Dive Compressor advice - Electric or Petrol

[richard45cdo]

Hi Guys,
Im lookign at installing a dive compressor onto my new beneteau 41, does any body know from experiance or would be able to advice on Electric compressor vs Petrol compressor. and any other advice on compressor would be great,

The boat will have a GENERATOR 7.5 KVA 220V 50HZ - WITH COCOON - 2C VERSION ONLY onboard, i hope this helps

Thanks

[Ip485]

I have an Electric Coltri which I have recently installed. Runs fine off the Genset, and I am guessing will do off yours, albeit do check what the start up load is and whether you have a soft start installed.

I had the same consideration as you - petrol or electric. I opted for electric as I hope it might prove more reliable (always a little wary of small petrol engines), not keen on carrying too much petrol as I already carry a lot for the outboard, and I guess careful thought is needed to make sure the exhaust cannot contaminate the compressed air. On the other hand I recognise I am reliant on the Genset working, that being the weak link.

I have three tanks. Tank storage obviously requires a little thought as they are heavy and you dont want them coming adrift. In the same way the compressor is bolted down in the rear lazarette.

The little Coltri takes around 30 minutes to fully charge a tank, which is fine, and the noise level is reasonable.

Obvioulsy it is worth taking a collection of spares if you are off to distant shores - in the case of the Coltri a spare belt, and some filters (which require changing after every 50 charges) and some oil. There isnt much else to go wrong, and the opinion seems to be they are a very reliable piece of kit.

I am sure you are aware even the Coltri is a reasonably large and heavy piece of kit.

(PS I can email you a photo if you wish).

[a64pilot]

I have a gas one, a Bauer Junior.
It's just a 5HP lawnmower motor, a Subaru in this case. Very easy to maintain, and honestly, cheap to replace if necessary.
Plus you think your going to use these things, but in reality it makes far more sense to have your tanks filled at a dive shop when available, so now you really only need your compressor when one isn't
Subaru or Honda motors are a little over $300.
Down side to the gas one is your not running it in the Lazarette. Mine will be drained of fuel and stored in the spare Stateroom, now storage room.

[MikeFergie]

I have a Bauer junior 100l/min petrol engine (honda gx350) engine. My older Bauer is still running from 1981 so to me the best machines on the market ! This Bauer in on my Leopard 40.

[Lepke]

I don't dive anymore, but used a compressor off one of the diesel generators because it was much faster filing than any electrics I tried.

A place you could check out: http://www.compressorstuff.com/

[navy davy]

I just watched an episode of sv Delos . Brian , Bradey , and Karen dive all the time and Bradey is a master diver rescue instructor . Brian is the owner captain of Delos and older brother . They have an electric compressor and Brian says it was a great decision to go with an electric compressor . Visit their YouTube channel and listen to the reason why !

[kryg]

Re your dive questions. they can be best answered by viewing the Delos video on DYI setup and diving gear, it is a very comprehensive video. here is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bNM...ature=youtu.be

For my part I gave up tanks got heavy gear. now I and have an double pump electric compressor hookah setup for two divers the size of a tool box the battery are charged by solar panels.

Happy diving,

Kryg.
SV. Skoiern IV

Originally Posted by richard45cdo

Hi Guys,
Im lookign at installing a dive compressor onto my new beneteau 41, does any body know from experiance or would be able to advice on Electric compressor vs Petrol compressor. and any other advice on compressor would be great,

The boat will have a GENERATOR 7.5 KVA 220V 50HZ - WITH COCOON - 2C VERSION ONLY onboard, i hope this helps

Thanks

[Sawbonz]

I just started a thread on electric compressors as that is the way I want to go. I too am concerned about additional exhaust in the vicinity of a compressor, having another engine to maintain, and the fact that only the electric version gets the "Yachting Package" to automatically drain the compressor tanks. Here's a link to the thread: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/....php?p=2450281

[Nani Kai]

Originally Posted by richard45cdo

Hi Guys,
Im lookign at installing a dive compressor onto my new beneteau 41, does any body know from experiance or would be able to advice on Electric compressor vs Petrol compressor. and any other advice on compressor would be great,

The boat will have a GENERATOR 7.5 KVA 220V 50HZ - WITH COCOON - 2C VERSION ONLY onboard, i hope this helps

Thanks

As SAWBONZ noted, his previous thread on dive compressors is very comprehensive and informative. Well worth a look. One other caution re: petrol fueled compressors: my son was aboard a 46'cat in the Dutch Antilles with a large group of friends who were diving 3-4 dives a day each. They had a petrol fueled compressor secured on deck amidships. The compressor ran out of gas while charging tanks. One of the divers attempted to refuel the compressor before letting the engine cool off. Some gas was spilled on the very hot muffler and it burst into flame. The diver threw the gas can across the deck to get the fire out of her face. This ignited the deck. The entire boat burned to the waterline and sank in less than 45 minutes. Pretty scary stuff.

[David B]

Originally Posted by richard45cdo

Hi Guys,
Im lookign at installing a dive compressor onto my new beneteau 41, does any body know from experiance or would be able to advice on Electric compressor vs Petrol compressor. and any other advice on compressor would be great,

The boat will have a GENERATOR 7.5 KVA 220V 50HZ - WITH COCOON - 2C VERSION ONLY onboard, i hope this helps

Thanks

That's a decent size generator - especially for that sized boat. My thought would be to go for electric. You already have a good, solid diesel engine on that generator, so why not make use of it. While you are running the generator, you can be running the desalinator if you have one, or at least topping up your batteries. If the compressor is to be fixed on the boat, I see no sense in bringing another engine onboard to run it.

The trade off is that there will be some loss in efficiency running a diesel engine to drive an alternator to generator electricity, to run an electric motor to drive a compressor. However, that diesel engine will be substantially more efficient that the petrol one that would be on the dive compressor, so I doubt there is much in it. Also, modern alternators and electric motors are fairly efficient these days.
Stay diesel - that electric motor will be more compact and lighter than its petrol equivalent, and you will not have to deal with another exhaust outlet.

[Dougtiff]

Last time i was up in the Sea of Cortez, a boat with a CSUBA compressor would charge their tanks every afternoon after diving, being anchored in a small bay and not wanting to move, i endured the noise, so do your neighbors a favour, go electric.