So I have my gun and my compressor which are working fine at this point. So I have been mulling over the idea of getting a CF bottle to fill up and use to fill the gun faster and easier as well as take some of the stress off of the compressor. Is it a wise purchase? Where can you get a good sized bottle without having to spend as much as a new gun? I have read about the used Scott SCBA bottles but they all seem to be past their recommended life span. I am the type of guy who doesn't really want to mess around with something that is past it recommended life especially when we are talking about something that could potentially kill you dead if it fails. I've seen videos of compressors that exploded and they were only 150-175 psi I can't even imagine what 3000+ psi from a small vessel would look like and do. So is the only safe way to do this buying a bottle new that costs $400+? And then how much is it to outfit it with all of the hose and connectors?
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Other CF Bottle advice
- Thread starter HKVP9
- Start date
Many conversations here about catastrophic bottle failures. In my over 30 years of dealing with & hydrotesting of cf SCBA tanks I've NEVER come across "exploding" tanks or spoken to ANYONE who has! It can happen but is less LIKELY to happen than getting struck by lightning. I'm sure someone will repost the video of guys intentionally forcing a tank to do this. Don't buy into the fear. Show me one story of a firefighter in a burning building having this happen! It just doesn't. They're inherently built so it doesn't happen! A compressor or fittings are going to go FIRST.
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If and when it fails, i feel like it will be a long long hisssss... not a boom.. The only way i can see a boom, is if you somehow got a combustible inside the tank during assembly or service, and it's my opinion that the burst disk would most likely save the day in that instance.
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Come end of the day, week, month ... what ever is your air use will need to be COMPRESSOR produced taking the same time in doing so.
No mater if direct fill to the PCP or into a larger bottle
Issue with most compressors is the generation of heat and the wear & tear it accelerates.
Do short run time direct to PCP filling is going to be less heat generating than a bottle fill ( Even if just a 1000 -1500# top off.
As too CF / Wrapped SCBA bottles failing .... LOL Don't even give that a second thought !!!
No mater if direct fill to the PCP or into a larger bottle
Issue with most compressors is the generation of heat and the wear & tear it accelerates.
Do short run time direct to PCP filling is going to be less heat generating than a bottle fill ( Even if just a 1000 -1500# top off.
As too CF / Wrapped SCBA bottles failing .... LOL Don't even give that a second thought !!!
So you're saying that the used out of date eBay SCBA bottles are perfectly safe to use? But then you have the issue of where can you get it filled? Only fill it yourself at home with your PCP compressor? I have the bigger Vevor compressor and it seems to work great but I am not real sure it would be the best idea to use it to fill a large CF bottle?Come end of the day, week, month ... what ever is your air use will need to be COMPRESSOR produced taking the same time in doing so.
No mater if direct fill to the PCP or into a larger bottle
Issue with most compressors is the generation of heat and the wear & tear it accelerates.
Do short run time direct to PCP filling is going to be less heat generating than a bottle fill ( Even if just a 1000 -1500# top off.
As too CF / Wrapped SCBA bottles failing .... LOL Don't even give that a second thought !!!
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No LICENSED CONCERN can LEGALLY fill an expired tank but WE Private owners can & do. That's why I only use compressors capable of (& designed for) filling TANKS.
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I don't even comment about CF bottles anymore (today would be the exception) due to the alarmists that insist on hydro testing carbon fiber tanks.
Some time ago, the USN wanted to extend the life of CF tanks to 30 years from 15 and there about, it was discovered that ultrasonic testing worked better, was not destructive and "could" extend CF tank life indefinitely.
Since then, many research papers have been written about hydro testing on CF tanks and outlining the destruction it causes on non-elastic fibers.
You do what you want with that info, just think about it critically for a moment. Should you trust a bottle that's wound with non-elastic fibers after its been pressure tested with a non-compressable liquid?
Some time ago, the USN wanted to extend the life of CF tanks to 30 years from 15 and there about, it was discovered that ultrasonic testing worked better, was not destructive and "could" extend CF tank life indefinitely.
Since then, many research papers have been written about hydro testing on CF tanks and outlining the destruction it causes on non-elastic fibers.
You do what you want with that info, just think about it critically for a moment. Should you trust a bottle that's wound with non-elastic fibers after its been pressure tested with a non-compressable liquid?
