N/A EXPLODING PCP???

[Jim V.]

I've often wondered about PCP air tube or bottles exploding, but I thought that I was overly paranoid, as I've never heard of this danger before.

Well, today I received pictures from a friend who purchased a new well regarded PCP. He sighted it a few weeks ago (I have to check our texts) and it was MOA at 75 yards so he was happy.

He is an experienced PCP and piston airgun owner of many years and is a mature, seasoned, and meticulous outdoorsman.

Today at home, there was an explosion and the PCP's airtube literally split in half wide open from one end to the other with two half cylinders mangled. The force was so high that the barrel bent, and the gun case was shattered along with different parts of the gun. AND some other hunting equipment nearby was also broken.

This is stunning, and I'm not sure what to think. If he were holding it, I believe that it would have taken his arm or hand out, and possibly blinded or deafened him, or worse.

Has this happened before elsewhere?? How dangerous are PCPs to such explosions?

I'm not mentioning any brands for now as I don't want to the focus to be on a particular brand, but the safety of PCP itself.

Thanks

I've always wondered how safe those PCP's are with the bottle next to your face connected to the stock.

 

[WorriedMan]

Ultralight,
To answer your question I'd say any pressurized device requires respect but catastrophic failures in the PCP world are rare. The foolhardy and reckless are dangerous in any hobby so the PCP industry utilizes safeguards and protections above and beyond. Respecting your wishes, I'd still like to know if airgun was a long established brand or relative newcomer to the market. WM

 

[Avator]

I've always wondered how safe those PCP's are with the bottle next to your face connected to the stock.

YOLO

 

[DonEnzone]

I've always wondered how safe those PCP's are with the bottle next to your face connected to the stock.

The answer is: as safe as it gets. Just as safe as sitting right next to the gasoline tank of your car. There are strict safety measures to keep PCPs from exploding.

There are hundreds of thousands of people shooting PCPs and playing paintball every day, all over the world. The amount of documented cases of an airtank exploding is neglegeable. And the few cases we do know of usually involves some kind of user screw up. Like using motor oil to grease o-rings, or filling their gun with pure oxygen.

Air seeks the path of least resistence, which is usually at the o-rings or the threads of the tank. Not by ripping the entire tank apart. It's incredibly rare. You probably have a better chance to get hit by lightning.

 

[Franklink]

....... catastrophic failures in the PCP world are rare.

I agree, and would add a couple more areas: diving and firefighting. Lots and lots and lots of pressurized cylinders, strapped to people's backs, in caves, burning buildings, etc. All in much more demanding situations than the average PCP that is babied by it's owner. And very very few accounts of kaboom.

 

[Avator]

Sure got 4 pages posted quickly.

 

[Gerry52]

This thread brings to mind a post a couple months ago by a guy who knew NOTHING about airguns yet his 1st post was inquiring about modding his (yet to be bought) gun. The sheer idiocy of an uneducated & unaware person to the dangers of High Pressure Air ONLY being concerned about MODDING for looks & ease of carrying it concealed was less idiotic (imho) than the members who encouraged his plans as if they couldn't look ahead to the accident waiting to happen! Our guns are SAFE AS CAN BE provided they're used as directed. Until proven or convinced otherwise I'll believe user error caused this. I'm done.

 

[beerthief]

so nobody ask what compressor and what gage is on said compressor ? just how accurate is a $200 mass produced compressor with a $6 (at best) gage ?
This thread is kind of fun to read since no real facts are present yet . Just thought i would throw in another unknown for certain fact
.

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

so nobody ask what compressor and what gage is on said compressor ? just how accurate is a $200 mass produced compressor with a $6 (at best) gage ?
This thread is kind of fun to read since no real facts are present yet . Just thought i would throw in another unknown for certain fact
.

Good point, first thing I did io my heng was put a wika gauge on it.

 

[Ratzy]

As one who has likely worked on more Airguns than most, units from around the globe etc ....
I've witnessed first hand some VERY very very shotty workmanship, piss poor materials quality, horrid machining / surface finishes that could very well lead to a failure that would not necessarily repeat enough to be tracked.
yes QC as in a Lack of ... QUALITY CONTROL

Yes, in the guns, but this is an aluminum bottle and a much simpler process and not subject to most of those faults. Tanks are hydraulically pressed from a single billet. So faults are all either material or equipment. Both of which would create multiple examples of the same fault.

 

[Gerry52]

so nobody ask what compressor and what gage is on said compressor ? just how accurate is a $200 mass produced compressor with a $6 (at best) gage ?
This thread is kind of fun to read since no real facts are present yet . Just thought i would throw in another unknown for certain

AGN is a gold mine when it comes to filling the gaps in airgun knowledge. This thread is one huge gap, getting wider by the post! There is no knowledge here upon which to base an educated opinion. Heresay, rumor, urban legend in the making, etc!

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

AGN is a gold mine when it comes to filling the gaps in airgun knowledge. This thread is one huge gap, getting wider by the post! There is no knowledge here upon which to base an educated opinion. Heresay, rumor, urban legend in the making, etc!

There's a few know it alls in here too that aren't helping the airgun community.

 

[Avator]

Yes, in the guns, but this is an aluminum bottle and a much simpler process and not subject to most of those faults. Tanks are hydraulically pressed from a single billet. So faults are all either material or equipment. Both of which would create multiple examples of the same fault.

Did I miss something? Where does it say this was an aluminum bottle?

 

[_CTAIRGUNNER_]

Did I miss something? Where does it say this was an aluminum bottle?

He did say tube i believe in first post but no mention of material , then later referenced cf bottles.

Who knows with this mythical tale.

 

[Avator]

He did say tube i believe in first post but no mention of material , then later referenced cf bottles.

Who knows with this mythical tale.

Maybe I just assumed it was not a bottled gun.

 

[Sleestak]

Even if it were a catastopihic failure, the activity is probably far more safer statistically than your drive to the range....Id worry more about getting a face-full of poorly attached whip than exploding bottle.

 

[fishing43]

This seems to be AI generated op. Definitely a long list of perfectly worded responses. But I’m not the best user of the English word.

 

[Franklink]

This seems to be AI generated op. Definitely a long list of perfectly worded responses. But I’m not the best user of the English word.

Chatgpt quietly hit the singularity and chose to rile up a bunch of old guys who like BB guns with its newfound sentience. Hehe

 

[Ultralight]

Chatgpt quietly hit the singularity and chose to rile up a bunch of old guys who like BB guns with its newfound sentience. Hehe

LOL!!! Thanks for a good laugh! Think I should hang out a shingle to compete with ChatGPT?

 

[Moderator3]

I am going to lock this thread down for the time being. @Ultralight, PM me when you have something definitive to add to the purely speculatory thread.

Wild claims of exploding PCP without any kind of supporting data is detrimental to the Airgun sports. Search engine bots crawl over the internet continually scoping up snippets and sound bites without verifying the veracity of the posts - and then perpetuate bad information. We don't want to feed the fake news. Solid information is always welcome.