Buddy Bottles, Damage and Testing

[Regus]

Looked everywhere for information, but its surprisingly lacking.

What experience does everyone have with Buddy Bottles - Specifically Damage to them and Testing?

So I was re-positioning the bipod, and part of the metal clasp started digging in to the Buddy Bottle while I was tightening it - Leaving two small dents, not overly deep, but you can see the silver under the carbon, and you can feel them with your finger.

Now Buddy Bottles already say you should technically get them testing every 5 years anyway.... but most diving places I know don't have the ability to test buddy bottles due to the valve on the bottles.

So what experience have people got with buddy bottles, any damage sustained to them through use (or in my case idiocy), and has anyone ever gotten one tested before?

Ta

 

[yenniedn]

When I got my very first Impact MkI years ago, I did the exact thing. I had my Atlas bipod mounted too far up towards the bottle and was screwing the CF bottle on and off doing various things. I later discovered a really noticeable 1.5" long gouge in the bottle and at first had no idea how it got there. It took me awhile to figure out what I'd done and I was super pissed at myself over it but I used that rifle for a year without issues and have either seen that same gun/bottle resold a couple of times (that or someone else also did the same thing to their bottle) years later so it was clear that the bottle didn't explode over time!

The gouge was fairly deep and I was pretty concerned at first too but unless you really gouged it deeply, should you be OK. Post some pics and I can tell you if it was comparable to what I had.

 

[Regus]

When I got my very first Impact MkI years ago, I did the exact thing. I had my Atlas bipod mounted too far up towards the bottle and was screwing the CF bottle on and off doing various things. I later discovered a really noticeable 1.5" long gouge in the bottle and at first had no idea how it got there. It took me awhile to figure out what I'd done and I was super pissed at myself over it but I used that rifle for a year without issues and have either seen that same gun/bottle resold a couple of times (that or someone else also did the same thing to their bottle) years later so it was clear that the bottle didn't explode over time!

The gouge was fairly deep and I was pretty concerned at first too but unless you really gouged it deeply, should you be OK. Post some pics and I can tell you if it was comparable to what I had.

Funnily enough mine also happens to be an FX Impact mk1 - I see a pattern here!

Appreciate your reassuring post, been a tad stressed about this.

Attached a bunch of pictures of the damage - Tried to get as close and clear as I could, welcome your thoughts!

 

[yenniedn]

Oh that's nothing...mine was a continuous 1.5" line that was deeper than that. It looks like you just have two small (compared to mine) dings that shouldn't give you any trouble. You'll be fine but if it bothers you, you can get another bottle off of the Classifieds here (you'll need at least 10 quality posts before you can get access to them) for around $200. If I recall correctly, I saw that "damaged" bottle resold for something like $150-$175 so it didn't decrease the value of the bottle much.

 

[Regus]

Oh that's nothing...mine was a continuous 1.5" line that was deeper than that. It looks like you just have two small (compared to mine) dings that shouldn't give you any trouble. You'll be fine but if it bothers you, you can get another bottle off of the Classifieds here (you'll need at least 10 quality posts before you can get access to them) for around $200. If I recall correctly, I saw that "damaged" bottle resold for something like $150-$175 so it didn't decrease the value of the bottle much.

Well thats reassuring, ngl been stressing me out!

UK based here, and new bottles are £260-£280, and given I've had the rifle for a solid 3 days, not something I'd like to addon to the cost! Ha

At least I'm not the only one who's had "fun" with Mk1's and bipods damaging the bottle

 

[yenniedn]

I'm trying to find either my post about that bottle or the various listings I've seen over the years and only found the following because my original post was from so long ago that it pre-dated this forum's move to this current format so I don't think it's searchable at this point:

FX Impact Bottle Damage

Hello AGN! Finally picked up my dream gun, an FX Impact. I bought it secondhand through the classifieds as that was what I could afford. Though I haven't shot it yet, I love it already and absolutely can't wait! However, I did notice that there is a mark on the bottle that looks a little...

www.airgunnation.com

And this will give you some more reassurance how strong these things are:

 

[yenniedn]

Dug through my computer and found the photos...it was bigger and worse than I remember. Enjoy:

 

[dizzums]

i woulnt worry much unless it was real deep ... probably what id do is pick up a 2 part epoxy in clear or black and carefully drizzle some in the depression with a toothpick to 'just' fill and level it off .. to keep it from possibly fraying and growing ...

 

[rc4fun]

If you go with epoxy use something with filler. Most of the J B Weld. Or if using something else add a bit of dryer lint to the mix. Filler makes the repair much stronger. I know a person that added dry sand to his mix because it was all he had handy. You can get carbon fiber filler but for what you are doing it would be over kill $$$.