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Filling PCP tanks locally

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flpcp

Member
Jan 1, 2023
24
27
Pensacola, FL, USA
Just got a tank and have been calling around to see about getting it filled. My plan was to find a firehouse that fills them and show up with 8lbs of shredded bbq for them all to eat.

Plan shot down as they told me they won't fill the tanks locally. At least I have dive shops locally. I don't see what the issue is when our taxes paid for the equipment they use and the tank is certified and in date.

Anyone else have trouble with their local Fire departments too?
 
I live in a small community in west central Florida and couldn't talk my local fire department guys into doing it either. I'm sure it's a liability thing. They have no idea what kind of silly thing you might do with that 4500 PSI bomb when you leave... And they don't want to end up on the news trying to explain why they filled that bottle for an un-trained civilian.
 
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cwcarrera said:
I live in a small community in west central Florida and couldn't talk my local fire department guys into doing it either. I'm sure it's a liability thing. They have no idea what kind of silly thing you might do with that 4500 PSI bomb when you leave... And they don't want to end up on the news trying to explain why they filled that bottle for an un-trained civilian.
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Back when I got into pcp rifles, called a half dozen or more local departments about filling tanks. All declined, all stated they fill only their own tanks for their own purposes, and all cited liability.
 
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I have never heard of that working here in Denmark, and while the country are very much surrounded by water and almost being a island kingdom, then dive shops are not plentiful, and they also seem reluctant to filling 300 BAR bottles to that number, where as 200 BAR are no problem.

I have 2 big bottles ( 12 liters ) one 200 BAR and the other 300 BAR, i will get my own little compressor to just top them up more often, but i have to do the cheaper alternative as my pension can not carry the weight of a fully fledged 3-4 cylinder compressor costing 2500 - 3000 USD,,,, or more.

Otherwise my 300 BAR bottle do pretty much last me a month of shooting my two .177 rifles down to 100 BAR, and its not like i hold back it get to be many many 1000 shots every month, actually 2 tins with 400 in each are no problem in a session that some times are as long as a work day would be.

Fortunately ATM a fellow shooter in town with a proper compressor take care of my filling needs, for a cost though i do not get it for free even with my charming nature.
 
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cwcarrera said:
I live in a small community in west central Florida and couldn't talk my local fire department guys into doing it either. I'm sure it's a liability thing. They have no idea what kind of silly thing you might do with that 4500 PSI bomb when you leave... And they don't want to end up on the news trying to explain why they filled that bottle for an un-trained civilian.
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Maybe, mine wouldn't even give me a reason and that is okay. I learned a long time ago people won't do what they don't want to do.
 
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Peashooter said:
I have never heard of that working here in Denmark, and while the country are very much surrounded by water and almost being a island kingdom, then dive shops are not plentiful, and they also seem reluctant to filling 300 BAR bottles to that number, where as 200 BAR are no problem.

I have 2 big bottles ( 12 liters ) one 200 BAR and the other 300 BAR, i will get my own little compressor to just top them up more often, but i have to do the cheaper alternative as my pension can not carry the weight of a fully fledged 3-4 cylinder compressor costing 2500 - 3000 USD,,,, or more.

Otherwise my 300 BAR bottle do pretty much last me a month of shooting my two .177 rifles down to 100 BAR, and its not like i hold back it get to be many many 1000 shots every month, actually 2 tins with 400 in each are no problem in a session that some times are as long as a work day would be.

Fortunately ATM a fellow shooter in town with a proper compressor take care of my filling needs, for a cost though i do not get it for free even with my charming nature.
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That is good that you have someone locally to do it. I wonder where all these fire stations are that will fill it? Maybe a volunteer fire department would be a better call.
 
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How much do you shoot? The dive shops should be able to do a 4500 psi fill. You can probably pick up a used scuba tank or two given your location, use the tank with the lowest pressure first, then top off with the next highest. With one carbon fiber tank and a couple scuba tanks you can shoot quite a bit between trips to the dive shop. As long as you're not shooting a big bore it won't be too bad. I live an hour from the shop and make a few trips a year for fills..
 
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elh0102 said:
I don't think that you will find a fire station, volunteer included, that fill your tank. Yes, it's a liability concern. Being in Pensacola, I expect you have access to dive shops, probably your best source.
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Yeah...you live in Florida...
You have "dive shops" on about every corner don't you ?
I worked at the Kennedy Space Center just before I retired, for two weeks. Driving around the Coco Beach area...yeah, dive shops all over.

Hell, I'm 35 miles inland from the ocean, and found a dive shop about 5 miles away in SoCal. Very lucky, I know.

