Back

High Pressure Breathing Air Compressor Servicing Information

Compressor Log sheets – These are a legal requirement in many countries – use them!

Compressor_log_sheet[English]
Compressor_log_sheet[Eng /Thai]
Compressor_log_sheet[Malay]

Generic Compressor Operating Instructions for a tropical climate [ Eng ], [ Malay ]

3 stage high pressure breathing air compressor key system components. Copyright Mr Stewart Meinert. The Dive Industry Technician Handbook

This picture courtesy of:- Mr. Stuart Meinert , author of the Dive Technician Training Course

To book your Compressor Training Cours Contact us

Bauer Mariner 320 high pressure 4 stage compressor - cut away produced by Bauer Kompressoren, Munich Germany. Photo by Stephen Burton

Need Compressor Spare Parts or tech data – log onto the online compressor spare parts database

International Breathing Air standards table

 

Compressor Horror Stories The ‘Rod thrower’

Damaged Bauer Capitano compressor, again barrel and cylinder head blown off Damaged Bauer Capitano compressor with both 2nd and 3rd stages blown off Damaged Bauer Capitano compressor with barrel and cylinder head blown off

A very dead Bauer Capitano compressor

Perhaps Something went horribly wrong with the lubrication, someone messed with the 2nd stage safety valve – or maybe it was still pumping when the dive boat sank. Either way… a both 2nd and 3rd stages separated from the crankcase with a ‘pop’ – nasty!

The Kentucky Fried Compressor – aka ‘Fire in the Hold’

Another photo of a Bauer Mariner 320 P41 compressor destroyed by fire. Petrol spill caused the honda engine and the rest of the compressor to catch fire. Bauer Mariner 320 compressor destroyed by Honda petrol engine fire - beyond econmoical repair. operator error filling the pretrol tank while running

These photos (above) came in around December 2010 – just in time for the Christmas Holiday celebrations.

Sadly, I don’t think ‘scuba tanks toasting around a compressor fire’ was the owners intention. Cause of fire – The compressor operator ‘Mr. Twat’ attempting to fill the petrol engine fuel tank while it was still running… Estimated cost of repair USD7,500 inclusive parts & labor (2010 prices) – likely repair decision ‘beyond economical repair’

trashed compressor Coltrisub MCH16 Compressor 2nd stage due to over zealous tightening of an exhaust valve Destroyed Coltrisub MCH16 USD500 (2018) cylinder head caused by over tightenning of the outlet pressure valve

Heavy handed Dive Tech madness

Above photos – 2nd stage head likely trashed by… (a) non-working 2nd stage safety valve, (b) incorrectly fitted 2nd stage pressure valve or (c) poor quality cylinder head casting

Compressor ‘monster from the deep’ – A nasty compressor rescued from a sunken dive boat.

Coltrisub MCH16 1st stage head damaged by flooding after the dive boat sank Coltrisub MCH16 very dirty 2nd stage of compressor - this is supposed to be pumping divers breathing air. They must have been using engine oil instead of synthetic compressor oil

Coltrisub MCh16 2nd stage piston and barrel of this compressor in very poor condition Coltrisub MCH16 piston and rings not doing much. obviously this unit has been run into the ground using some cheap nasty oil

Vietnam Compressor execution – off with its(2nd stage) head!

Coltrisub compressor MCH16 2nd stage head blew off - no known cause so far. trying to compress water or messing with the 2nd stage safety valve will do this...

Some fool attempting to dry out divers breathing air compressor molecular sieve in 80% RH tropical air at 35C ambient.

Somewhere outside a leading 5-star dive center in Asia – attempting to dry out Filter Cartridge molecular Sieve in 80% RH 35C ambient.

This technique only makes the Molecular sieve even more saturated with moisture, resulting in even more internal corrosion of the Dive Centers scuba tanks!

The utter uselessness of the filter media would of course be noticed during routine 90day air tests – however not even one dive center out of 100 in this mystery Asian country carries out routine air tests (2012). Recreational dive agencies appear to not care less about enforcing their own 5-star air standards, no doubt worried about loosing student diver cert numbers from this useful cash cow 70,000 student diver certifications/year dive shop economy, if they make standards too difficult for dive centers to comply with… or even actively police their existing standards.

Self ingition of compressor filter chemicals during Nitrox pumpingCompressor filter cartridge spontaneous combustion from use in a Nitrox compressor with humid air Molten aluminium compressor filter cartrdige - caused by cartridge molecular sieve and activated carbon filter elements self igniting in high pressure Nitrox

Guess someone turned the Nitrox Oxygen percentage up too high here – whatever the cause, the filter cartridge became bored with its previous life and decided to become a Roman Candle instead. Lord only knows what the air tasted of…
Columbian scuba cylinder contamination - sadly, only dry aluminium oxide dust Hey Boss - you better come and check this out - Columbian cylinder contamination - (sadly) only dry aluminium oxide dust

OK – so you remove the valve of the last cylinder to be tested on a Friday afternoon just before the weekend break, …and Crikey! – some strange white powder falls out – WTF is it? Is this tank from Columbia? Sadly, extensive testing showed it to be nothing more than boring old aluminium oxide.

Bauer MAriner 250 final stage floating piston. Not to be handled with bare hands. This one was damaged through lubrication failure following the operator running the comporessor backwards

Bauer Mariner II final stage seized piston – caused by reverse rotation. Removed with a copper drift and a 12 pound lump hammer. It don’t look much, but fixing this little problem is going to cost you lots…

Click here to book your Dive Industry Training Course

‘learn how to service & repair all the equipment used to support diving operations’

Dive Technician training course equipment photos showing examples of equipment worked on during training

error: Content is protected...