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If you want to pay someone to fill your bottle... buy a new bottle. If you want to fill your own bottle, the used scott tanks are fine. In my experience you'll pay for a 4500 psi fill and get home with 4000. If your gonna play this game, get a good compressor, best you can afford, in fact, get out of your spending comfort zone when it comes to air. It's the heart of your hobby. If you have a small compressor now, and want to save its life, go buy an electric timer to shut the compressor off at 5-10 minutes... let it cool, and run again... repeat till full.
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My old 12 L 200 BAR bottle should have been inspected the first time like 5-7 years ago, it was not CUZ back then it had only been filled like 3 times, and even now i think i have had that bottle filled maybe 10 times in total ( got it in 2012 but big pause in my shooting )
I have no qualms filling it myself now, CUZ i still see it as a brand new bottle with the little use it have seen, and it do need to get filled as i am down to 120 BAR or so, will have to look into that when it get a bit warmer and i start up my big compressor.
Flash forward to present day, and i now have a 12 L 300 bar bottle, which with my shooting of my .177 rifles last me a month just fine, though it can drop low but never lower than the 100 BAR or so regulated pressure i shoot with, and i always shoot tethered to the big bottle, otherwise that low a pressure would of course be a issue as you would have very few shots in your little rifle bottle then.
But shooting tethered no problem at all.
Actually i have now gotten a smaller 9L bottle and in all carbon fiber so it is much lighter, that will also be fine and no problem now that i got a big bottle filling compressor.
You can get a big bottle to fill from, and then just boost that back up using a small compressor, at least i think you can, but otherwise the little 1 cylinder compressors not really made for filling the big bottles.
I personally refill my 300 BAR bottle when it is down around 200 - 180 BAR, so it is fairly fast done with my big 4 cylinder compressor, like 15 minutes or something like that.
Very easy my compressor is at my friends place where i also do my shooting, so i get free fills in return for him filling his bottle too now and then.
Electricity in Denmark being between expensive and OMG expensive,,,,, like more expensive than just about anywhere else.
If someone else have to fill your bottle, well if it do not have the correct stamps on it, they will probably not go near it.
I have no qualms filling it myself now, CUZ i still see it as a brand new bottle with the little use it have seen, and it do need to get filled as i am down to 120 BAR or so, will have to look into that when it get a bit warmer and i start up my big compressor.
Flash forward to present day, and i now have a 12 L 300 bar bottle, which with my shooting of my .177 rifles last me a month just fine, though it can drop low but never lower than the 100 BAR or so regulated pressure i shoot with, and i always shoot tethered to the big bottle, otherwise that low a pressure would of course be a issue as you would have very few shots in your little rifle bottle then.
But shooting tethered no problem at all.
Actually i have now gotten a smaller 9L bottle and in all carbon fiber so it is much lighter, that will also be fine and no problem now that i got a big bottle filling compressor.
You can get a big bottle to fill from, and then just boost that back up using a small compressor, at least i think you can, but otherwise the little 1 cylinder compressors not really made for filling the big bottles.
I personally refill my 300 BAR bottle when it is down around 200 - 180 BAR, so it is fairly fast done with my big 4 cylinder compressor, like 15 minutes or something like that.
Very easy my compressor is at my friends place where i also do my shooting, so i get free fills in return for him filling his bottle too now and then.
Electricity in Denmark being between expensive and OMG expensive,,,,, like more expensive than just about anywhere else.
If someone else have to fill your bottle, well if it do not have the correct stamps on it, they will probably not go near it.
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Personally I am more concerned about the quality of the hardware used when trying to save money with used bottles. A lot of the same people( not all ) also try to save by going with cheap Chinese hardware some of which are designed for paintball to convert the tanks for airgun use. Alot of this stuff is chrome plated brass designed to operated as low as 1800 psi. I personally have had a qualty hose let go so I know it happens. My point is if your new at PCP and trying to save money get some good advice before you just believe what vendors on ebay an such places are trying it sell you. It only takes ONE mistake with HPA.
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lol yes spend what you like .. i picked up a used firemans tank on ebay (expired) for 65$ .. got a fill adapter for it on ebay for 50$ ... i fill it with a yong heng, been plugging along fine for a couple of years now .. the guy up there ^ has the right idea, run it for 10 minutes and let it cool for 15 or so with a fan on it, itl fill it in 2-3 sessions and it wont fry your pressor ..
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Safety is key with any gun including PCP's which have such high pressures that can be very dangerous even when doing the correct procedures......please, just be mindful and careful.....
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