An art store here in Egypt just got a supply of Italian made compressors (Sil-Air), but they say they are oil based.. So, I was just wondering if this type is too much trouble to run and do maintenance for and stuff like that? Anyone has any experience with this type of compressors that run on oil?

It's just that buying one here would be a lot easier than trying to order a big compressor with an air tank online.. and have to deal with customs later

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Hisham

Oil based compressors are better than the others, especially SIL-Air are very good. They make less noise than compressors without oil. You can compare the noise with the noise of a fridge. Maintenance is very easy: fill in oil if its to low and emptying of condensed water.

I own an 12 year old Revell Omega (it is an relabeled Sil-Air), and it runs like on the first day. The only thing I had to change was a seal in the last year.

Hisham,

As Andreas has said....and in my opinion, this the best compressor money can buy.

Noise level... SUPER SILENT ....all you here is a quick PSSST....once the tank has filled.

Maintenance....oil change once a year if you are putting may hours of airbrushing. I don't remember the
amount of hours but I beleive it is close to 1000hrs. ...will have to check my instruction manual.

Just drain the air tank of water from condensation, periodically, and that is it.

I have been running one for 25 years now without incident.

SIL AIR is the Italian based WERTHER INTERNATIONAL company.....excellent products.

You won't regret it.

Cheers,
Joe

I can only second what others have said. They are pretty damned awesome!

As Joe P says, silent, the fridge in the kitchen makes more noise.

What model numbers of the Sil-Air we talking about??

Sil-Air compressors are indeed silent and great for apartment use. The only real sound is the "POP" of the engine turning on and off as excess air pressure is released. It sounds like a cap gun going off each time, but that's it.

I used non-oiled air compressors before and they were lound as a jackhammer. I had to wear ear muffs with those. With Sil-Air, I don't need any hearing protection.

However, bear in mind that Sil-Air compressors are heavy (50 pounds with oil in the tank) and are considered "expendable" by the company. At 50 pounds, it is hard to move around, especially upstairs, even with the carrying handle.

I had the (ahem) "pleasure" of repairing my Sil-Air compressor and it was expensive! I was at fault for pushing my rolling computer chair too far in under my desk where my air compressor was sitting and one chair leg pushed right into the frontal plumbing and busted the control unit and pipe works. It cost me about half the price of a new Sil-Air compressor to fix it since all spare parts are made in Italy. As such, one could buy a whole brand new "non-oiled" loud compressor for the price of my repairs. Sil-Air usually considers their compressors too heavy to ship back for repairs so most times if something breaks, you either buy the spare parts to repair it yourself, ship it back to the manufacturer for repair (and at 50 pounds, it could be an expensive delivery bill), or throw it out and buy a new one. There aren't many Sil-Air repair shops locally.

My instructions were pretty bad...one sheet of 2D line drawings that don't make much sense. However, I had an older model so I don't know how the newer model instructions are.

A lot of the repair work was performed by me taking photos of the original setup and then using those photos to construct the new piping. However, once the Sil-Air works, it is a dream, silent, and the pressure most times is dead-exact as the pressure gauge reads. The moisture trap works well. The control unit maintains the pressure pretty darn well and there's enough air in the tank to recharge perhaps once every minute at 15 psi, meaning that the motor doesn't constantly run all the time...it turns off when the pressure is reached and then turns back on to maintain that pressure and then off when reached again.

While one could buy a cheaper non-oiled compressor (like a tire compressor), the good thing about Sil-Air is that it comes with everything set up ready to use: pressure gauge, moisture trap, oil, control unit, fittings, etc. all plumbed as one unit. All one needs to do is fill it with oil, screw on the airhose and airbrush, and you're "good to go." With other non-oiled compressors, one has to figure out how to attach the moisture trap, gauge, pipe fittings, and other contraptions which may or may not work out.

Hope this helps.

I have Sil-Air 20A, and highly recommend it. TOP quality, you are lucky having it locally available.
It requires a special oil /SINCOM/32E/, which is available on ebay as well. The air-regulator on the compressor is for 0-10 bar adjustment, which I did not like. So have an extra regulator/filter with 0-2,5 bar scale next to the spray booth.

Jump on that Sil-Air--oil/silent compressors are the best--and if you can get one cheap, all the more valuable!

As a friend told me, "Consider Sil-Air the `Ferrari of air compressors.'"

Like a Ferrari, Sil-Airs are expensive to purchase, expensive to repair, the oil can be expensive to refill, and they need to be handled with care when moving. But, oh man, can they perform awesomely!

Thanks a lot for all your replies, guys... guess I'll try to get one. I think the model they have is the smaller size 15A.

Hisham