Today I bought my 7th Fitbit watch.  Although I love the functionality of the device, I am so frustrated about the lifetime and quality.   The price of the watch is not too expensive, but replacing it every 18 months on average, it becomes a golden watch !

In today's consumer goods, white goods, the lifetime of the product is a huge frustration.  The cost for repairing a watch is higher than buying a new one.  Even repairing a dishwasher is not worth the risk compared to buy a new one.  One of the reasons is that consumer goods are always becoming cheaper by producing for shorter lifetime and using cheaper materials and designs.

In the compressor world, a similar trend is ongoing by offering low cost manufactured Air-compressors.  The low priced Air-Compressors will indeed be 20%-50% cheaper, however not only the lifetime is shorter, also the energy performance is lower.

Knowing that during the first 5 yrs of the Air-Compressor, the cost is 80% on energy, it doesn't make sense to buy the lowest priced compressor.  After one year, the gain in lower capital cost by buying a cheap oil-flooded compressor, will be lost in energy and high maintenance cost.  
 

The best comparison between different compressors is the Total Cost of Ownership.  This is the total cost of purchasing, maintenance and energy during a defined period. Most TCO's are calculated because the investment horizon is mostly shorter than 5 yrs.  Of course more interesting is the cost over a period of 10 yrs and 20 yrs or even longer.

Most low priced compressors have a lifetime of 10 yrs unless costly overhauls are being done. 

Today you can buy Industrial Oil-free Reciprocating two stage compressors for 6-15 bar, lasting for more than 40 yrs, with very low maintenance and the most energy efficient.  They are considered as the Rolls Royce of the industrial compressors.

Are you also frustrated with the high costs of your Oil-free Air compressor ?