Average Life of Homefill

[aREa541]

I am interested in seeing what kind of average life we can expect out of these units. If you have used a Homefill, please post here and vote in the poll about your experience with the number of hours it ran. It would be helpful to also state how you ran your unit - e.g. what pressure you filled your tanks to, number of tanks you fill at a time, how long you would leave your machine on for a time, etc. Also, if you made repairs any details on that and how it ran since would be great info too.

I am on my first machine that is still running fine with about 950 hours. I try to keep my fill to around 1000-1200 on two tanks and also try to duty cycle it by turning it off every 6 hours or so for about 45 minutes. I have heard of other people running a duty cycle and it made sense to me as I have heard the compressor gets quite hot when ran for a long period. The largest tank these were designed to fill takes 3 or 4 hours to fill, so even the craziest oxy filling patient wouldn't be running them crazy like we do, they would have breaks.

Anyway, the idea is to hopefully chart average life of these units so we can really see what kind of price we are paying per bottle with a Homefill. I am also interested in seeing if we can find the run strategy to optimize average life span.

[istandalone24/7]

i got just over 4000 hours before mine shat the bed. a little finessing the seals and it worked for a few more days. i just need to take it apart again and get fiddling.

plan on an average of 3000 hours.

[gomilobster]

I am so down with this thread. I actually was just talking with a friend about wanting to go and try to compile all the info that is already scattered among a few different threads into a kind of megathread, FAQ, info depot for homefill. Parts numbers, common problems with fixes, etc. Lots of the info is already certainly there, its just my OCD kicking in and wishing I had it all in a nice single thread format or adding to a wiki etc. Maybe we shall see if I start it as a personal project and it seems valuable to anyone else I can then post a compilation or add to a/the wiki.

I have one homefill only been running it for a little less than a month or so now, hooked up to 3 250/280 cu ft tanks so my experiences are not super informational yet. I was not able to get a ton of shop time in the past few days and it had finally hit 1900 psi on all tanks, so I shut her down. I was wondering to myself if shutting it off and on was harder on it than just letting it go until I could get in there and drop some oxy on some glass for a session or two. I also have two more for parts/repairs on the way and I plan to take at least one of them apart entirely (nervous as the only tools I have are wrenches and screw drivers basically but oh well). I did see however that someone already did this with some pictures in a thread. Maybe I can just take it to the next level if I have time and motivation to manage it. Looking forward to the thread though!

[dustyg]

If you link 5 tanks and only ever fill to 500 psi, will this extend the machine's life, and if so, by how many hours? Tanks will outlast the user, so even if it's more expensive short-term, it could make long-term sense to get a bunch of them.

[gomilobster]

Also though I can't speak from experience, and I may have it totally wrong, it seems from my reading if you are handy and replace parts, mod the machine, and/or bypass the circuit board thingy (so accurate a description LOL) they can run a long time. CS said he had been running his for a year or more? I remember someone saying their hour counter basically at some point was meaningless.

[aREa541]

Yeah, I think Crip said his is over 5000 hrs, then I have heard other people say 1800 before it died on them. I am interested in not just how many hours but how the machine was ran during it's life.

One thing about turning it off and on is that the machine doesn't like to start at higher pressures. The manual states not to top off a bottle if it is at 1500 psi or higher. I try not to start my machine if the pressure is 1000 or more.

[dukerussell]

I got 1800 hours out of my first one but honesty I believe that the worst thing you can do to a home fill is shutting it off. I went off to an art show for a weekend out of town and when I went to turn it on Monday it squealed when I turned it on and the main rotating wheel was pretty much impossible to move around. I also used a larger diameter hose from concentrator to home fill and I saw better fill times than the original quick connect hose


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[TCsGlassworks]

are replacement parts available?

[LooseSeal Baller]

are replacement parts available?

yes, look here. http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?54688-Who-has-experience-with-homefill-rebuild&p=792587#post792587

if you want to make a superthread, maybe just link all the threads you like about homefills to this thread. Would be easiest and fastest, and a place to start considering their are tons of threads on this already.

As for life span, I cant' help there, I know that mine, and 2 of my friends machines are all over 1200 hrs. One big thing to consider is the environment in which you plan to operate a homefill in. Is the humidity high? Whats the temperature? These are designed to work in a home environment and the manufacturer recommends between the temperatures of 50-85 degrees F. with low humidity(below 60%) i think? not sure. If mine craps out some day then i'll post the hours i got out of it here.

