Daystate compressor
I haven’t seen any reviews of this compressor so I thought I would add mine.
I ordered from Jim at precisionairguns.com. Jim was pleasant to deal with and shipped the compressor pretty quickly. When I got it the box had been beaten up pretty badly, but it was well packed. There was some damage but it was easily fixable. The cage around the fan was a bit bent but I haven’t really messed with it since the fan doesn’t come close to hitting it. One of the feet on the bottom was backed out and it bent the tab that the foot screws into, but it was easily bent back and the foot was screwed back in with a bit of effort.
It took a few days until I had a 220 outlet ready in my workshop, but when I was ready I filled the unit with oil (provided. Make sure and use the manufacturer spec oil. It is NOT the same as shop compressor oil) I put the cartridge in the output filter and ran the unit. All was good except when I took my finger off the on switch the unit stopped. So if I hold the button in it works fine but when I let go it shuts off. Hmm, well I called Jim and he got looking into it. AOA (the importer) sent me a new switch which didn’t help and then they sent me an email with pics of the proper wiring. Somehow, two of the wires on the switch were reversed. Now YAY! it works as advertised, and work it does. FAST! This thing charged up my first tank before I fixed the switch, meaning I had to hold in the button (against a strong return spring) on a vibrating machine, but fortunately, the compressor took my tank from about 3200psi to 4350 (300 bar) in less than 5 minutes. This is a big, Great White tank, so I thought this was very fast. I have filled up several times since and it is very very fast.
Just a few notes: These compressors are made by coltri, an Italian manufacturer of dive compressors for many years. The chinese have a copy out there that looks very similar, but it is NOT the same thing. The rebuild time on these is recommended at 400 hours (not 100 as some have said) but after reviewing many diving forums, it seems these units have been operating in dive shops and dive boats for years with little maintenance and getting far more use than us airgunners will ever give them. Bauer does indeed have a slightly better reputation and longer rebuild times, but with my usage, I will be too old to shoot air rifles before this unit needs to be rebuilt.
The units come with a check valve (probably not the right term) that will open up once a certain pressure is reached. Basically this will prevent any over pressurization. Mine is a 300 bar valve. That translates to 4350 psi, but my great white tank shows 4500 psi when I am done. These can be ordered with different valves, so if having a full 4500 psi is important, make sure to ask about a 310 bar valve.
Despite the few glitches getting started, I absolutely love this compressor. It is extremely fast, relatively quiet, provides breathing quality, dry air and it is extremely well made. I believe that the price delivered to my door was around $2800. Having read some of the crap that mrodair people are going through, I would highly recommend this compressor, even at twice the price. I don’t have to worry about cooling or moisture in my air and I am shooting LOTS more since I can top off my tank in less than 5 minutes any time.
If anyone is interested in more info about this compressor, ask away!
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Adding a PMV is pretty simple. Just disconnect the hose and install the PMV in between the housing and the hose. Of course you will have to get the correct fittings to do a straight bolt up. But for less than a hundred bucks, you will be increasing the efficiency of the filter system by as much as 400%. Oh, and the difference between your compressor and the breathing air version is that we ALWAYS put on a PMV and a deluxe filler with a shut off valve and bleeder and a triplex air filter instead of the air drier filter like comes with yours. You may want to install a shutoff valve with bleeder to make taking the filer hose off easier. That way you just bleed off the air in the filer and not in the whole system.
The only reason for having to do any major work on this is letting it sit for more than a month without spinning it over a few times. The forth stage piston is immersed in the oil in the crankcase and ANY water that may be in that oil can sit right down on the piston, cylinder, valve and valve spring causing rust. So, if it is going to be put into storage for a while, change the oil to get rid of ANY moisture that may be in the oil sump.
I don’t think the daystate has a pmv. I would like to add one. I have seen it discussed on scuba forums. I just had a gun serviced and was told there was a lot of moisture in the cylinder. Now I’m worrying if my filter/dryer is working. I guess I’d better tear down one of my guns that has only ever been filled by my tank and see.
It’s oil from crankcase breather, it’s directed to first stage intake to lube the valves in all four stages.
Marko
Just because there is a little oil at the separator bleed, it doesn’t mean the overall system is putting oil into the tank. On a full scale dive compressor, the overall system is able to remove the water and oil content adequately. The amount of oil still needs to be controllable, but the system has features to remove the last bit of water and oil.
