Poll on Optimax Air Pump Problems

[gwalt584]

Has anyone had any trouble out of their Optimax Airpump.
My 300XS pump started making a rattling sound. Just thought I would poll other owners to see if anyone has had any trouble out of theirs.
Gary

[olmo40]

very common from about 250hrs or maybe a bit more .

[Jacob]

I know of a couple that have went out.

[Jaguar2000]

I also have heard about many going out..sheered bolt heads for the biggest part. I was told that this was mostly due to the wrong grade bolts on the early models.

[wrechin2]

Had a guy here locally had the bolts to sheer off and found a bearing had went bad. He replaced the bearing and bolts for around $60.

[Wayne Cammidge]

We are recommending new con rod kits for any compressor that is over 500 hours
Had lots of issues with them especially on off shore boats that do extended trolling.
Not had major issues in the last few years

On a 150 Opti the engine idles at 1.2l per hour. In our environment the guys can slow troll for over 8 hours a day and the fishing starts 200m out to sea. So in some cases the engines may do 20 to 30 hours with a planning point of 200m on the way out and 200m on the way in.

At 400:1 Oiling the whole engine is only getting 3ml of oil an hour and the air compressor is getting 1/7th of that.

Not an issue when the engine is using fuel at higher running speeds and then 60:1 oiling, but the day in day out trolling and idling, intially caused us a lot of grief

[hotdaddy27]

We are recommending new con rod kits for any compressor that is over 500 hours
Had lots of issues with them especially on off shore boats that do extended trolling.
Not had major issues in the last few years

On a 150 Opti the engine idles at 1.2l per hour. In our environment the guys can slow troll for over 8 hours a day and the fishing starts 200m out to sea. So in some cases the engines may do 20 to 30 hours with a planning point of 200m on the way out and 200m on the way in.

At 400:1 Oiling the whole engine is only getting 3ml of oil an hour and the air compressor is getting 1/7th of that.

Not an issue when the engine is using fuel at higher running speeds and then 60:1 oiling, but the day in day out trolling and idling, intially caused us a lot of grief

Interesting #'s. Thanks!

[Stitch King]

We are recommending new con rod kits for any compressor that is over 500 hours
Had lots of issues with them especially on off shore boats that do extended trolling.
Not had major issues in the last few years

On a 150 Opti the engine idles at 1.2l per hour. In our environment the guys can slow troll for over 8 hours a day and the fishing starts 200m out to sea. So in some cases the engines may do 20 to 30 hours with a planning point of 200m on the way out and 200m on the way in.

At 400:1 Oiling the whole engine is only getting 3ml of oil an hour and the air compressor is getting 1/7th of that.

Not an issue when the engine is using fuel at higher running speeds and then 60:1 oiling, but the day in day out trolling and idling, intially caused us a lot of grief

Nice response....:cheers:

[Capt.Insane-o]

We are recommending new con rod kits for any compressor that is over 500 hours
Had lots of issues with them especially on off shore boats that do extended trolling.
Not had major issues in the last few years

On a 150 Opti the engine idles at 1.2l per hour. In our environment the guys can slow troll for over 8 hours a day and the fishing starts 200m out to sea. So in some cases the engines may do 20 to 30 hours with a planning point of 200m on the way out and 200m on the way in.

At 400:1 Oiling the whole engine is only getting 3ml of oil an hour and the air compressor is getting 1/7th of that.

Not an issue when the engine is using fuel at higher running speeds and then 60:1 oiling, but the day in day out trolling and idling, intially caused us a lot of grief



That's about it. The pro-walleye and commercial fishing queers up here are murder on compressors. A dedicated compressor oiling system would be a good feature for someone like Eric Simon to whip up.

[Steve Pope]

Some last as little as 150 hours, some more than 1500. The long life ones do seem to be on engines run between 3500-4500 rpm with out extended trolling.I service compressors on my customers engines every 100 hours. I remove the end cap, inspect the crank pin and if pitted, replace the end cap and con rod. Way cheaper than a new compressor and or powerhead. Popey

[Euroski]

Could you post some pictures of taking it apart to inspect and what to look for?

[Stitch King]

X2 on that request. :)

[XstreamVking]

I have two boats that I charter out of. Both have 225 opti's. One has had two compressors replaced and one no problem. In both cases the compressors failed from lack of adequate oil. One LOCKED up and one had the bearings on the shaft fail, causing the pully to make a knocking sound, and get wobbly. I have had the same feeling that some one could make an after market fix. Maybe a very small pump to take oil from the motor tank and re circulate it thru the air pump and back to the same tank...I have opened the pisser tube up to allow more water to flow from the compressor outlet. Seems like the compressor runs a little cooler. Keeping the intake screen clean is also a regular part of the maint sched..

[Jaguar2000]

That's about it. The pro-walleye and commercial fishing queers up here are murder on compressors. A dedicated compressor oiling system would be a good feature for someone like Eric Simon to whip up.

So would a clutch on the compressor.....:iagree:

[Jaguar2000]

I have two boats that I charter out of. Both have 225 opti's. One has had two compressors replaced and one no problem. In both cases the compressors failed from lack of adequate oil. One LOCKED up and one had the bearings on the shaft fail, causing the pully to make a knocking sound, and get wobbly. I have had the same feeling that some one could make an after market fix. Maybe a very small pump to take oil from the motor tank and re circulate it thru the air pump and back to the same tank...I have opened the pisser tube up to allow more water to flow from the compressor outlet. Seems like the compressor runs a little cooler. Keeping the intake screen clean is also a regular part of the maint sched..

That could probably be done by using a small amount of pulse pressure to help feed the oil to the top bearing:thumbsup: