SCBA question

[scubajeeper]

I’ve never tried to fill a gun using the original valve on an SCBA before. My tank has a Joe B valve on it. I’m setting up a friend of mine to shoot and he had a bottle given to him by a fireman buddy and I was wondering if you can slow fill using the existing valve. Anybody have any experience with one?

 

[Gerry52]

You'll need a CGA347* fill adapter for original SCBA tank valve. They're all over the place on Ebay, around $50
*CGA347 is on MOST tanks but not ALL. Picture of tank nipple would help.

 

[cea1960]

If your valve is like mine, you can use a Stikman or Skikboy. I have no problem slow filling with it.

 

[rcs9250]

You want to make sure the one you have a metering orifice in it to restrict flow so it fills slowly. Otherwise you will need to throttle with the tank valve, which isn’t a big deal but you need to be careful. Also, if it is a typical fire department tank, their valves typically have a ratchet mechanism to prevent it from being inadvertently turned off once opened. Most airgun users de-activate that mechanism to prevent overfilling or to rapid of a fill. It’s easy to remove it.

 

[charlie99]

I also use fireman tanks, and i have also disabled the ratcheting system. You don't really need to remove anything. All that is needed is to tighten down the screw/bolt in the handle.

 

[scubajeeper]

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[Gerry52]

Charlie99 is absolutely correct. The ratchet safety feature is spring loaded, requiring one to depress knob while turning. If you just tighten the nut for the knob til it stops it keeps the spring fully depressed. NOTE: Some tanks might not have that safety feature but most do.

 

[Scotty1]

I use an Air Tank Plus Stickboy on my SCBA bottle, works great. Word of caution on the eBay/Amazon fill sets…some do not seal properly on Scott valves, but are fine on MSA valves, at least in my case. This has to do with o-ring placement, and bottle valve vent hole location.

 

[Gerry52]

I use an Air Tank Plus Stickboy on my SCBA bottle, works great. Word of caution on the eBay/Amazon fill sets…some do not seal properly on Scott valves, but are fine on MSA valves, at least in my case. This has to do with o-ring placement, and bottle valve vent hole location.

I've owned 4 Ebay "cheapies". The ONLY thing I've ever had to do is replace the adapter's o-ring that goes inside the tank valve nipple. I only own Scott tanks & have ZERO leaking problems. Is the Stikboy a CGA347 collar or a CGA346? A 346 will not work on a 347 nipple but a 347 WILL work on a 346 nipple. Some MSA tanks have shorter 346 nips.

 

[Scotty1]

Well, in my case the fill set o-ring was being eaten by the safety vent hole on the Scott valve, but not on the MSA version . We changed the bottle side of the fill set to a stainless one from Amazonia, and all is well in the world. Perhaps mine is a different cheap set, or was a bad run.
The Stickboy has never given me a problem.

 

[Firewalker]

My Scott valves eat o-rings too, I just used an oversized and harder ring and have had no issues since.

 

[JimD]

My fill set came from Joe Brancatto (sp?) and works great. I tried a cheap one off Amazon and it leaked badly. I use a retired Scott tank with the spring removed from the ratchet mechanism. The fill set has a small diameter hose which may help but I have no issue filling even my little Prod from the bottle. The tank valve is easy to control.

 

[scubajeeper]

I bit the bullet years ago and got the Joe B replacement valve and I love it. It’s a little pricey but you get what you pay for. I don’t think my buddy is going to get too deep into airguns. He has a squirrel dog and when she sees a squirrel, she won’t shut up until it’s dead. He lives in a neighborhood and shooting a rimfire is not too safe. I have a Hammerli 850 which I converted to HPA years ago and it’s just been sitting around so I gave it to him. He doesn’t have any experience with PCP’s so I’m trying to get him set up without spending a ton. Thanks for the info. Happy shooting