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New to pcp have tank questions

It depends on the size of the tank, how many cc's and pressure your gun will hold and what pressure you will start from and shoot down to. Here's a calculator to get you started.

https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/Tanks/FillCalc.html

The other thing is cost. How much do you want to spend on a compressor or how much do you want to spend on a tank and the cost for refills if you don't have someone to "hook you up". It's like the saying goes, "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later. But you're gonna pay me".
 
Hey IAfaug I see your from iowa, what part, I have tanks and compressors. Or the ability to fill your tanks if you are local. I’m in the pella area.


I remember when I was the only one in the state other that Alan Z who did this. ..




Hey IAfaug I see your from iowa, what part, I have tanks and compressors. Or the ability to fill your tanks if you are local. I’m in the pella area.


I remember when I was the only one in the state other that Alan Z who did this. ..

Not too many people from Iowa on here. What part you from?
 
High pressure air is expensive. It is the major cost in PCP, even in relation to top-of-line guns. If you do not have your own compressor, you are not in control and you will be forever relying on some one else. If you have a compressor, you should have at least one storage bottle. If you have a bottle and no compressor, you are dependent on someone else filling your bottle. Not all filling stations have all the fittings to enable a fill either, nor are they always willing to fill bottles to be used for airguns. Then there is the inconvenience of having to drive to and from a willing fill station.. 

Then there is the question of compressor quality. The cheap inexpensive Chinese compressors are nothing but trouble. You get what you pay for. There are enough horror stories in the archives here to justify that these compressors are junk.. Can they be modified and improved?.......Yes. Is it economically viable to do?......No. Eyes wide open!
 
it really depends on your usage on how well a cheap setup will work for you and what you consider alot of fills .. im a 'casual' shooter and a cheap co.pressor works for me, i dont even leave it set up .. i fill a bottle and can draw off of it for several weeks mutiple small caliber guns, sighting them in, alittle plinking on days off from work etc ... now if you shoot every day, 5+ tins a week, go to a range all day, with larger caliber guns yeah that could be an issue with a cheap compressor in the long run ... but my setup like i was saying, shooting a 177, a prod, a .22 here and there without looking at a calc, i get prolly 40+ fills off a '3liter' tank and o ly need to get the compressor out every few weeks .. if i had a .50 now and shot it everyday forget it lol ...
 
If i am not mistaken the "Cheap" compressors you all are talking about are NOT designed to fill a full sized SCUBA tank. If that is what you are meaning. They are designed to fill the small airgun tank. The amount of heat generated from the small cheap compressors would burn the unit up trying to fill a SCUBA tank. The compressors that dive shops use are usually as big as a dresser, and cost upward of $10,000. 
 
If i am not mistaken the "Cheap" compressors you all are talking about are NOT designed to fill a full sized SCUBA tank. If that is what you are meaning. They are designed to fill the small airgun tank. The amount of heat generated from the small cheap compressors would burn the unit up trying to fill a SCUBA tank. The compressors that dive shops use are usually as big as a dresser, and cost upward of $10,000.

This is a valid point. It's recommended to fill tanks in many short stages with the small compressors.
 
If i am not mistaken the "Cheap" compressors you all are talking about are NOT designed to fill a full sized SCUBA tank. If that is what you are meaning. They are designed to fill the small airgun tank. The amount of heat generated from the small cheap compressors would burn the unit up trying to fill a SCUBA tank. The compressors that dive shops use are usually as big as a dresser, and cost upward of $10,000.

This is a valid point. It's recommended to fill tanks in many short stages with the small compressors.

i do this when filling 480cc+ bottles, especially from empty. i believe the manufacturer recommends a 20 minute max run time on my el cheapo gx cs2. i let it run for 15 minutes, also purging the moisture buildup 8 minutes in. i also run an inline filter before it hits any bottle. i also only feed it air directly from my home air conditioner, so it is ingesting cold, pre-dried air.

it has been going strong for almost a year (have only put 30 hours on it so far). i also got the 3 year warranty for when it will (and it will) eventually crap out on me.

i am willing to take the extra time / effort with this method, because i have about $400 in total, as opposed to $2.5-$3.5k for an alkin or coltri

i have not been interested in the "mid range" hills and omegas, as people seem to have as many issues with them as the GX portables.
 
Hey IAfaug I see your from iowa, what part, I have tanks and compressors. Or the ability to fill your tanks if you are local. I’m in the pella area.


I remember when I was the only one in the state other that Alan Z who did this. ..




Hey IAfaug I see your from iowa, what part, I have tanks and compressors. Or the ability to fill your tanks if you are local. I’m in the pella area.


I remember when I was the only one in the state other that Alan Z who did this. ..

Not too many people from Iowa on here. What part you from?


I live in the Cedar Rapids area.. I used to get my fills from a fire safety place. I have several compressors now.
 
I have a GX-CS2 that I've been using for 9 months. I fill a 60 min and a 45 minute CF bottles with. I have a box fan blowing on the the compressor and voltage converter box. I have a big blue media filter and the ttle black tampon filter that came with it. I I purge every 5-8 minutes, check the head temp. With a temp. Gun. I have run 45 minutes straight. I shut it off to cool when I reaches 140F. You can put your hand on it for a few seconds before you have to move your hand. 0 issues.