FEAR of PCP

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Z

Zorbar

Member
Dec 27, 2021
122
40
Manila, Philippines
Recently I did some modding of my Chinese airguns such as an artemis pp700sa and a qp79. Ever since I modded them all I can think of when using my chinese HPA compressor is:

"It's going to blow up!" "I hope these Chinese gauges are accurate?"

Especially when the gauge of the compressor is slowly creeping up and the compressor is making that whoshing sound. Its slowly vibrating off the edge of the table. Damnit I have never seen any videos of failed mods. Or have not seen chinese airgun failures as well.

Its good most of them only go up to 3000 max.

I don't know how to alleviate those fears but maybe I should build a plexi glass case to put the gun and charger in while charging?

I don't want to stop but Im sure scared. Thank god Im still alive.

But when it works out its an awesome feeling.


 
With the pressures involved unless the plexiglass/acrylic was multiple inches thick it would just become more shrapnel. If you were ever to take your tank to a shop they have cages or enclosures made of thick steel for protection. These tanks are basically bombs at these pressures. But the tanks themselves are fairly well over engineered. My biggest concern would be the valve as it is the weakest point, making sure things are secured is your best safety measure.

What is usually do is make sure my tank is securely held. With my setup I can either strap the tank down on the shelf or I have a bucket I can place it in on the floor so that it can't roll around or move. As for the compressor, I have a Yong Heng and it never vibrates around the table or moves. If I were to start noticing that I would work on securing that as well. Having things randomly moving is never a good idea.


 
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Recently I did some modding of my Chinese airguns such as an artemis pp700sa and a qp79. Ever since I modded them all I can think of when using my chinese HPA compressor is:

"It's going to blow up!" "I hope these Chinese gauges are accurate?"

Especially when the gauge of the compressor is slowly creeping up and the compressor is making that whoshing sound. Its slowly vibrating off the edge of the table. Damnit I have never seen any videos of failed mods. Or have not seen chinese airgun failures as well.

Its good most of them only go up to 3000 max.

I don't know how to alleviate those fears but maybe I should build a plexi glass case to put the gun and charger in while charging?

I don't want to stop but Im sure scared. Thank god Im still alive.

But when it works out its an awesome feeling.

Click to expand...

The chinese gauges are far from accurate. I just bought 5 wika gauges on an ebay sale that were left over new in box, I dont fear my yong heng itself failing or hurting me, what bothers me most is knowing the pressures on my fill adapter gauge and on the compressor gauge are not accurate so I went by the bottle, now I have piece of mind knowing I have accurate gauges. 

I also recommend updating any and all fittings you are weary of...
 
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The only failures I am aware of that caused injury involving compressors were failures in the lines and foster fittings. So, learn about them so you use the right ones and inspect them regularly for wear and damage. 

The compressors themselves have burst discs that will blow usually just over 4500 psi a bit.

Not sure you should fear them, well maybe a little, but you should have the utmost respect for high pressure the same as for high voltage electricity. They both can injure or kill in an instant if not handled in a safe manor.


 
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After you have had an M2 Machine gun blow up in front of you, a PCP air gun seams pale in comparison.



Powder burning rifles blow way more then Air guns thanks to overcharged loads, Squibs, and failed case heads.

Last thing I'll worry about is my 4500PSI Airgun with a built-in safety release.



Chamber pressure in an AR is well over 30.000PSI to give you some perspective.
 
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A "little" fear of HPA is a smart & healthy thing. Being paralyzed by that fear is not necessary. Just follow the "fill SLOWLY, bleed QUICKLY commandment of PCP's & periodically check your hoses & fitting o-rings for unnatural wear & tear. In 5 years I've had 2 hoses blow out on me. Both were the wire mesh type & were LOUD when they popped but no "shrapnel". Since then I've used 6,000psi rated microbore hoses & had no problems. Don't let the fear keep you from the bliss of PCP airguns! 
 
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I personally also is most worried when filling the gun, that the foster fitting can fail, or get unattached. There can be human error done when attaching it, like not making sure the collar is all the way forward, and in secured position. When I fill my guns at home, from my scuba tank, I usually wear a protective face shield when filling as I know the hose can in theory whip my face if it should get loose. I also have put a restrictor screw in my fillkit at the scubabottle end, the hose will not continious blow air freely, if it get unattached. It will probably not prevent the whip if it happens, but it will not continiously do so once the stored pressure in the house itself is released. I can now open my bottle valve completely open if I want, with hose unattached, whithout it whiping around. 
 
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