Review on TOAUTO A2X Upgraded PCP Air Compressor, One Button Start, Auto-Stop, Portable 4500Psi/30Mpa, Oil/Water-Free, HPA Compressor For Paintball/PCP Air Rifle/Scuba Tank,Powered By Home 110VAC Or Car 12VDC by Thomas Drew

Back when PCP rifles were a new thing on the airgun scene, I used to haul around a SCUBA tank for refilling. You could buy a pump back then, but they cost several thousand dollars and were mainly owned by dive shops and fire stations. That was part of the reason I sold my Stalker air rifle and went back to shooting springers. Then the hand pumps came along, and they’re great if you’re strong, young, and don’t have back problems, none of which describes me 😉.Inexpensive Chinese-made like this one have been around for a few years, and I’ve been using a similar one for around six months to fill my customized Benjamin Marauder. That one had a number of shortcomings, all of which have been fixed in this one. The two are almost identical, save for those changes, even though they have different manufacturer names. (This is not unusual with Chinese imports; you can buy a bandsaw or lathe made by Central Machine with dozens of different names.)The compressor I’ve been using has an external AC power supply that’s clumsy to use, no auto-shutoff, which risks over-pressuring your gun or air tank, and a fuse holder that leaves the fuse sticking out of the case where it’s liable to get broken. This unit fixes all those annoyances. The AC power supply is built in, so you can run it off 12VDC or 110AC by just choosing the right cord. (The instruction manual describes using it with 240VAC but the cord supplied is correct for 110). There’s an auto shutoff that’s accurate, according to the gauge on my gun, and the fuse holder is protected. The price difference is small, and more than justified by these improvements.That’s not to say it’s perfect. There are still a few issues that keep this from being a five-star compressor. First, the supplied air hose has a filter/moisture trap attached to one end, rather than another length of hose. If you attach this directly to your gun, there’s a risk that the extra leverage provided by the filter could damage or break the fill valve on your gun. I added a 12” hose I had for my tests to eliminate that risk. Second, there’s no moisture drain on the bottom of the pump, as my older compressor has. That could be a serious omission. It may mean that water is building up either in the trap in the pump, or in the outboard filter. It’s possible that the bleed valve is doing double duty as a bleed valve and water trap valve, so I’ll have to check that further, perhaps by removing the cover.Overall, though, this is a fully functional compressor for around 2/3rds the price of the cheapest competitor from one of the major airgun dealers. The advantage of those compressors is that you have a dealer who will backup the warranty claims of the maker, something not necessarily the case with a device that appears under several names that come and go. Still, there are enough seemingly identical compressors around that the supply of parts may not be an issue, even if warranty service is. Parts may even be available from established sellers; this unit appears identical to one being sold by a major on-line airgun dealer for $800. Given the low price, buying this one may be a reasonable risk to take.