Blunders in airtank ownership

Have to say that I have never experienced that, but thanks for the tip!

I just had my tank filled today too ($10, sorry !).

Before closing the door and heading down the road, I gave the knob on my valve a "twist" ! It was tight. My third filling, always give it a check, before leaving the dive shop. Just in case !

Good warning to everyone though.



Question for everyone using a tank -

Has anyone removed the round knob on the valve and installed some sort of "T" handle ? The valve on my setup is difficult to open slowly / smoothly, and I was thinking of buying or building a "T" handle.

Mike

You can modify the fill kit for the gun, so the air gets restricted. On some fillkits you can just put a screw, which block the hole where the air enters the fillkit, and the air sips through the small gap. Just do some measurements, so when the kit is screwed onto the tank, the screw willl not fall out.

Whew, that much to fill a tank? How many times can you fill your rifle from that tank? Just curious here, makes my springers look better

new seals in anything really, can take a minute to 'take a set' then they get alittle better, best not to mash them up too hard if you get me ...

and to put it into perspective a typical 45min / 6L / etc tank will vary on how many fills it can do on a gun mainly on how much air the gun uses .. on a smaller gun like say a prod or stormrider, small tank, small caliber you couldnt shoot a big tank empty in a week probably of non-stop dusk till dawn shooting ... on a mid size gun like say a marauder you might get it low in a weekend of non-stop pellet wasting lol ... on a large bottle gun, large caliber/bi bore and alot of shooting - better get 2 or more tanks if its gonna be all day at the range burning up a couple hundred dollars worth of pellets ..

and as far as modifying a fill handle ive done it on one of mine that had super stiff hard to manage operation .. i used king starboard, which is basically an easily milled plastic you can find scraps for on ebay, to make a couple of handles .. you can kinda see what i did in the pic, got some 2" long 3mm screws cut to length and ran them all the way through to attach the knobs .. did the bleeder to whilst i was at it .. works like a charm and solved the problem ..

Whew, that much to fill a tank?  How many times can you fill your rifle from that tank? Just curious here, makes my springers look better

Click to expand...

There’s several variables to take into consideration but here’s a calculator to give you an idea

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

and as far as modifying a fill handle ive done it on one of mine that had super stiff hard to manage operation .. i used king starboard, which is basically an easily milled plastic you can find scraps for on ebay, to make a couple of handles .. you can kinda see what i did in the pic, got some 2" long 3mm screws cut to length and ran them all the way through to attach the knobs .. did the bleeder to whilst i was at it .. works like a charm and solved the problem ..

Click to expand...

Good idea, bigger IS better !

Mike

Corbin, you are a perfect candidate for an air compressr. Each refill at the paintball shop is costing you 3 hours and 15 minutes drive time, another $10 or more for gas for your car, and $20 fill fee. Not to mention the annual "visual inspection fee" that most places charge customers, and a $40 hydro inspection every 5 years. For someone in your shoes, a compressor is not a convenience, it's a necessity. Buy the best one you can afford and you'll never regret it.

@humdinger I would LOVE to get a compressor but it is definitely not in the budget. I made a commitment a few years back not to buy anything from China, and that puts all compressors out of reach for now. Maybe if I save up for a year! It has resulted in spending more on this airgunning endeavor (and most other everyday items) than I had realized starting out, but I have to stick to my guns. I work in town and make the commute 4-5 days a week, drive right past the paintball shop, so not out of the way there. Believe me, we combine workday trips for errands and grocery etc. Right now I just don't have the time to shoot a much as I would like, so I'm only airing up once or twice a week anyways, but that may (hopefully) change in the future. Have been hand pumping, not too bad, and now I'll have tank to keep rifle filled. The plan is to eventually save up for compressor, until then I'll just have to make sure that valve is closed!

Click to expand...

If your budget and plans change you may want to look into he Alkin Mariner W31. To my understanding they are manufactured in Turkey and I believe they are assembled in New Jersey. Coltri is Italian compressor company, but I honestly don’t know anything about their manufacturing. Coltri compressors are more affordable than Alkins from my observation. @Humdinger and a few others can tell you way more about them than I can. 

"I work in town and make the commute 4-5 days a week, drive right past the paintball shop, so not out of the way there."

The bottom line-a compressor might make your life a bit easier but in your case it certainly doesn't seem like a necessity.

@humdinger I would LOVE to get a compressor but it is definitely not in the budget. I made a commitment a few years back not to buy anything from China, and that puts all compressors out of reach for now. Maybe if I save up for a year! It has resulted in spending more on this airgunning endeavor (and most other everyday items) than I had realized starting out, but I have to stick to my guns. I work in town and make the commute 4-5 days a week, drive right past the paintball shop, so not out of the way there. Believe me, we combine workday trips for errands and grocery etc. Right now I just don't have the time to shoot a much as I would like, so I'm only airing up once or twice a week anyways, but that may (hopefully) change in the future. Have been hand pumping, not too bad, and now I'll have tank to keep rifle filled. The plan is to eventually save up for compressor, until then I'll just have to make sure that valve is closed!

Click to expand...

Yea but you can't go wrong with an YH. I have three compressors and the YH I use alot. I have one of them expensive omega air chargers and it down and the cylinder is at the guys that imports there house don't know when I will get it back. I would never buy an omega again. the YH is a work horse.





.

Made it home with full tank today, made sure when I left that I double checked the valve! Guy didn't charge me anything when I told him what happened, that was great, told me $20 was because he filled tank from empty, said it would only be $10 from now on if I'm just topping off even better.

Click to expand...

That sounds about right. I was wondering what was with the $20 charge. That was cool of him to fill it again gratis.