Problem filling Brocock Bantam Sniper

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yenniedn

yenniedn

Member
Aug 9, 2015
2,618
1,125
Northern CA, United States
Hello AGN:

I got my first Brocock PCP this week and am having an issue filling it. When I connected it to my SCBA tank and brought it up to about 250bar, I went to open the bleed valve to let out the remaining air in the fill hose so that I could remove it. Instead of bleeding the air in the fill hose, it emptied the air directly from the rifle bottle! I tried several times with different tanks & fill assemblies but got the same result each time so now the rifle sits with an empty bottle. Unlike my FX bottles, the Brocock bottle doesn't appear to have its own valve and the bottle itself is screwed directly onto the action. It appears some other internal valve is stuck open which is letting all of the air out of the bottle when I tried to bleed the fill hose.

I've been in this hobby for some 15yrs and have done this same fill process hundreds of times and have not come across this issue until now. Does anyone have an idea what's happening here and how to resolve it? 
 
Just went through that. AOA was very helpful. I ended up taking the foster fitting out of the gun, taking the fitting apart and sending the little piston to AOA and they installed new harder rubber orings. They had sent the orings to me but I coudn't get them seated on the piston. This took place over a 30 day period - the gun was about a year old. 10 fills since with no problem. The original orings were too soft and would slip off the piston. It is a known problem. It was cheaper / easier to send the piston that UPS the whole gun. The foster fitting is installed in a piece that has indents in it. I'm sure there is a special tool but I just used needle nose pliers like these to uscrew it:

61wwocr8YjL._AC_SL1358_.jpg

 
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Thanks, guys - that seems like it might be the solution . . . but this is not a great start to my experience with BroCock!

I followed the instructions in the video to remove the fill valve but on the Sniper, the fill valve is attached to a round extension piece to allow the fill nipple to be exposed through the stock. To get access to the o-ring, I'll have to unscrew it from this extension . . . which will be difficult since it's round and will be hard/impossible to clamp onto. From the marks on the extension piece, it looks like either the original owner or AofA has had to do this before. Any advice on how to separate these pieces (see photo below):

1598584026_9701516405f4874da151019.94206645.jpg

 
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Since you just got it brand new I assume it should be under warranty and a call to AoA would zip a replacement to you immediately. That's simple.

I would have first hit it several times hard with a rubber mallet or the palm of my tough hand as it's pissing all the air while still connected to the hose while bleeding to force it to stop leaking. That's Just me though.
 
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Wow - it appears this is a common issue with this rifle! While I was initially impressed with the build quality and fit and finish of this rifle, this faulty design of the fill valve really detracts from that first impression. I would hate to deal with this on a recurring basis!
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Wow! You’ve just gotten yours and are now touting your experience as a common issue and “faulty design”? I’ve only read about four instances here on AGN, including mine (which was my fault from filling too fast). I’ve shot thousands of pellets and have at least 10 tins through mine. I’ve filled my Brocock Bantam at least 50 times and had the problem once (self induced). I shoot the gun almost everyday. “Common issues?” Is what you read here on AGN... but it’s about FX PCPs...If it was a frequent issue I and many others would have definitely posted up on it. Seems like a little familiarization is needed “before” casting aspersions on what is and has proven to be a solid PCP.
 
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Wow - it appears this is a common issue with this rifle! While I was initially impressed with the build quality and fit and finish of this rifle, this faulty design of the fill valve really detracts from that first impression. I would hate to deal with this on a recurring basis!
Click to expand...

Wow! You’ve just gotten yours and are now touting your experience as a common issue and “faulty design”? I’ve only read about four instances here on AGN, including mine (which was my fault from filling too fast). I’ve shot thousands of pellets and have at least 10 tins through mine. I’ve filled my Brocock Bantam at least 50 times and had the problem once (self induced). I shoot the gun almost everyday. “Common issues?” Is what you read here on AGN... but it’s about FX PCPs...If it was a frequent issue I and many others would have definitely posted up on it. Seems like a little familiarization is needed “before” casting aspersions on what is and has proven to be a solid PCP.
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Whoa, relax . . . I'm not trying to poo on anyone's BroCock fandom. Call it bad luck, a coincidence or whatever you want but tell me that you wouldn't be pissed off or at least disappointed that one day after you get a rifle, it dumps all the air from the bottle the first time you go to fill it. Several members stepped up and knew exactly what the problem was because, as skohl said, it's a known problem. Most/all PCP's have their issues - I got one of the very first Impacts that were delivered in the US years ago and it had all sorts of quirks and issues, some of which are still being worked through even in its current revision. But if a rifle has a potential fill issue and the fix involves either sending the faulty part back to AoA or fashioning custom parts out of wood, leather or whatever just so you can get access to the o-ring in question - that's a stupid design regardless of what brand it comes from. If the o-ring in the fill valve is capable of being blown out of place because you fill it too fast, that's a stupid/faulty design. I've filled dozens of different models of PCP's many hundreds of times and have never, ever blown any such o-ring out on any other rifle so, yeah, this is a stupid design flaw.