[ethan.lesch]

One of mine made it to 2500hrs the other made it to 900hr. I never let it go past 1200-1500 psi and never under 500 psi...I live in socal about 1 mile from the beach so the humidity is over 60% just finished building my high volume low pressure system and am loving it

[Kovacs Glass]

My old school unit (red base) is at 950hr running on 50hz (UK) and the main bearing has started to 'tick tock. I have spare bearings, so I'll get that changed when I next get to dismantle the fucker. It's also had to have seals #4 and #5 replaced due to the high ambient temperatures in my workshop. I have since added water cooling to those piston sleeves on this unit and my other one.

My newer unit (black base) is at around the 500hr mark and is running great. The oxygen purity bypass that worked for the older one doesn't work quite the same which is a little odd, as the purity sensor is the same.

[snoopdog6502]

I got 50 hours out of mine, that piece of shits not pumping a damn thing.

[LooseSeal Baller]

I got 50 hours out of mine, that piece of shits not pumping a damn thing.

where did you get it. does it have a warranty?

at one point i purchased 2 complete homefill units with concentrators, from a used medical supply co. One of the homefills had a slower fill, so i called and the guy actually sent me a replacement. He was supposed to send me a return label to ship the "slower" machine back, but they never did, and i tried contacting them and they never responded. So i got 1 homefill for free. but for the life of me i can't figure out what makes it fill slower. I've replaced the smallest seal, but that is about as far as i went with trying to fix it. I figured once it stops filling all together then i'd tinker. but it fill to 1000 when it should be filling to 1200, so it's not that bad. I think some machines might be a little slower just by the way they are made.

[snoopdog6502]

where did you get it. does it have a warranty?

at one point i purchased 2 complete homefill units with concentrators, from a used medical supply co. One of the homefills had a slower fill, so i called and the guy actually sent me a replacement. He was supposed to send me a return label to ship the "slower" machine back, but they never did, and i tried contacting them and they never responded. So i got 1 homefill for free. but for the life of me i can't figure out what makes it fill slower. I've replaced the smallest seal, but that is about as far as i went with trying to fix it. I figured once it stops filling all together then i'd tinker. but it fill to 1000 when it should be filling to 1200, so it's not that bad. I think some machines might be a little slower just by the way they are made.


I just got off the phone with Robert at SaltCity Glass and he will send me a new one. He was kind of funny about the fact I completely bypassed the computerized bullshit and just wired the cooling fan and compressor direct. Like that would void the warranty. Well the chunk of shit would not even go round and round with the stupid computer.

So it ran about 50 hours and I got about $10 worth of oxygen compressed for the wonderful price of $1,050.00.

I should have bought two oxycons and not the chunk of junk. Now im paying shipping to return it...

Fucking thrilled. I have a video of it uploading now.

[LooseSeal Baller]

that's bs they should cover the shipping.

[firefreak]

Just checked mine,4823hrs. Older red base model. I have 3 250cf tanks all connected to manifolds. I can fill or draw as needed from each tank. I drive the homefill from an older devilbiss concentrator front fitting at 3-4 lpm. I followed instructions found on a thread on this site to increase pressure on the oxy-con. If helped with fill times. I drain the tanks down to less than 100 lbs each time. I fill each tank to at least 1500. fill time is around 22 hrs. I fill two 125cf tanks to 2000 that I take to shows for demo use. Takes around 18 hrs each.

My setup runs in a climate controlled basement. The temp stays between 60-70 year round. I run a dehumidifier in the same area as homfill. Set to keep humidity below 50%. I also have a washer and dryer in that room. I keep the air inlets and fan as clean as possible on the homefill. I have had to tighten a couple of fittings on the homefill, but other than that it has run like a champ. i did buy a new homefill ( black bottom model) last winter, but have not needed it yet. I don't know why mine has lasted so long. next one will probably die after 500hrs.
It has been a couple of years of no dealing with the oxy thiefs.
Shop setup: 4 kilns 1-6am, 1- 8 amp. 1- 13amp, 1-20amp. 2 torches, 1 red max, 1 mega minor ( wife's) 2600 cfm vent system, lights, stereo,Tv etc. And homefill system, We work 20 to 30 hrs a week in the spring. fall and winter. Don't work in summer. Electrical cost average $125.00 a month when running shop.