I dunno what the inside diameter is on the microbore hose but I wouldnt want to get smacked with one. The 1/4" i.d. hoses at 10k psi whip around enough to break watermelons.
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Compressor Safety
- Thread starter johnschaefer
- Start date
I dunno what the inside diameter is on the microbore hose but I wouldnt want to get smacked with one. The 1/4" i.d. hoses at 10k psi whip around enough to break watermelons.
I've never seen a failure like that. The hose bursts I've seen involved the hose staying connected at both ends. The hose expands in a bulb shape, usually near one of the connectors, cracks develop and the air is let out in a bang. So there was no whipping motion.
I imagine one of the easiest ways for a noob to have a hose failure is if the hose has one-way valves and you don't have all the correct pressure-relief valves for the situation. Or if the hose is reversible with one-way valves, etc.
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If you don't it can get a little *exciting* if the crimp is not quite up to handling the pressure.
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Air is not like high pressure steam or water. It can do damage but will dissipate very rapidly if there is a rapid decompression. If you don't mess up I think you have very little to worry about. I agree hearing protection is not a bad idea on a Yong Heng but I wouldn't wear it for a GX compressor. They are under 80 db so I don't think anybody says hearing protection is necessary. Eye protection is a good idea for nearly any activity and a release of air can blow things into your eye so eye protection around high pressure air makes sense. My normal glasses are safety lenses and that is all I wear.
Common mistakes are things like starting the compressor with the bleed valve closed. It might break the compressor (probably won't) but won't hurt you. Or failing to bleed off pressure before you start disconnecting things. That is a little difficult to do because of the air pressure but if you persist I can testify that it is possible to do. Depends on how much air you are releasing but I've done it without any injury. But it is still not a good thing to do. Gloves would provide some protection but it's better just to develop good habits and pay attention to what you are doing. If you bleed the air out the connections come apart very easily. If they don't, it's time to rethink what you are doing.
Another very dangerous thing to do would be to fill an air storage device to a high pressure without understanding what it is rated to contain. Or filling a container you think might be damaged. But filling containers within their fill limit when they are in good shape just is not a high risk worthy of protective gear in my opinion. If I was worried about the condition of an air storage device I would fill it to a lower pressure and/or inspect it.
Common mistakes are things like starting the compressor with the bleed valve closed. It might break the compressor (probably won't) but won't hurt you. Or failing to bleed off pressure before you start disconnecting things. That is a little difficult to do because of the air pressure but if you persist I can testify that it is possible to do. Depends on how much air you are releasing but I've done it without any injury. But it is still not a good thing to do. Gloves would provide some protection but it's better just to develop good habits and pay attention to what you are doing. If you bleed the air out the connections come apart very easily. If they don't, it's time to rethink what you are doing.
Another very dangerous thing to do would be to fill an air storage device to a high pressure without understanding what it is rated to contain. Or filling a container you think might be damaged. But filling containers within their fill limit when they are in good shape just is not a high risk worthy of protective gear in my opinion. If I was worried about the condition of an air storage device I would fill it to a lower pressure and/or inspect it.
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Eye protection is always a good idea when filling a gun or doing anything with HPA for that matter. Ideally you would be wearing them to shoot anyways, so it should not be a stretch to add it to any HPA activity. Granted, not all of us do it all the time, but we should strive for it . . .
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FWIW, I agree that mowing the lawn is probably more dangerous, but a member of another group had a whip hose burst from one end fitting, whip over and remove some meat from his arm. I can't find the photos but will keep looking. Tethering seems like a very good precaution.
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I recommend shatter-proof eye protection. I don’t think any sane person would want to get slapped in the eye by an unsecured fill assembly under pressure. I’ve had a DIN 300 fitting pop out of the valve that I didn’t securely thread it to before turning on the compressor. When the o-ring popped off it was loud. I suppose that the fill assembly didn’t whip around like a wild firehose because I turned off the compressor quickly. I usually keep a finger in the off switch while filling in case of an emergency - life happens sometimes at the most in opportune times. Anyhow, protect your face. I also protect my gonads after watching the DIN fitting pop out of the tank valve threads which was totally my fault. Don’t want to catch a shot down there either.
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Good idea on the shatter-proof eye protection. Not sure if you saw my earlier post/experience in this thread, but I need to find some good, clear shatter proof eye protection. I can bring them to the range with me, keep on the bench, and use when I am filling or removing connections from the fill tank.
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The polycarbonite eye wear sold as safety glasses, shooting glasses, and construction worker eye protection (nail guns,etc) should work fine, especially the ones with side shields. Shatter-proof glass is ok but rather expensive in comparison, and it may not "shatter," but it does break apart under the right circumstances.
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Thank you for your advice. Your comment is much appreciated. I’m trying to post more but I mostly review posts and instructional info.
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The weakest link in small compressors would be the plastic sealing rings, which would let go first. I know in the GX compressors, and I'm sure they're all similar the piston is a deliberate loose fit with plastic guides on the piston skirt which would vent easily.
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Does anyone not specify eye protection when working with high-pressure air?
A burst hose, pressurized disconnect, or the plethora of other events can injure an eye.
A burst hose, pressurized disconnect, or the plethora of other events can injure an eye.
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You don't need a bomb squad suit but HPA ain't no joke and needs to be respected.
So, you got this shiny new PCP gun that is pressurized to 300 bar. Your holding it within inches of your face as you take aim..
My question would be.. is it hard to shoot with all that safety equipment on?
So, you got this shiny new PCP gun that is pressurized to 300 bar. Your holding it within inches of your face as you take aim..
My question would be.. is it hard to shoot with all that safety equipment on?
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The only risk I worry about is operator error. The equipment might break and vent air in an unexpected manner but mine has not. I worry about me not venting pressure away before opening things. I've done that a couple times and been lucky but I think that is our biggest risk. I set up a dead head test of my YH once where I could not vent all the air (due to a one way valve on my second filter). Stupid but by the time I figured it out all I could do is point the dead head in a safe direction. The small bore hose did not have a lot of air and no harm was done. But more than we need safety gear we have to think about what we are doing and not get casual particularly about filling tanks and guns. If do not mess things up, there is a very good chance we will not need any safety gear. If we mess up bad enough even really good safety gear may not be enough protection. We Always, Always, Always have to vent off the pressure before we open things.
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Probably doable since a ton of youtubers in the powder burner sector wear tactical helmets, plate carriers and othe tacticool stuff to shoot an AR.
YMMV
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