$11 for a full 4300 psi fill with filtered, dry air. Sometimes they can do fill the cylinder while I wait, sometimes, I leave it and return the next day.

Mike
 
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flpcp said:
Just got a tank and have been calling around to see about getting it filled. My plan was to find a firehouse that fills them and show up with 8lbs of shredded bbq for them all to eat.

Plan shot down as they told me they won't fill the tanks locally. At least I have dive shops I live in a small community in west central Florida and couldn't talk my local fire department guys into doing it either. I'm sure it's a liability thing. They have no idea what kind of silly thing you might do with that 4500 PSI bomb when you leave... And they don't want to end up on the news trying to explain why they filled that bottle for an un-trained civilian.
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Absolutely right. When I worked in a dive shop we knew that any tank at anytime could blow up. All we could do was make sure the hydro date was current and the yearly visual inspection. Did that mean it was safe ? Maybe, maybe not.
Some cities require FD’s and dive shops to have containment cabinets that tanks are put in to fill and will contain a blast. It will still scare the crap out of you and destroy the cabinet.
Yearly tank inspections aren’t required by law, they are a scuba industry imposed requirement. If a PCP shooter doesn’t do an occasional inspection on their carbon fiber or any other type of high pressure tank, they’re taking an unnecessary risk. Users of home compressors that don’t have driers are pumping water into their storage tanks and don’t realize it. That waters job is to eat that cylinders wall and it will.
When I was trained to inspect scuba and SCBA cylinders there were plenty of photos of aftermath of tank explosions.
 
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Always walk in refills you get here, you can also rent bottles, the norm is the shops sell you a 10 turn card, this are for refills or tank rental, what ever you like.

I personally figure a smaller compressor, well the wear and tear will be the same if you fill your 500 CC bottle XX times over a weekend, or you boost your single larger bottle back up to 300 BAR from the 260 or what ever you have sot it down to.
The only difference being that you have 1 long pump session VS several shorter ones.

TBH i am not sure what the shops here consider a fair tank rental period, i know a weekend are no problem, and the shop i use to get filled at, well they have at the very least 50 large 10 L bottles ready to go, and at least in the .22 and .177 i am used to handle, you will have to shoot pretty much constantly Saturday and Sunday to get those down to where REG fall off might be a issue.
My Maverick i have the first REG set to 120 - 130 BAR so when my big bottle reach 150 or so, i break out my Vulcan 3 rifle for the rest of the month as its single regulator are set to 100 BAR.

And as i always shoot connected to my bottle, well it dont matter much if i dont get the rifle bottle up to its maximum,,,,,, CUZ having to charge air 2 X as often would be a drag indeed, even if my small caliber rifles get many shots on a full 300 BAR fill.

Of course if you shoot a bigger caliber, well your air use go up of course, but then so do your ammo cost, and i doubt very many .30 cal shooters sit there at the bench and just pour tin after tin thru their rifle like i do with .177 ammo.

BTW i have ditched getting the 2 cylinder Tuxing compressor, i will get their 4 cylinder one that cost 1600 EURO instead, i figure it will be fairly safe in regard to spare parts, and as somewhat of a mechanical multi "artist" i will have no problem doing any repairs that might come up.

I just can not justify going all the way to 2300 EURO for a nice Italian Coltri compressor.

compressor.jpg
 
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JohnL57 said:
How much do you shoot? The dive shops should be able to do a 4500 psi fill. You can probably pick up a used scuba tank or two given your location, use the tank with the lowest pressure first, then top off with the next highest. With one carbon fiber tank and a couple scuba tanks you can shoot quite a bit between trips to the dive shop. As long as you're not shooting a big bore it won't be too bad. I live an hour from the shop and make a few trips a year for fills..
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Yes this all doable. Found a place locally that fills to 4500 for about $8. I have a smaller tank with good certs and then the 74. Unfortunately, will be shooting big bore on range days in .357, .45, and .50. Maybe they will have some used tanks for sale, I didn't think to ask. Thank you for your detailed response.
 
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MikeVV said:
Yeah...you live in Florida...
You have "dive shops" on about every corner don't you ?
I worked at the Kennedy Space Center just before I retired, for two weeks. Driving around the Coco Beach area...yeah, dive shops all over.

Hell, I'm 35 miles inland from the ocean, and found a dive shop about 5 miles away in SoCal. Very lucky, I know.

$11 for a full 4300 psi fill with filtered, dry air. Sometimes they can do fill the cylinder while I wait, sometimes, I leave it and return the next day.

Mike
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I'm lucky to have a local dive shop that can do 4500 psi fills. I guess I'm just a weenie, but I'm afraid of HPA, and have no interest in a compressor.
 
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