1. A pressure maintaining valve doesn’t allow any air flow out of the filter and separator until a high enough pressure is reached to promote water separation and drying media efficiency.
2. The oil water/air separator working at the PMV’s release pressure (and higher) removes most of the water & oil. If the system lacks a PMV, the separator won’t separate out as much water or oil, especially during the first portion of runs as pressure builds. PMV ensures the entire run (including start, bleeds) is effectively separated. A dive compressor has a PMV. An Airmax does not unless you add one.
3. Water separator capacity is high enough that required bleeds are infrequent enough to reduce risk of water getting too high and swamping the drying media.
4. Water separator designed with airflow directional changes and/or centrifugal action to enhance separation of condensed water.
5. Air entering water separator has been cooled to enhance condensation and separator efficiency.
6. Dive compressors have a large drying media canister – large enough to pull down the moisture without running out of capacity
7. Enhanced drying is important for oil removal because activated carbon won’t efficiently de-oil if the activated carbon is moist. Hence, only dry air must reach the final stage filtering.
8. A final activated carbon filter step removes residual oil from the already dried air. This carbon bed has a limited capacity. Hence, the compressor should have limited oil blow by and efficient oil water/air separation at high pressure. A little oil at the separator is handleable. Tons of oil, enough to fill a room with visible oil vapor, isn’t okay.
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A bit of compressor valve terminology
Check Valve: A one way flow valve. One is often incorporated between the final stage after cooler and the filter system. This off loads the cylinder valves from pressure load when the compressor is off. Also can be installed to prevent reverse flow of waste water into early stages.
Pressure Relief Valve / Safety Relief Valve: A valve that vents if pressure exceeds its pressure limit. These are used to protect each stage of the compressor from accidental overpressure. Overpressure can occur if obstruction of a latter stage or failure of latter stage valves allowing reverse flow. Pressure relief valves prevent catastrophic failure of cylinders and cooling coils. The safety relief function is implemented via a burst disc instead of a pressure relief valve. Compressors lacking both burst disk and safety relief valves are a risk for catastrophic failure.
Pressure Maintaining Valve / Priority Valve: A valve, usually positioned as the last element before final air output. This valve remains closed until pressure reaches its release pressure. The PMV is used to keep the water separator and filter elements at efficient working pressure. This also helps keep mechanical load of compressor stages balanced.
Gads. I have learned more about high pressure compressors than I ever wanted to know.
So you guys are getting oil in your tanks? That’s a ticking time bomb! I expect more out of $3000 compressor.
During the first five or so hours of operation, you will get a bit more oil in the condensate drain than later as the rings “set” themselves. In the old days of mineral oil, we called that the break in period. I am a big fan of blowing down more often for a shorter time since that helps the filter cartridges last longer.
That 100 hours recommended on the service is for the valve set. A 100 hour kit has the valves for the 2nd, 3re and 4th stages as well as seats for the blowdown valves and an inlet filter. I suggest changing the oil at 25 hours or once a year, whichever comes first. And keep it clean. Heat will kill your compressor faster than anything else.
I get a blast of air when I open the drain valves. They leave behind just a slight amount of oily feeling water. Not much at all and I really don’t notice any color to it. I wipe it up with a yellow towel, so maybe that masks the color. If I remember, the oil that came with the unit was a deep green color.
yeah mine is coming out greenish
Yes I do but it is more yellowish colored like the oil.
Do you get oil discharge on a regular basis from your Daystate Compressor when bleeding the valve to clean out the water trap/separator?
looks like this: (greenish in color) not the white paint
I’ll be happy to try a video. I’ve never done that so it might be shite. If you want to see it filling a tank, I’ll have to wait a few days. I’ll work on it. I’ll dedicate to you zonk!
Video in action….
What did Niko say???
Dunno, don’t speak Russian. I’ll go out to the messy workshop and take a couple of pics this afternoon. Looks just like the online pics. Anything in particular you guys want to see?
For sure lets see some pictures of your compressor.
What did Niko say???
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if you need a source, we stock most parts such as the PMV, filter elements, and hoses with shut-off and gauges for Daystate, Bauer, etc.
Call my cell (After 8AM PACIFIC) at 714-612-5956