Re: 2011 compressor
 

We ran the new 90c compressor with a 1gal tank + KOP tank though out the season and never had a single problem. The compressor always ran at least for half of every match we played.

Is there any better alternatives to the 90C or the Thomas that fits within the rules?

Re: 2011 compressor
 

Personally, I have found that the new compressor does its job just fine, as long as you don't overheat it. We had to be careful while practicing to make sure that it stayed cool, but other than that, performance was comparable to our old compressor.
My recommendation for anyone who is running the new compressor is to pre-charge your pneumatics while practicing using a shop compressor (this is really easy to plumb into the release valve). This should avoid burning it up when you have to drain it every five minutes to modify a prototype.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

If you have enough storage that it won't need to run too much during the match you can monitor the compressor while filling in the pit so it doesn't overheat and burn up the piston cup.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

If a tea team does not use the KOP compressor then make sure you account for it on the BOM. That Previous year compressor is expensive.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

Unfortunately last year, veteran teams who used their previous year's KOP compressors had to include their cost in the BOM; if you wanted to use a "free" compressor on the robot you had to buy the 2011 compressor.

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=17185

I guess we'll find out when we see the rules January 7th

Re: 2011 compressor
 

I spoke to soon.... our 90C compressor just died...
Like I said before it was under high load (1gal tank) for most of the matches.
Is the Thompson really that much better? Considering we need a replacement now...

Re: 2011 compressor
 

The Thomas 12v compressors (while heavier and larger) are significantly more reliable than the 90C compressors in a FRC environment.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

We didn't have a single issue with the smaller Viair compressor this past season. We had a single 1/2 gallon storage tank with 5 pneumatic cylinders (all but one of them relatively small bore).

We strapped a fan to that compressor right off the bat and it seemed to do a decent job of cooling. It did get warm, but it never got to the point of failing through all of our preseason testing, 2 regionals and 4 off-season events, plus plenty of summer demonstrations.

-Brando

Re: 2011 compressor
 

We measured both compressors filling 4 air tanks a) from empty and b) from 100 psi to 120 (more realistic in a match: compressor comes on at ~100 psi.

In both cases the Thomas was noticably faster. The 100->120 test was 28 secs versus 39 seconds. You might ask how that is possible when the Viair is rated at 0.34 cf/m at 100 psi versus the Thomas at 0.24 cf/m at 100 psi (at 13.2v). You would hope the difference would be there (scaled down) at 12v operating voltage. Clearly the Viair either falls apart at 12v or they have a different way of rating their compressors.
Of course the Viair is way lighter, way smaller profile for limited space robots but does run hotter (but just as you don't touch motors immediately after a match, don't touch the compressor). I have not heard of any reliability complaints.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-2005.htm
They have the new compressor.

Re: 2011 compressor
 

For quite a while last season I had an imprint of the heatsink of that compressor burned into the palm of my hand...

For those of you wondering, they do cook ridiculously quickly. We went through 2 in 2012