GSI Creos L7 Compressor with PS234 IV Regulator Review

Box Art

Contents

Just look at how the items are packed! I really love how Japanese package their products.
Everything is packed in its place and well protected.
Shipping should not pose any major issue to the contents but with a price on this compressor, its better to ship via EMS.

Additional Items required

This compressor comes ready-to-use. But do note that it requires 100V 50/60Hz. In my country, we use 220V. Hence a stepdown transformer is required.

Lastly, you will need an airbrush. Any nozzle size is acceptable, I think. Last I read that Petit-Com allows a maximum airbrush nozzle size of 0.3mm.

Other than the above, the water trap comes with this package, its good to go!

Setup

Setup is very straightforward. Just follow the instruction. Its pretty dummy proof. If you are like me, you will need to make sure you plug this into the transformer and NOT directly into you power socket. You will damage it if you forget.

Usage

I have mixed feelings when using this compressor and comparing with my current SilAir compressor because of the price it carries.

1) Noise

A little noisy for this compressor. Something like "hmm...hmmm...hmmm" when you operate it. But its soft enough to use it dead in the night and not disturb anyone. You cannot really compare it with SilAir. Its almost dead silence.

So SilAir wins in this comparison.

2) Operation

The output is sufficient for a 0.5mm airbrush. I have completed large models (1/16 Tamiya RC Leopard) with it. It never runs out of breath with constant output for more than 30 minutes! Impressive for such a small device. Again... you cannot compare with SilAir. There's so much output that seems redundant unless you plan to airbrush your real car! To me this round has to be...

L7 wins!

3) Moist

In a country where I am from, humidity is a bane! Especially so when I stay near the sea...
Hence this is 1 aspect I must test. Take note that I only test with what the compressor comes with.
After 1 hours of continuous usage on a hot humid day, the supplied air trap from the L7 has already filled with visible water. And this is even apparent where the airbrush starts to blow out water! During the 1 hour usage, I had clean out the water twice in order to continue.

When I compared this to my SilAir, with a continous usage of 6 hours, no water was blown out from the airbrush although there were visible water seen in the water trap.

SilAir wins!

4) Maintenance

For any busy hobbyist with no proper workbench. This is a very important aspect to consider in my opinion. After a tired day at work + long hours spent on the hobby, the last thing you want is to have a troublesome maintenance procedure on your equipment.

The SilAir being a oiled compressor has this tube that traps excess oil + water. This has to be removed after usage else it stinks. And I learnt this the hard way... Once its removed, leave open for 1 day to ensure the smell goes off before storing it.

The L7 is as simple as "turn-on-then-turn-off". How simple is that? Although there is a air filter element behind it, but after 1 year of usage + 4 large model kits, it still looks as good as it was brand new!

L7 wins!

Conclusion

As you can see. this L7 does give me mixed feelings towards it. But being a sucker for Japanese gimmick, its a no brainer to own one and telling myself to use it like what the pro does in Japan.

There is a saying in Hokkien say, "If you cannot be as good as the pro, at least you look like a pro!"

Utimately, if you already have a good compressor like SilAir Silent, then its more of a luxury to get this.