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This will be a long one lads. Back to whether or not handpumps void your warranty or not.
Okay, I was an active member here until a recent debate got me to go offline and seek a resolution on the debate offline. The debate is naturally whether or not handpumps are generally bad for your rifle (the position I hold). A lot of people get triggered by me stating that for some reason, so let me state a few things before I give my reasoning, the debate, and some answers.
First off, I have a handpump. I have used a handpump in the past. I don’t have any ill will or judgement towards someone that uses one or anything like a condescending eye towards it. In fact, depending on the rifle I will recommend it if it is the right fit with your budget. Okay, now to the dirty dirty.
I currently use an inert gas, dry nitrogen, but when I don’t I use DIN EN 12021 quality. The reason for this is that I like to keep my guns in top shape, and handpumps do not do not. What do I mean by that statement?
Handpumps are problematic because with the friction and naturally the compression any moisture either gets condensed and left in the pump or is carried into the gun’s cylinder. This is problematic for several reasons. When you introduce moisture into your gun’s air reservoir it doesn’t just get shot out. Over time it collects. Over a year or so you can open your gun up and see something come out that looks like grey/white mayonnaise. This mayo stuff is essentially water and oil mixed together. Leave it still longer. It does compromise your tank and your rifle. Even if your tank is say aluminum you are shooting that stuff through your steel barrel, which does have an impact on the rifle’s performance.
Now let’s say you have the counter argument that, well heck, you buy an air filter. The problem is that even if you attach that bad boy to the output there is still moisture escaping that and plus you have no way of measuring that air or gas quality to the standard of DIN EN 1202 (especially since some times of the year are more humid than others. You can have your air quality I suppose checked by a business that evaluates air quality for scuba (usually they use an vacuumed container or water sensitive strips that tell how much H2O content there is). Nevertheless your H2O content would still be getting in the gun as the humidity increases/weather changes (unless that is you are able to test periodically which seems overboard as a concept and frankly silly).
Now the other argument for proponents of handpumps is that they also have an air compressor and that it also has a filter and that it also introduces moisture. And? That doesn’t fix the handpump issue. That is just another problem. The filter on either a handpump or a compressor will reduce but not eliminate, especially to the levels of DIN EN 12021 or the dry nitrogen I use. That is, unless you have evaluated your filter to work on whatever standard your manufacturer is requiring.
Now for the debate this is answering. I have had it told to me on good authority and have told others the same once I learned it that yes, it is true, some companies will in fact not warrant a gun if a handpump has been used. Every time I have made that comment someone is triggered. Why? I don’t know. If you are using a handpump and are doing well with it, especially if your company does not care that you are using a handpump or even more specifically an off brand handpump, who cares? Now, I do know why handpumps often void a warranty. Either that mayo compromises your gun or the salt like deposits do (if the deposit particulates get shot through your valve and bore it scratches things as you can imagine.
So why my opinion right? Well I took it upon myself to email every Airgun manufacturer. And I mean every gun manufacturer. Every. Dang. One. And as any good detective, I had this as my question to essentially each one:
Now the answers so far have been mixed. Some warrant, some do not, and some frankly didn’t answer the question or didn’t understand the issue. The great divide in the answers seems obviously to be along the higher quality PCP manufactures. I have not gotten a response from a lot of them yet, but I did get two that I feel are largely representative. First was FX who, bravo to them, got back to me real fast. They had this to say:
Reasonable to me. But I did get other responses, like this one from my favorite rifle company, Weihrauch:
Now I would never use a handpump on a Weihrauch. I would use it on a Crosman (love Crosman so don’t take that as a burn they are awesome for the Airgun Community). The reason I would use it on one and not the other isn’t because one allows the use of handpumps under their warranty. It is really because I wouldn’t want to place contaminates inside a nice rifle but don’t care as much for my truck gun. The truck gun has its place, and so does the handpump. But let’s be real here, there are certain companies that have clearly written requirements for air quality, such as Weihrauch, and for good reason too because it does compromise your gun. You can argue the point a million ways that it doesn’t, but moisture is not your friend inside or out.
If you have a handpump use it and hey at the very least use a dry pack or filter of some kind, and you at least get some exercise. But remember it isn’t DIN EN 12021 quality, and some manufactures, especially the top notch ones, do want you to treat your equipment to their standards. For some companies the warranty can easily be void by using a handpump, especially if they open it up and see this coming out...
Well now, how ‘bout that huh?
I always do tend to get results...
