I am planning to purchase my first PCP rifle soon and it will be an FX impact (if you have one for sale let me know). What do you guys recommend as the best method that won't break the bank for air fills?
Whatever you do, make sure your air is clean and free from contaminants....There are lots of cheap compressors out there that contaminate the air you are feeding into your air cylinder, then add people not using air dryers (Air Desiccants) in order to save money...But then these shooters complain about failures or their guns not performing...To me this is like buying A Porsche Turbo and filling it with unleaded low octane gasoline and then complaining for lack of performance/failures...Get into the "Air Tanks, Pumps, Compressors" section in this forum and ask questions, or start a new thread...People are very cooperative and usually give you good information...
Maybe a Shoebox with a good HP air filter is a good alternative to start with, these compressors are very good and reliable but are not the fastest...Shoebox recently closed their operations and you will find some in the classifieds sections of this and other forums at low prices...Overhauling these compressors is a matter of replacing around 6 o-rings and it will take you 1/2 hour to do it for another 125-150 hours of operation...100% better option than those cheap alternatives from China.
There is a scuba shop not far from my house where i could get tanks filled but not sure what they charge. Would I be better off to go ahead and spend the money for a compressor or just buy a carbon fiber tank? What do you guys prefer?
A Carbon Fiber tank is a must have item, the more pressure your tank holds the better...Scuba tanks are 3000 PSI (About 200 BAR) but most guns nowadays are rated 250 BAR, so you would need a 300 BAR (4500 PSI) preferably carbon fiber air cylinder...Lots of alternatives depending on your budget....Check the classifieds, eBay, etc. and also ask in the "Air tanks, pumps, compressors" section in this forum...Ask many questions until you know what works best for you.
If I may another recommendation you didn't ask for: Buy the BEST OPTICS that you can afford, a scope is as important as the gun itself...You don't want an Impact with a $70.00 Mickey Mouse Wal-Mart scope on top of it expecting it to perform. This is one of the most common mistakes I've seen ever since I started shooting many years ago, people buying good guns but going cheap on optics and ammo.
Take care,
AZ