Hi guys, I'm looking at purchasing a used PCP air pistol and was wondering about the life expectancy of the cylinders. I know Steyr dates each of their cylinders and resellers of their products discount 10% off for each year the cylinder sits in their shops I was wondering how critical the age of the cylinder is when purchasing one of these guns and can they be rebuilt? Thanks.
Air pistols, PCP air cylinders and their life expectancy
- Thread starter Son_of_Paul
- Start date
Most 10m manufacturers do the same, 10yr service life with a possible hydro test and extend that another 10yrs. ISSF events require air cylinders to be in date, just read something a few days ago saying they recommend the 10 year service life due to fatigue issues of the thin aluminum.
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Son -
You know that there is a "pistol" section...right ?
Most air cylinders are date stamped ON the cylinder. No real question there !
I've seen from 5 to 10 years, depending on the original design. The designer...makes that decision. The test organization verifies the design and use length.
Mike
You know that there is a "pistol" section...right ?
Most air cylinders are date stamped ON the cylinder. No real question there !
I've seen from 5 to 10 years, depending on the original design. The designer...makes that decision. The test organization verifies the design and use length.
Mike
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Thanks for your input. In your experience do the cylinders typically last longer than 10 years or would you expect to replace them at that point? I'm not planning shooting in competitions.
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Its upwards of 4500psi of pressure. Just replace the cylinder at whatever point the manufacturer tells you too. It may not give you warning when it fails. One minute you'll have a face and the next you won't. Cylinders/bottles are relatively cheap to replace every 5-10yrs!
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Air cylinders are dated and their "life expectancy" is based on regular useage by the owner who likely will be re-filling it regularly, like once or twice a week. Their design is based on metal fatigue which can happen as fill/empty cycles increase and the metal is expanded and contracted. If you never use a cylinder, it should last forever, but the manufacturers don't know that and can't control it, so the calendar age limit was arbitrarily established by the rule making organizations. Read that; lawyers. I refill my Steyr tank maybe once a month and its waaaay out of date. It's not like a stale donut that gets moldy with age. Because the fill/empty cycles are low, I'm not worried. If I plan to shoot in a sanctioned match, I'm screwed and will have to buy a new tank. Have any of you heard of a tank failing??
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Just because something is unlikely doesn't mean it can't happen. A new cylinder is like $200 and considering how expensive most PCPs are, that's a verry small investment EVERY 5 TO 10 YEARS. Comparitively speaking, you probably spend more on pellets every month...
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I had a 4500 psi Carbon fiber tank fail, It was a little smaller than my great white.
Any way No boom, no bang , I would fill it up to 4500 psi and it would leak down to 3000 in a week or two, It was my back up tank, I half ass sprayed some soap water on it no leakes must be my gauges, No balloons would fit over gauges so I bought a pack of condoms worked great, No leak, Got new gauges coming anyway. Aired it up three or four more times leak down to 3000 and hold forever,, Everyone and I mean everyone said put in the bath tub, Waited until wife was in town,Aired up to 4500 psi and Stuck it in the full bath tub . AIR bubbles were all over the tank, So that's how Carbon fiber tanks fail .
Mike
Any way No boom, no bang , I would fill it up to 4500 psi and it would leak down to 3000 in a week or two, It was my back up tank, I half ass sprayed some soap water on it no leakes must be my gauges, No balloons would fit over gauges so I bought a pack of condoms worked great, No leak, Got new gauges coming anyway. Aired it up three or four more times leak down to 3000 and hold forever,, Everyone and I mean everyone said put in the bath tub, Waited until wife was in town,Aired up to 4500 psi and Stuck it in the full bath tub . AIR bubbles were all over the tank, So that's how Carbon fiber tanks fail .
Mike
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We're talking about aluminum air cylinders here, aren't we? European sanction authorities have tagged the 10 year limit on 10M guns. What about all the rifles and pistols we use every day with CF or aluminum tanks? Have FX, Crosman, Daystate, RAW, or any other manufacturer notified end users that their air tanks have to be replaced every 10 years?? No! The sky is falling, we have to tell the king.