The fact that this rifle might have a fault in the fill valve design doesn't detract from the fact that it could be an otherwise great performer - just like the idiotic fill port opening on the original Impact that made it impossible for your to remove the foster fitting after each fill didn't detract from the fact it was/is a revolutionary and phenomenal design. The point is, I won't know how good or bad this BroCock is right now because on day 2 of ownership, it sits empty of air and incapable of being shot...therein lies the rub so excuse my frustration.
 
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@yenniedn, it’s not about “fandom” if you fill any PCP too quickly “bad things can happen”. It’s about immediately calling it a design flaw. So less than half a dozen users here have had the “issue” and now it’s a “design flaw”? It’s about pushing lines of thought that are unproven by the numbers. But it’s all good. And yes, I would be upset if it happened to me on my “first fill”. It’s unfortunate to have such a rocky start with your Bantam. But it is not the norm. Heck, I was upset when it happen to me after dozens of fills, even though I was at fault. Post up your subsequent impressions. Am looking forward to it. Mine is really, really accurate. One of my last 40 yard 5 shot groups was 1/8”.

Here is but a sample of what a hack shooter such as myself can do. I bet a better shooter would get even better groups.

1598633606_7182019715f49368652ca90.28415382.jpeg

 
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Hello,

I have prior owned a Brocock Commander that uses this fill method. I also own a Concept Lite. I have encountered what you described twice on both rifles. I have discovered that the core issue was I had shot below the regulator pressure, had it uncocked, and could not get the valve to close.

To correct the issue I removed the fill hose. I cocked the rifle, then I pulled the trigger. I reconnected the fill hose and filled to 240 bar. During fill, and before removing the fill hose, while leaving it pressurized I cocked it. I fill from a 90 cu-in Ninja bottle with EZ valve.

Do you happen to remember your bottle pressure prior to refill? I stop shooting around 150 bar and shooting down to 130 bar, at least in my experience, causes my issues.

I should note I had this issue with the Command and the Concept Lite one which uses a foster fitting the other which uses a fill probe. I have had, in the past, similar issues with the Gamo Urban as well.

Hope this helps!


 
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Hello,

I have prior owned a Brocock Commander that uses this fill method. I also own a Concept Lite. I have encountered what you described twice on both rifles. I have discovered that the core issue was I had shot below the regulator pressure, had it uncocked, and could not get the valve to close.

To correct the issue I removed the fill hose. I cocked the rifle, then I pulled the trigger. I reconnected the fill hose and filled to 240 bar. During fill, and before removing the fill hose, while leaving it pressurized I cocked it. I fill from a 90 cu-in Ninja bottle with EZ valve.

Do you happen to remember your bottle pressure prior to refill? I stop shooting around 150 bar and shooting down to 130 bar, at least in my experience, causes my issues.

I should note I had this issue with the Command and the Concept Lite one which uses a foster fitting the other which uses a fill probe. I have had, in the past, similar issues with the Gamo Urban as well.

Hope this helps!

Click to expand...

This might also be it too. The rifle came to me with just over 150bar of air in it and I shot about 1.5 mags through it just to check to see how loud it was and which moderator to put on there. The reg looks to be set at 150bar based on the HUMA gauge so there was definitely less than 150bar of air in the bottle when I went to fill it so it fits the scenario you described.

I've been trying to unscrew the fill valve from the round body but don't have any way to get a good grip on the round part so hopefully your fix will work and I won't have to send it back to AofA. I'll give it a try and let you know.

Thanks!
 
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Awesome! Keep me updated, it's quite unnerving when it happens. My daughters shot the Concept Lite down to 120 bar and the first time it happened I was like... o_O uh...?

If you do need to get the valve out the part you're looking for is known as a "pin wrench/spanner".

No idea if it's 4mm, 3mm, 5mm, etc. I've never measured the ID of it.

https://www.amazon.com/OTC-6613-Variable-Spanner-Wrench/dp/B000F5JMEA/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=pin+wrench&qid=1598642133&sr=8-1

Dunno if that helps and good luck!
 
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