Okay, I was an active member here until a recent debate got me to go offline and seek a resolution on the debate offline. The debate is naturally whether or not handpumps are generally bad for your rifle (the position I hold). A lot of people get triggered by me stating that for some reason, so let me state a few things before I give my reasoning, the debate, and some answers.
First off, I have a handpump. I have used a handpump in the past. I don’t have any ill will or judgement towards someone that uses one or anything like a condescending eye towards it. In fact, depending on the rifle I will recommend it if it is the right fit with your budget. Okay, now to the dirty dirty.
I currently use an inert gas, dry nitrogen, but when I don’t I use DIN EN 12021 quality. The reason for this is that I like to keep my guns in top shape, and handpumps do not do not. What do I mean by that statement?
Handpumps are problematic because with the friction and naturally the compression any moisture either gets condensed and left in the pump or is carried into the gun’s cylinder. This is problematic for several reasons. When you introduce moisture into your gun’s air reservoir it doesn’t just get shot out. Over time it collects. Over a year or so you can open your gun up and see something come out that looks like grey/white mayonnaise. This mayo stuff is essentially water and oil mixed together. Leave it still longer. It does compromise your tank and your rifle. Even if your tank is say aluminum you are shooting that stuff through your steel barrel, which does have an impact on the rifle’s performance.
Now let’s say you have the counter argument that, well heck, you buy an air filter. The problem is that even if you attach that bad boy to the output there is still moisture escaping that and plus you have no way of measuring that air or gas quality to the standard of DIN EN 1202 (especially since some times of the year are more humid than others. You can have your air quality I suppose checked by a business that evaluates air quality for scuba (usually they use an vacuumed container or water sensitive strips that tell how much H2O content there is). Nevertheless your H2O content would still be getting in the gun as the humidity increases/weather changes (unless that is you are able to test periodically which seems overboard as a concept and frankly silly).
Now the other argument for proponents of handpumps is that they also have an air compressor and that it also has a filter and that it also introduces moisture. And? That doesn’t fix the handpump issue. That is just another problem. The filter on either a handpump or a compressor will reduce but not eliminate, especially to the levels of DIN EN 12021 or the dry nitrogen I use. That is, unless you have evaluated your filter to work on whatever standard your manufacturer is requiring.
Now for the debate this is answering. I have had it told to me on good authority and have told others the same once I learned it that yes, it is true, some companies will in fact not warrant a gun if a handpump has been used. Every time I have made that comment someone is triggered. Why? I don’t know. If you are using a handpump and are doing well with it, especially if your company does not care that you are using a handpump or even more specifically an off brand handpump, who cares? Now, I do know why handpumps often void a warranty. Either that mayo compromises your gun or the salt like deposits do (if the deposit particulates get shot through your valve and bore it scratches things as you can imagine.
So why my opinion right? Well I took it upon myself to email every Airgun manufacturer. And I mean every gun manufacturer. Every. Dang. One. And as any good detective, I had this as my question to essentially each one:
Now the answers so far have been mixed. Some warrant, some do not, and some frankly didn’t answer the question or didn’t understand the issue. The great divide in the answers seems obviously to be along the higher quality PCP manufactures. I have not gotten a response from a lot of them yet, but I did get two that I feel are largely representative. First was FX who, bravo to them, got back to me real fast. They had this to say:
Reasonable to me. But I did get other responses, like this one from my favorite rifle company, Weihrauch:
Now I would never use a handpump on a Weihrauch. I would use it on a Crosman (love Crosman so don’t take that as a burn they are awesome for the Airgun Community). The reason I would use it on one and not the other isn’t because one allows the use of handpumps under their warranty. It is really because I wouldn’t want to place contaminates inside a nice rifle but don’t care as much for my truck gun. The truck gun has its place, and so does the handpump. But let’s be real here, there are certain companies that have clearly written requirements for air quality, such as Weihrauch, and for good reason too because it does compromise your gun. You can argue the point a million ways that it doesn’t, but moisture is not your friend inside or out.
If you have a handpump use it and hey at the very least use a dry pack or filter of some kind, and you at least get some exercise. But remember it isn’t DIN EN 12021 quality, and some manufactures, especially the top notch ones, do want you to treat your equipment to their standards. For some companies the warranty can easily be void by using a handpump, especially if they open it up and see this coming out...
Well now, how ‘bout that huh?
I always do tend to get results...
, * I know no moisture in Nitrogen, but that is part of my point, Had you typed "nitrogen" THEY would still deal out an easy answer that covers their asses.
