$89 BigW fake MaxAir compressor

[srowlandson]

I bought one of these tonight to see for once and for all if the rumours they are the same / different.
http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Compressor.html


well, they are no Max Air. Looks the same but:

Elcheap Air filter, will let incrap.

The Piston is STEEL... don't let anyone tell you it is plastic. this model, is METAL. It has a Rubber tyre piston ring to seal, i reckon with a good workout this might be a weakness.


I'll give it a decent run over the weekend too see how it performs with a constant 35 psi load for say 30-40 mins.


it is a lot faster than my ARB compressor, ans happily pumped too 120-130 PSI in a short time. filled my 9 litre air tank easily enough.


Hoping too kill it by running it a heap over the weekend so i can take it back next week for a refund, otherwise, if it survives, i guess it is a bargin for $89.


Steve

[dumbdunce]

where is the max air tear down for comparison?

good luck getting your $ back - I'd say pulling it apart would void the warrany in a second.

(but good work doing the research, if these are good then people will buy them and/or it will force the price of a "real" max air down)

[Daisy]

I read about this on overlander.

I can say good work as its not every day someones willin to go to the shop and actually compare/test their items against the best of the best.

I had always thought that magazines were biased because of liablities and sponsorship thru advertising.

Good to see an honest opinion. Looks like i may get one of them for my spares if the ARB one shits itself.

Thumbsup

TOM

[zbuild]

You get another "Good Work" from me!
I'll be watching closely for the results too.
For the amount we use them you have to weigh up the cost difference. . .and there is a BIG cost difference between the BigW one and the other "expensive" ones.
cheers!

[srowlandson]

where is the max air tear down for comparison?

good luck getting your $ back - I'd say pulling it apart would void the warrany in a second.

(but good work doing the research, if these are good then people will buy them and/or it will force the price of a "real" max air down)

Briiiiiarne...

You honestly think the Monkey at BigW would know i have pulled it apart? You can't tell...

Steve

[dumbdunce]

where is the max air tear down for comparison?

good luck getting your $ back - I'd say pulling it apart would void the warrany in a second.

(but good work doing the research, if these are good then people will buy them and/or it will force the price of a "real" max air down)

Briiiiiarne...

You honestly think the Monkey at BigW would know i have pulled it apart? You can't tell...

Steve

*currently ringing around all the big W's with your description and this URL*

yeah fair point steev. go get 'em.

[Meldge]

Hi Guys,

My old man bought one of these, while they were at Super Cheap for $180. He has an air tank mounted under the troopy and it is used to supply air to it, obviously.

The thing died one morning, it was constantly running. He stripped it down and thinks he may have found a or the problem. He said something about a air return valve breaking (popped out of housing as it is sort of crimped in).

This valve is in the picture below, it is the top piece, the raised section with the hole in it.

IMG_0341 ( http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Co ... Image3.htm )

What we have done is drilled around the raised knob and securing it down with screws, just having the outer section of the head of the screw holding the edge of the valve top down.

He is running a pressure switch from ARB, cannot remember what it cuts in at but it pumps upto around 150psi, that is why that valve let go. Although, when it cuts in it only runs for about 1 minute or so, the pressure must have just been too high, also the compressor got extremely hot indicating that the thermal cut-off switch must have been faulty.

It will be interesting to see which part fails next.


Meldge

[dumbdunce]

Hi Guys,

IMG_0341 ( http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Co ... Image3.htm )

bogus link :(

He is running a pressure switch from ARB, cannot remember what it cuts in at but it pumps upto around 150psi, that is why that valve let go. Although, when it cuts in it only runs for about 1 minute or so, the pressure must have just been too high, also the compressor got extremely hot indicating that the thermal cut-off switch must have been faulty.

ARB switch is 85psi on 105psi off. most 12V compressors are only "designed" to handle tyre type pressures, up to 40psi. 105psi may well have been beyond its safe operational range.

[Steve F]

He is running a pressure switch from ARB, cannot remember what it cuts in at but it pumps upto around 150psi, that is why that valve let go. Although, when it cuts in it only runs for about 1 minute or so, the pressure must have just been too high, also the compressor got extremely hot indicating that the thermal cut-off switch must have been faulty.

I think on the instructions with tthe BIG W one it says it is rated to 140psi and not to exceed it. Looks like that could be your problem right there

Cheers
Steve

[srowlandson]

http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Co ... mage3.html


He missed the l

It pumped up too 130psi for me last night, will read its maximum spec on the compressor. I seem to remember reading 100PSI on it somewhere.

i'll check tonight

Steve

[murcod]

He is running a pressure switch from ARB, cannot remember what it cuts in at but it pumps upto around 150psi, that is why that valve let go. Although, when it cuts in it only runs for about 1 minute or so, the pressure must have just been too high, also the compressor got extremely hot indicating that the thermal cut-off switch must have been faulty.

