Bauer PE100 advice

[TheMacallan]

…a recent thread showed that a few folks have the Bauer PE100 compressor and I met someone at Loch Carron with one and he loved his.
I would be looking at petrol driven one but any “pearls of wisdom” before making a purchase?

[MikeF]

I have one but if I was in the market I'd buy a bauer junior instead, same compressor block but it has a better filter system.

petrol is fine for out and about but a PITA at home even if you mount the compressor on a trolley to wheel outside. An electric motor is far easier to live with, less noise if you have neighbours and makes installing an hour meter easy to monitor filter use.

if you get one rig up a bottle with some hose from the water separator and filter vent valves so you don't blow oily water everywhere when draining condensate.

[Dave1w]

I have one but if I was in the market I'd buy a bauer junior instead, same compressor block but it has a better filter system.

petrol is fine for out and about but a PITA at home even if you mount the compressor on a trolley to wheel outside. An electric motor is far easier to live with, less noise if you have neighbours and makes installing an hour meter easy to monitor filter use.

if you get one rig up a bottle with some hose from the water separator and filter vent valves so you don't blow oily water everywhere when draining condensate.

Is it that much worse, I thought it was almost the P21 just upside down?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[iain/hsm]

…a recent thread showed that a few folks have the Bauer PE100 compressor and I met someone at Loch Carron with one and he loved his.
I would be looking at petrol driven one but any “pearls of wisdom” before making a purchase?

Hardly pearls of wisdom, more pearls before swine but for starters:

1. If buying new make sure its the latest block design and not the old one.
2. Before you buy get a spare parts price list in writing for: Piston, head, liners, rings, bearings for each stage, Gasket set and ring set. No price list no deal.
3. Ask for the special valve tool to be included for free.
4. Get a dealer price on the replacement filters and oil, be persuasive
5. Save money and buy from a commercial compressor supplier and not a retail dive shop
6. Dont forget the dive shop makes a big profit on your sale, doesnt have any in stock and knows pretty much naff all about the product other than information out of the brochure.
7. The commercial compressor suppliers buy at a much cheaper price than a dive shop reseller but dont get many end user divers so no skin of their nose to give you a deal.
8. Contact Bauer Kompressoren in St Helens its a rough town have some pity on the staff. Get past the reception girl and make friends with the engineers pricing even better
9. Contact Divex Aberdeen now JFL get part their receptionist talk to the engineers. Helps if you understand Scottish as a language,
10. If your English dont bother. Dont talk about football with them or the highland clearances. or Celtic or Rangers.
11. If negotiation isn't going to well tell them that you love Scotland and the "Scotch" people that will do the trick.

[Allan Carr]

We bought a Junior 2 for our club. It's a single phase electric version and runs off a standard 13 Amp socket. As MikeF said, the electric version is quieter and cheaper to run. I have it in my garage and run a hose outside for the air intake. That way it's less disturbing for the neighbours. It's quite heavy on filters but it has an electronic monitor which tells you what the filter capacity is so you don't have to keep careful log of usage.

The thought was that if we needed it to be used in areas where ther was no electric hook-up available, we could always buy a separate generator.

I have to say that we have been very pleased with it.

[TheMacallan]

OK thanks for the replies and some food for thought. My needs are going to be modest.
I did try to lift the mobile PE1000 and I did struggle.

I have spent waaaayv too much time “blowing bottles” and hate compressors with a passion.
I drive through Aberdeen every other week so Divex is an interesting suggestion.

[iain/hsm]

OK thanks for the replies and some food for thought. My needs are going to be modest.
I did try to lift the mobile PE1000 and I did struggle.

I have spent waaaayv too much time “blowing bottles” and hate compressors with a passion.
I drive through Aberdeen every other week so Divex is an interesting suggestion.

Heck if your going through with this on second thoughts forget line items 10 and 11 and 12.

Divex are lovely folk, even if they cant work out what to call themselves now they are known as JFD (Just **** ing Dumb)
I worked for them as Development Engineering, Then Mara Engineering, Then Gas Services
Most of the guys I know were in management and most if not all are now retired.
But if Bob Thompson is still around he is a keen wreck diver dont know if he can help on the compressor side
We worked together at Sub Sea who then owned the real DIVEX when Divex was then Gas Services. Clear as Mud I know.
Just get past the receptionist and past the young fresh sales guys. Dont mention my name it wont help you. LOL

[iain/hsm]

I have one but if I was in the market I'd buy a bauer junior instead, same compressor block but it has a better filter system.

petrol is fine for out and about but a PITA at home even if you mount the compressor on a trolley to wheel outside. An electric motor is far easier to live with, less noise if you have neighbours and makes installing an hour meter easy to monitor filter use.

if you get one rig up a bottle with some hose from the water separator and filter vent valves so you don't blow oily water everywhere when draining condensate.

Mike the Junior II is way more expensive than the Poseidon version, a cheaper option is to turn the small on frame filter tower into a separator using glass marbles and add an aftermarket Bauer spigot industrial filter like the the P40 or even the big industrial 800mm P60 these are around £480 + VAT and can be wall mounted. Add a Bauer spigot stainless repack cartridge cost around £100 and you have a years worth of filtration with a chemical repack cost of £15

In addition to the hour meter either on the petrol engine frame (vibration type) or electric (wired type) again fit yourself aftermarket would be a visual indicator of relative humidity £60 if you include the swagelok fittings in and out and change the filter when it needs not at some magical hours run

As for the oily condensate I cant help much, plenty of paper towels and a can of white paint with a brush for the walls and cheap carpet tiles.

Or buy an oil free oil-less Rix SA-6 and have only pure distilled water to drain off as condensate you could drink it or use the condensate discharge to water the plants. Failing that you could always use it to be as close as it gets to being like a member of an American SEAL team I guess.

[iain/hsm]

We bought a Junior 2 for our club. It's a single phase electric version and runs off a standard 13 Amp socket. As MikeF said, the electric version is quieter and cheaper to run. I have it in my garage and run a hose outside for the air intake. That way it's less disturbing for the neighbours. It's quite heavy on filters but it has an electronic monitor which tells you what the filter capacity is so you don't have to keep careful log of usage.

The thought was that if we needed it to be used in areas where ther was no electric hook-up available, we could always buy a separate generator.

I have to say that we have been very pleased with it.

You wasted your money IMHO on the electronic monitor its only is a £20 fixed run timer alarm clock on a board with a small £30 RTD remote temperature device that shortens the timer set time as the temperature of the room and against the filter shell wall increases. That is why you strap it to the tower shell.
It is a lovely designed product I will admit (I have the original design drawings). But IMHO the cost of it retail is way over the mark.

Again I would suggest the small £60 visual humidity indicator 20/40/60% relative humidity indicator. A real 350 bar pressure vessel with a small viewport.
That measures in real time at real pressure in the gas stream the relative humidity calibrated at 200 or 300 bar. Fast accurate
and a replacement monitor card that lasts two years and costs £15 to replace.

Your added bonus by measuring the real water vapour humidity is no more comments like "It's quite heavy on filters"

[TheMacallan]

[QUOTE=iain/hsm;


Or buy an oil free oil-less Rix SA-6 and have only pure distilled water to drain off as condensate you could drink it or use the condensate discharge to water the plants. Failing that you could always use it to be as close as it gets to being like a member of an American SEAL team I guess.[/QUOTE]

The SA-3 was top of my list…..but if this is a bust….