Air Force Compressor

[sixshootertexan]

I'd like to see this compressor in person.

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/airforce-e-pump-compressor-4500-psi?a=8393

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

I saw that yesterday.  I'd like to know what they consider quiet?  IMO, they are still too expensive.  I'll wait till these portables are priced a bit more comparable to the Chinese compressors.  If they were around the $300 mark they would definitely be worth considering.

[tennx]

I like it and  the idea of the compact/portability , even though I dont need it.....and I agree a bit pricey....good luck

[sixshootertexan]

It's still $450 cheaper than the air venturi compressor and portable. I could use a portable compressor since I only have a 90ci tank. My question is how long will it last filling large tanks? Is it really designed for that or just filling guns.

[BountyHunter1976]

Here is the best video I have seen on this pump so far when shown at the shot show. Like all new products I prefer not to be the tester and will wait a couple years to see how it turns out. It most likely will take that long to save up enough pesos or rubles to buy it. 

[comemeer]

Here is the best video I have seen on this pump so far when shown at the shot show. Like all new products I prefer not to be the tester and will wait a couple years to see how it turns out. It most likely will take that long to save up enough pesos or rubles to buy it. 

The person from Sun Optics says the compressor is made in China.  I saw another video about the AirForce E-Pump and they said it is made in USA (Fort Worth, TX).  Seems odd.

[Rat Sniper (AKA: PaulT58)]

I noticed they didn't mention what this will cost, any ideas?  Also, they said it was slow fill, 10-12 minutes to fill a Marauder, was that topping off from say 1500 psi or from 0?  My YH tops off my Marauder in only a couple minutes and will fill my Gauntlet tank from 0-3000 psi in under 5 minutes.  As he mentioned, the air in the tank will get warm, but wait 10 minutes and then top it off any you can get a full 3000 psi in less than 20 minutes as opposed to the 45 minutes stated to fill a  tank from empty.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a portable, quiet air compressor that doesn't need to be tethered to a water supply for cooling, it will just take more patients to fill my rifles than what I have become accustomed to! 

[wimpanzee]

I went ahead and pre-ordered one. I was looking at hauling my inverter generator an the AV compressor out to the range. Just taking the AF compressor and running it off 12v seemed much better for my use case.

[BountyHunter1976]

I noticed they didn't mention what this will cost, any ideas?  Also, they said it was slow fill, 10-12 minutes to fill a Marauder, was that topping off from say 1500 psi or from 0?  My YH tops off my Marauder in only a couple minutes and will fill my Gauntlet tank from 0-3000 psi in under 5 minutes.  As he mentioned, the air in the tank will get warm, but wait 10 minutes and then top it off any you can get a full 3000 psi in less than 20 minutes as opposed to the 45 minutes stated to fill a  tank from empty.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a portable, quiet air compressor that doesn't need to be tethered to a water supply for cooling, it will just take more patients to fill my rifles than what I have become accustomed to!

The cost that has been shown so far is $849 at Pyramyd Air and at the Air Force website is listed at $899. Yes it will be a big difference in fill times if used to one of the chinese compressors. They are very fast at topping off the tanks on the rifles. My pump gets hot very quick also, and I think if it was running at least 1,000rpm slower it would not heat up so much but would fill slower too. At this price range for me it will be a wait and see game. If they don't sell very well maybe the price will drop a little.

[BountyHunter1976]

I went ahead and pre-ordered one. I was looking at hauling my inverter generator an the AV compressor out to the range. Just taking the AF compressor and running it off 12v seemed much better for my use case.

When you get it, I think we all will be looking forward to an update and review of it.

[BountyHunter1976]

Here is the best video I have seen on this pump so far when shown at the shot show. Like all new products I prefer not to be the tester and will wait a couple years to see how it turns out. It most likely will take that long to save up enough pesos or rubles to buy it. 

The person from Sun Optics says the compressor is made in China.  I saw another video about the AirForce E-Pump and they said it is made in USA (Fort Worth, TX).  Seems odd.

I watched that other video also. He said was made in Dallas/Fort Worth area. This video is for the Sun Optics compressor which If I'm not mistaken makes the Air Force hand pump but is labeled Air Force. Will there be two brand pumps like this out there? I don't know, just have seen a pump identical to this with Air Force label on it.
Laws may have changed over the last 15 or so years, but for a product to be said made in the USA, all that has to be done is ship it in and put one part on it and it can be called "Made in America". I worked in textiles for almost 20 years and when shipments came in, all that was done was have a label sewn in and it was called and sold as "Made in America". So this pump may be made by Sun Optics and just re-branded for sale here in America. He says he has a factory off shore and that is where their hand pump is made and a whole lot of our products are made off shore now.
Some members here use those $45 hand pumps with great success so if this pump is made well, it should do exactly what they say it will.

[pcpnoob]

I'm new to PCP and new to this forum...

The e-pump came back in stock at pyramid and appeared to match my needs so I thought I'd give it a try.  As I'm new to PCP, I don't have much to compare this with.  I'm having trouble posting pictures but will try again later.

The unit is indeed very quiet - I registered 67-70dB a few inches from the unit (no difference with the cover on or off).  The design is somewhat clever in that there is a motor driving what is essentially a hand pump pushing back and forth quietly.  My new pump had a loose wire that prevented the motor from operating at first - easy to find and fix but I point it out in case someone is having the same issue out of the box.

The package comes with two sealed containers of silica to for use in the removable dehumidification bin.

In my initial test, pumping my marauder from 2000-2900psi took almost 9 min and shutoff at the desired setpoint.

Any questions I can help answer?

[Alan B]

Compressors made from motorized hand pumps generally require a lot of maintenance and have limited performance to avoid overheating. Hopefully this one will be good. It is a design that takes advantage of the commodity manufacturing of the hand pumps and one would expect it might lead to a good price point.

Performance expectations for 12 volt compressors need to be aligned with the available power at this voltage from a car's electrical system.

The Yong Heng pump power consumption is up to about 1500 watts. If a compressor with similar performance was made 12 volt it would have to draw up to 120 amps, which is not a very practical solution. Working within those constraints is going to be slower, and more suitable for lower pressure and volume, such as guns rather than tanks.

If you have an electric or hybrid car the available battery power is much greater, but the compressor would have to be setup to run on the (high voltage) traction battery, not 12 volts. I've seen something similar done with a Prius (in terms of electrical load) and it worked very well. They have sufficient power to run a couple of good sized electric motors (many horsepower) and the gas engine can kick on to recharge when the battery gets low.

I have considered bringing a small Honda generator (eu2000i) to the range or field and a standard 115V compressor, the Honda is rated at 1600W continuous so it should handle most 115V compressors. Going to the next level would be a gas powered Scuba compressor, perhaps a used or reconditioned model which are often available for perhaps twice this Air Force's new cost. Designed to handle tanks, and has all the moisture filtering built in.