I think on the instructions with tthe BIG W one it says it is rated to 140psi and not to exceed it. Looks like that could be your problem right there

Cheers
Steve

I'm running my Maxair on a small air tank with the ARB pressure switch- it doesn't get anywhere near the claimed 105PSI.... I measured it when I first set up; so I doubt that compressor would have hit 150PSI.

I just found the thread I posted a while back- my ARB switch cut off at only 91PSI and back on at 68PSI: http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/PHP_Modul ... r+modified

[srowlandson]

g'day.

I have 3 ARB Pressure switches. visually, there is 2 styles.


The one supplied with my ARB in Case portatble Compressor Hits 105 PSI all the time, and icks in again around 90PSI.

The I have 2 gauges that have verified that the result is either accurate, or both my gauges are wrong. I'll see it i can test it on another.

I'll also check my other 2 pressure switches are in the same range.

It might be possible that your Gauge / Pressure switch is faulty?

I also beleive the ARB Air Locker needs 95PSI to be able to activate?

Steve

[Timmy]

no dont flame me for this but i run airbag susspension in my commodore and am thinking about running 2 of these to fill the airtank, reason i will run two is so they dont have to run for long to fill the large tank i run, ill post some comments aslo after i have run them for a while.

[muppet_man67]

I understand those speed bumps can be biatches

[Meldge]

I dunno, it says - Max Working Pressure: 150PSI

Also continuous use @ 22degrees: 40 Minutes, so I think the test on a hot day will kill it.

??? - Max Restart Pressure: 200PSI (whatever that is)

[chimpboy]

this is great, i look forward to hearing how it goes.

[murcod]

g'day.

I have 3 ARB Pressure switches. visually, there is 2 styles.


The one supplied with my ARB in Case portatble Compressor Hits 105 PSI all the time, and icks in again around 90PSI.

The I have 2 gauges that have verified that the result is either accurate, or both my gauges are wrong. I'll see it i can test it on another.

I'll also check my other 2 pressure switches are in the same range.

It might be possible that your Gauge / Pressure switch is faulty?

I also beleive the ARB Air Locker needs 95PSI to be able to activate?

Steve

Hi Steve, I just double checked the pressure my ARB switch is operating at and got 90PSI cut out and 70PSI cut in- this time by using the guage supplied with the Maxair (this has been checked against two different digital tyres guages and is accurate in the 30-40PSI range.) Last time I used a different gauge plumbed directly into the Maxair's output.

So it's a case of my switch being "out" if your measurements are correct. I wonder how many others they've sold are like that? From the info I found ARB lockers will operate from 60PSI - 110PSI : http://www.can4x4.com/articles/airlocker.html

[bazzle]

http://forums.overlander.com.au/viewtop ... sc&start=0

Good read here too

Bazzle

[chimpboy]

I bought one of these tonight to see for once and for all if the rumours they are the same / different.
http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Compressor.html


well, they are no Max Air. Looks the same but:

Elcheap Air filter, will let incrap.

The Piston is STEEL... don't let anyone tell you it is plastic. this model, is METAL. It has a Rubber tyre piston ring to seal, i reckon with a good workout this might be a weakness.


I'll give it a decent run over the weekend too see how it performs with a constant 35 psi load for say 30-40 mins.


it is a lot faster than my ARB compressor, ans happily pumped too 120-130 PSI in a short time. filled my 9 litre air tank easily enough.


Hoping too kill it by running it a heap over the weekend so i can take it back next week for a refund, otherwise, if it survives, i guess it is a bargin for $89.

What was the outcome?

Jason

[srowlandson]

I bought one of these tonight to see for once and for all if the rumours they are the same / different.
http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Compressor.html


well, they are no Max Air. Looks the same but:

Elcheap Air filter, will let incrap.

The Piston is STEEL... don't let anyone tell you it is plastic. this model, is METAL. It has a Rubber tyre piston ring to seal, i reckon with a good workout this might be a weakness.


I'll give it a decent run over the weekend too see how it performs with a constant 35 psi load for say 30-40 mins.


it is a lot faster than my ARB compressor, ans happily pumped too 120-130 PSI in a short time. filled my 9 litre air tank easily enough.


Hoping too kill it by running it a heap over the weekend so i can take it back next week for a refund, otherwise, if it survives, i guess it is a bargin for $89.

What was the outcome?

