pump.

Your problem seems to have more to do with service than brand, and really ought to be buying on the basis of who has the most available and non-extortionate service in your part of the world!

If the IDEs are Coltris, while Coltri has never had the reputation Bauer has, quality has apparently improved considerably, to the point where the larger models are supposed to be pretty good. The good thing about them, is that Coltri sells to so many different companies that relable them, that parts are available from many different sources, while Bauer tends to have just one "official" supplier in each area which can be hard, as you have learned, to get around.

Barracuda, I have a Bauer Capitano, 1974 model, for personal use. It has been reliable. However, there are wide variations in applications with these compressors, as with all. Obviously, heavy users are going to need support on occasions. I haven't had any serious problems so my needs have been few, and Bauer headquarters is withing driving distance of my residence. My experience with headquarters is that there are several people who are readily available who don't know very much. There are also several people who have a lot of technical knowledge but are difficult to locate on a given day. They don't return phone calls, at least not within the three day period that I allow before I call them back. The oddest thing happened last year. I wanted to know the blowby spec for my old Capitano. After a week of attempts to communicate (inventory time) I snagged their head technical person. Oddly, he did not know this number from memory. He looked up the spec, but the number he gave me (18-25 ltr/minute) sounds a trifle unbelievable. To this day, a year later, I cannot get a confirmation from a second source and the shop manuals do not even mention this number, probably the most crucial in evaluating the compressors health.

Now, there you are, a world away. I can only imagine the reaction that I would have in your situation, as you described. Recently, I got a little flustered trying to import a diver's mask from France. Restoring a compressor to running condition is a wholely different matter, it is NOT optional like buying a mask. In this case, I would say that service and price MAY be more important than other factors like "made in Germany".

Hi .barracuda,

There is a Hp breathing air compressor supplier in Delhi, made in England I believe, forget the name of the brand as it seems to have changed recently, The company is Indian Compressors pvt ltd and also at didwania.com. maybe might get better service than bauer. ?

Shil

thanks guys !! appreciate all your feedback. i do appreciate that "made in germany" is not the only criteria and there are many other factors involved. have e-mailed IDE to check abt the coltri angle. if that is the case, we do have a coltri agent somewhere in mumbai or delhi.

shil, thanks for your input - will try your contact as well.

venkat