Get a compressor for Christmas?

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rcontrera

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So ... you got a new compressor for Christmas! Congratulations!! But, before you get too far into playing with the new toy, let's make sure you set it up right.

First off, read your manual (yeah right ... most guys won't until something breaks but I had to say it anyway). Now, do a visual inspection to see if everything looks right ... no lines coming apart, no bent tubing, no obvious defects or damage, etc. If it is an electric motor driven machine, either install the proper plug or have it wired into a box (depends on which motor you have). If you have a fuel driven engine, check the engine oil and fill up with the proper fuel.

Now grab your little adjustable wrench and your bottle of leak detector as well as a rag or paper towel to wipe the oil from the dip stick. Check the compressor oil level and inspect the filter cartridge to make sure it is installed and in good condition. Start the motor/engine for a few seconds to make sure the compressor is turning in the right direction. Once you are sure of the direction, open the fill valve and drain valves and start her up. Air will be flowing out the drain valves and the hose so close the drain valves and the fill valve. Watch as the pressure rises and note where either your pressure switch shuts down or the relief valve lifts and mark it on your log (should be a sample in your manual) ... oh, and shut it down.

Now you are ready to fill so hook up your properly inspected tank, start her up again and watch as it fills. If you have auto drains, note the time between operations. If you have manual drains, crack them open every five to ten minutes for a few seconds until all the moisture is gone. When pressure builds up a bit, spray the connections with your leak detector and make sure everything is tight. If you find a leaker, DO NOT TIGHTEN UNDER PRESSURE ... you could damage the fitting. Mark the offending fitting, shut it down and bleed the system. Then snug up as needed.

Of course, there is a lot more to learn, but this is just a starting primer so you can have fun with your new Christmas toy! Enjoy and take care of her.
 
If i could throw in my 2 cents
When starting up I always recommend to warm the machine up for a minute or so before putting load on it
I do this by having the fill valve open - so the unit does not build pressure - at the same time I also like to smell the air coming out to make sure its OK before starting to fill
Once the filling session is completed - drain any condensate and any pressure in the compressor and then let it run under no load for a minute or so and essentially cool itself down, with a thermal probe i have noticed drops of 20 Deg C off the heads by doing this
 
Steve, only works with some compressors.... On the rotary compressors i.e. Rix etc, there is a backpressure valve that keeps the compressor balanced, it builds up to pressure almost instantly and without it, or if it is set too high or low, the machine is out of balance and can shake itself apart....
 
I want to know who gets a compressor for Christmas? And can I introduce my wife to yours? I would love to have my own.

Since we are on the subject... How much to get started filling your own tanks? I have seen compressors for $2-3k but you only fill one tank at a time and it takes 30 min to fill... Then it looks like you can add cascade system to prefill air and your filling scuba from cascade which increases speed then add mana fold to fill multiple... We have 10 tanks if compressor is $3000 at $7 per fill 10 tanks that is only 42 dive weekends to pay for compressor...
 
Here is an article that every owner should understand:::: Neptuno's World Articles - Understanding SCUBA Compressors and Filtration. if you are filling that many tanks i would recommend a 6-8 cu ft compressor. rix is nice i have one as well as a bauer capitano. You can recoupe your costs much faster depending how far you are from a fill station. for me its 100 miles. So there is 8 gallons of gas adn its 16 if they cant get to it till tomarrow.
 
I was amazed at how many people got compressors this last year for Christmas. Normally that is my dead time but we had to hump to get them out in time.

One warning about home air systems. Owning one is like having a plecostomus in your fish tank. Over time, it will grow to fill the size of the space you have it in.:D

Oh ... and those $2000-3000 compressors that were mentioned ... they should not be hooked to bulk tanks. They are not rated for continuous duty and would eat themselves up.
 
Here is an article that every owner should understand:::: Neptuno's World Articles - Understanding SCUBA Compressors and Filtration. if you are filling that many tanks i would recommend a 6-8 cu ft compressor. rix is nice i have one as well as a bauer capitano. You can recoupe your costs much faster depending how far you are from a fill station. for me its 100 miles. So there is 8 gallons of gas adn its 16 if they cant get to it till tomarrow.

great artical... Wow a ton of info...

---------- Post added January 15th, 2015 at 09:53 AM ----------

I was amazed at how many people got compressors this last year for Christmas. Normally that is my dead time but we had to hump to get them out in time.

One warning about home air systems. Owning one is like having a plecostomus in your fish tank. Over time, it will grow to fill the size of the space you have it in.:D

Oh ... and those $2000-3000 compressors that were mentioned ... they should not be hooked to bulk tanks. They are not rated for continuous duty and would eat themselves up.


So if I was interested in filling 10 tanks at a time and did not want it to take me 2 days what would I need? Right now it is just 3 of us with 10 tanks and it seams to keep growing...I'm prober lay going to add 2 sets of doubles and some stage bottles and eventually will need tanks for students. I already have the 2 phase power circuit in the garage.

I just emagine if we had an OW class of 6 you will burn 12 bottles for the students 4 for instructor and DM on OW 1,2,3 then return home have to refill for day 2 and use at least 6 on OW4.

Where we take students has air for $7 per fill or about $140 per weekend. This is an monthly event from April to October. But if I could fill we would have other options for where to take students where vis is better and not so crowded and lower or no entry fees. It is not about the entry fees but I see a value to students continuing to dive to experiance differnt places to expand their experiences.
 
In your post you say "2 phase power" -- you have either single (1) phase or three (3) phase - Which is IT? Makes a big difference in the cost of the compressor and the cost of electricity. How many AMP service - AMPS ???
Jim Shelden
 
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Steve, only works with some compressors.... On the rotary compressors i.e. Rix etc, there is a backpressure valve that keeps the compressor balanced, it builds up to pressure almost instantly and without it, or if it is set too high or low, the machine is out of balance and can shake itself apart....

I'm interested where you got that misinformation from. Always interesting from an engineering perspective to learn how miss information gets into the main stream.

The Axial design of a Rix has three stages the first two developed pressure and are in constant ratio to the final stage discharge pressure.

Without a BPR fitted the final stage pressure is only compressing to the same as the cylinder pressure being filled and if empty can cause damage to the floating piston as with any other brand or design.

The back pressure regulator on all compressors irrespective of brand or design does two jobs non of which in any way controls balance.

The BPR allows primarily a buildup of pressure in the final stage to hold the floating piston against the rod to reduce chattering as the rod under no load hits the bottom of the piston and the lack of back pressure throws the piston up onto the head
The rattling that can be heard on start up on all compressors irrespective of brand.

The second value of a BPR is in filtration when as pressure increases the water separation effectiveness is increased reducing the water condensate carry over onto the filter chemical thus with less water to adsorb the filter chemical last longer.

The balance on a Rix is due to the weight of each piston and the "Throw" of the swash plate balancing and cancelling each other out, As the 3 pistons are each of a different size with the first stage being the largest a counter weight is used fitted to the crankshaft fan end to aid balance.

Further a solid steel driven pulley at the rear is bored with 4 19mm holes PCD to counterbalance the radial movement of the piston against the axial rotation at the driven belt end.

The BPR is not used or required for balance and I got socks for Christmas. :depressed: LOL

Iain Middlebrook
 
In your post you say "2 phase power" -- you have either single (1) phase or three (3) phase - Which is IT? Makes a big difference in the cost of the compressor and the cost of electricity. How many AMP service - AMPS ???
Jim Shelden

ok it's one phase and I already have a 30amp service in garage but I could easily go up to 50 amp with out upgrading house service.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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