Jason

The Crappy hose blew, so i had to stop testing after about 40 mins of use. Its getting another workout this weekend. I'll have a maxair tomorrow to test against, and too pull it apart to compare the internal's

steve

[chimpboy]

What was the outcome?

The Crappy hose blew, so i had to stop testing after about 40 mins of use. Its getting another workout this weekend. I'll have a maxair tomorrow to test against, and too pull it apart to compare the internal's

You da man!

I went and had a look at these just now. I just kinda feel like doing some little project on the car; hard-wired compressor plus tank might be a worthwhile one...

Jason

[chimpboy]

Steve, stop working and start posting.

[srowlandson]

Steve, stop working and start posting.

Well, another trip to the Air Fittings shop and I finally picked up the fittings required to get the BigW Compressor going again. Another big run of 50 minutes straight and the compressor still runs. I ran it at 35 PSI for about 20 mins, then deflated 2 tyres, pumped em up to 40psi, then spent the remainer of the time filling my 9 litre tank to 100psi -> 0psi -> 100psi etc. The compressor gets DAMN hot.

I am going to pull it apart this week to inspect how the insides are going, but i doubt it will handle much more abuse. It is starting to make funny noises.

On the other hand, I was really impressed with the maxair. It is quickly apparent to see where the differences in the internal components are. The Maxair is made SO much better.

I had a few things on during the weekend, so didn't get as much testing as i would have hoped. I'll hopefully get some more done tomorrow.

Hopefully wednesday I can take it to 'shed night' where we have pulled a few compressors apart inthe past to see what makes them different. Will see what we come up with from there...

Steve

[baby_troupe]

I offered to do a fair dinkum product evaluation 2 years ago when they first looked at stocking them.
The manufacturer backed down when he saw how I wanted to test it (pump up 10 tyres from 10 psi to 40 psi in a timed run) against a few of the better known 4wd compressors.
I can only guess they have improved the product since then, as Big W is now selling them.

[Guy]

seriously .. whe do you pump up 10 tyres from 10 to 40 PSi in one run ?? your asking for trouble on most compresors with a run like that.
There is only a handful of units rated with a 100% duty cycle that would support a run like that, Or your ooking at something like the clisby that may be able to move enough air in a short enoug period of time to fit that sort of volume into its duty cycle .. If it were my compressor\company I would also politely decline ..

From what I have read here for under $100 it is a pretty good bit of kit and seeing as most other compressors cost 3 time that amount, it's not a bad buy for the occasional fourwheeler who cant justify $300 or more for something that gets used 4 or 5 times a year ..

[ISUZUROVER]

Cool thread Steve, it is good to see people doing reasonably scientific testing of components like this.

However, I stopped using electric compressors a long time ago, there is just no comparison between them and a converted air-con compressor. I could run the york on my landie all day long without a problem, it delivers more than 5 times the air of an electric compressor, and it ran a full sized industrial nail gun that I used to put up a 20m fence. Try doing that with an electric compressor!!!

And on top of all that - it cost me almost nothing to build. The compressor was free, as was the steel for the brackets and air tanks, all I had to buy was a fan belt and a few fittings.

[srowlandson]

Well, Both units have ran for a few hours, so it was time for a strip down to see how they were going, internally.

Update the pics @ http://steven.4wdpics.com/Compressor/Compressor.html


The BigW unit is Wearing fast.. and , i don't know how much longer it will run for (although it has ran longer than I expected over 2 1/2 hours of use thus far.

I think pumping 10 tyres as a test is a fair and reasonable test. the Aim is to operate the unit within the manufacturers guidelines. The unit states it can run for 40 mins, then off for 30 mins. The Max air however can run for 40, off for 15.

The BigW unit is VERY hot when it has ran for 40 mins. and the air coming out of also hot (too hot to have blowing on your hand).

The Key differences of the two units can be seen in the pics. The maxair unit has a lot better seals, and a better design for the air intake. The internals look a lot better quality than the cheaper unit. The Maxair Air filter is also substancially better.

I think the BigW unit would pump up a set of 4 split rims 2-3 times a year ok, so would be good for the average joe, although, it might pay to spend the few extra $$ on the Maxair if you use it more than a handful of times a year.

I am hoping a few more cycles of 40 mins use will kill the bigW.

I have organised to get some graphs done showing the output each compressor has over time, as i feel the MaxAir is putting out more air than the BigW, the BigW slows down after it gets hot. Might just be in my mine though, hence the need for a proper graph.

The Saga continues....

[Kane]

So whats the final verdict?

[MARKx4]

Thats exellent work. Thanks for the info, coming in very handy.

[Guy]

Any final graphs on this ??