(Carette 4500PSI Air compressor）

Interesting machine. It looks like takes care of a few design issues that I found on the Mrodair Airmax.

1. Longer air tubes to allow interstage and after cooling of the compressed air. The tubes aren’t super long, but definitely would improved cooling. The cooling would improved water separation.

2. Taller water separator to allow more cooling and a larger reservoir to increase interval before separator must be bled.

3. Slower RPM operation via a pulley step down. The crankcase / 2 cylinder design asks a lot of each stage. By running the compressor slower, a less robust construction has a chance to stay alive due to the reduced mechanical stress. Slower air compression would reduce cooling requirement. This could also reduce power consumption to something that a typical 115 volt service can actually source.

4. Integrated water cooling system that is actually engineered into the design.

5. Real on / off buttons suggest that current switching on and off is via contactor. On an Airmax, manually switching off forces a 15 amp rocker switch to break at 25 amp draw. Auto shutdown did however appropriate break the current flow via the contactor.

6. Fully enclosed electrical rather than the exposed electrical contacts of the Airmax. Reach under the Airmax top panel and you can easily touch 120 volts. This looks like the electrical components are enclosed.

7. Claims ringless design. Is the high pressure cylinder a tight tolerance piston in sleeve design? That would be a huge improvement, but would need diss-assembly to verify

On the downside….

A. This new unit is still a two cylinder machine with a familiar physical configuration. It could share some of the same crank, rod weaknesses, and tolerance issues of the Airmax, but one wouldn’t be able to tell without a tear down inspection.

C. No apparent pressure maintaining valve

D. I don’t see overpressure valves or burst disks for each of the cylinders.

E. No final stage water absorption filter. (or is one integrated in the separator?) Without a final stage filter, and operating with just a water separator, the output air is still too humid. It will condense once it cools in the tank. The water separator can only dry things down to the dew point at the water separator’s temperature. Since, that is hot compared to the tank’s final temperature, the air will drop below dew point once it cools in the tank. Only by going through an intervening water absorption filter will the residual water content be driven low enough to avoid condensation in the tank post cooling. I would definitely still hook up an advanced filter for not only the water removal but also hydrocarbons.

It would be an interesting unit to torture test and examine internally. Overall, looks like a couple steps forward from the Airmax – more like what an Airmax should have been, though not a full feature dive compressor.

How much. Looks like a Bauer killer if price is right.