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I'm not an expert here. But I think all these tanks are made to hold way more pressure than they're rated for (3000-4500 psi) and made to last, probably in the case of aluminum, likely for lifetime use.
airgunmike56 described a scenario of a slow leak in a CF tank. Just from my mountain biking and lacrosse days, I'm a little more wary of carbon fiber versus aluminum. They can both crack, but aluminum to me seemed a little more predictable in how it would happen at obvious weak points. I never quite learned how carbon fiber tends to fail, but I do know there were plenty of stories of people's gear failing in unexpected ways.
To hear that his tank failed "gracefully" is encouraging. I wouldn't count on it in every case. But I do sure hope these tanks are designed to fail in a relatively safe manner. There is no reason to believe that one of these tanks will suddenly explode like a bomb. I've never heard of that happening, and in the most cases I think you should be able to detect if a tank needs to be replaced.
I don't have any carbon fiber tank guns (someday I might) but all these aluminum tanks I plan to leave at full pressure until I start hearing if there are any problems doing that 10, 20, 30+ years down the road. In most cases I doubt it.
airgunmike56 described a scenario of a slow leak in a CF tank. Just from my mountain biking and lacrosse days, I'm a little more wary of carbon fiber versus aluminum. They can both crack, but aluminum to me seemed a little more predictable in how it would happen at obvious weak points. I never quite learned how carbon fiber tends to fail, but I do know there were plenty of stories of people's gear failing in unexpected ways.
To hear that his tank failed "gracefully" is encouraging. I wouldn't count on it in every case. But I do sure hope these tanks are designed to fail in a relatively safe manner. There is no reason to believe that one of these tanks will suddenly explode like a bomb. I've never heard of that happening, and in the most cases I think you should be able to detect if a tank needs to be replaced.
I don't have any carbon fiber tank guns (someday I might) but all these aluminum tanks I plan to leave at full pressure until I start hearing if there are any problems doing that 10, 20, 30+ years down the road. In most cases I doubt it.
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I seem to recall reading that some smaller air cylinders for handguns in particular and maybe on rifles, don't have expiration dates and don't need to be replaced after a specific time frame.....could be faulty memory.
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I couldn't find examples online of tanks exploding per say. What seems to be more common is injury due to users not bleeding the tank/ cylinder when they're doing repairs would it not be more common for the seals to leak provided the tank/cylinder was never dropped or damaged in any way?
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I'd have to look it up again, but IIRC in America I saw regulations somewhere that said cylinders under 2" diameter were basically good as long as no physical damage. I know as diameter increases the cyl has more internal area exposed to pressure and fatigues easier. Smaller cyl less flex and can withstand far more fill empty cycles. I'll look and see if I can find the reg.
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Hi: I could not find a button to start a new thread. I am looking for where to buy small pistol PCP cylinders for different. I have an option to redesign a very nice CO2 pistol into a PCP that I saw in a picture with no info, but I cant find the right search words to use. All searches take me to PCP tanks to fill a gun instead of the gun cylinders. Somebody must sell spare pistol cylinders for the many PCP pistols. Any help will be much appreciated 
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ISSF rules for 10M rifle & pistol do not allow air cylinders to be used after 10 years of age. That is why they have a born on date. It doesn’t matter if they are steel, Aluminum, or Carbon fiber. 10 years. I have no issue using cylinders older than 10 years. Almost no rifles/pistols, that are not related to 10M rifle/pistols, have expiration dates on them. For example I have a Walther LG400 FT rifle that uses the same air cylinder as a Walther LG400 10M rifle. The air cylinder has an expiration date stamped on it. I have a Daystate CR-X built around 1999 that has no cylinder date stamped on it. The Daystate, like a Benjamin Marauder, are not ISSF competition rifles and do not fall under ISSF rules.
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Any sources on what "way more" actually means, especially if an airgun is stored for months without being fired?
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They are designed to hold way more for safety reasons but I do not recommend filling them way more IE: Working pressure is what the manufacturer states.
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