PCP design with least O-rings?

O rings are cheap. Like few cents per o rings. And they only need to be change out like once in a long long time. I have an impact for a year and havent change any o rings. I have a marauder rifle since 2010 and only change the o ring in the valve once. That is like 10 years old. Some people read about 1 o ring failed and they get paranoid. Lol. Most guns will not require o ring change for years to come. And when the time do come. It's a few cents to get a replacement. 

I am not sure which gun has the least number of o-rings but some only have three or four. CO2 guns can have even less.

Just because an airgun has less o-rings doesn't mean it will outlast or be less of a problem than one with more. 

As far as easiest to replace that would depend on how often one has replaced o-rings in the individual gun and how mechanically inclined one is. I have not had problems with any of the guns I have replaced o-rings on and that has been quite a few in my several decades of repairing and modifying air guns.

Ask fifty people which gun is most or least problematic and you will get many different answers that mean little as it really depends on how old the guns are, how much they got used/abused and how many were sold.

My first PCP was an Impact X. I had some issues with low velocity (sent it in to FX), then immediately had a bunch of leaks. I had to send it back in a couple of times. It's been 6 months now, and it runs perfectly. To their credit, FX has exceptional customer support. The warranty repairs were quick. Leaks can be tough to track down, but they got it right.

Being a little intimidated with all those O rings (and even the experts needed a couple of tries to fix it), I decided to get a Marauder. I don't know if it has the LEAST amount of O rings, but there are only a couple of sizes, all available at a hardware store, and most just slip over an easy to reach part. 

Marauders are certainly work horse Air Guns and are built to last. I'm sure there are a lot more different ones out there too, that are easy to work on.

I don’t know how it compares but I think that the number of o-rings in the Cricket are low. 
I really like the Cricket for its simple clean design. While other Airguns in my collection have their problem, my Cricket just keeps on going. 

For the most part, don’t think this is a good metric to drive your choice of purchase. All o-rings will take a set over time. Ones under pressure, more so. Just plan on a full replacement every three years or so. Now, the ones that are subject to normal wear and tear, like bolt/barrel probe and fill probe, should be relatively easy to replace.

Now, I would make sure whatever pcp choice you make, that it does have complete O-ring kits available. Metric o-rings are harder to source here in the states. Especially if a oddball size or a material other than buna-N. Also, less choices in 90D hardness.

I have asked a similar question before. Most responses were: For ease of & DIY maintenance get an Edgun. Maybe there’s another or better, but that’s the data I got then. 

O-rings are a very interesting subject with a lot of different feedback, the reason for that I believe, is the damn things can go ten years or ten minutes? A lot depends on how they were assembled and what their role is, also some lubes and solvents can make them hard and crack prematurely, temperature and environment also play a large role.I recently upgraded/updated a large Oring assortment at work and I asked the manufacturer about the shelf life of the product. He said the recommend shelf life was five years, then pitch and replace if not used? But as mentioned above, if your into Airguns? Be prepared to change an o ring here and their. Several of the o rings I have replaced had been roughed up or damaged in assembly it appeared and rarely gave me any trouble after careful replacement, also, I believe every air gunner should have a tube of molykote 55/ or Dow 55 or equivalent, great oring assembly product, use it almost everyday at work Oh, and get a cheap set of 10x-20x set of eye loupes, you will be shocked at what they show you. Good luck and great question, sorry if I got off topic a bit.

By far.... the Air force series. Can't think of any other that comes close for simplicity and oring count. If you think old school ... a tube with one in each end plus fill valve plus exhaust valve plus transfer port, these are probably next. I do not own an Air Force but of all I own or have been inside, my Theoben Mk1 is likely what I would choose for your question. All stainless valve with no regulator and very good consistency across a wide pressure range plus very good magazine and solid barrel support and not heavy.

Based on what I've gleaned from the Parker Oring site references, BunaN (neoprene) has a shelf life of 7 years where Viton and Urethane are not rated, meaning they are essentially unlimited. This would depend on environmental conditions and material quality for sure. They all have other qualities that may affect the choice but you can go there and research that for yourself. I personally prefer Viton for most applications and Urethane for tough use.

Most manufacturers use BunaN ... most likely ease of acquisition in the sizes they need and expense. As such, they will likely need rebuild in 7 to 9 years. My USFT, however , is 17 years old and still hasn't needed even 1 and my Theoben Mk1 and Falcon FN19 are older and I just resealed them the first time last year. All the Daystates I've had went 9 years before needing seals and my Air Arms didn't make 5 before needing them. The absolute worst I've dealt with was called a Sweet 16. VERY complicated and more orings than you could count. Absolute engineering nightmare.

Another thought... Hatsan AT series and the CZ S200 (probably others as well) have a removable tube that has the exhaust valve integrated. They are simple and could likely be rebuilt in the field once you saw what was involved. The Hatsan uses a more difficult to find valve seat oring but you could certainly get spares somehow.

Bob

The impact has 46? As far as I'm aware my Crown has 9? That I'm aware of

My pp800 has 7 2 on the valve housing, 2 on the transfer port, 2 on the barrel, 1 on the fill cap

Would have to be the AF rigs as far as # of o-rings. A Maruader isnt too bad at all. 

Had a career 707II last 12+ years w/out a leak (oring), had 3 different air arms ( also very simple to work on) last over 10 years w/out maintenance 1 fired over 90,000 pellets.

O-rings are only good for 10 years but may last many longer. If lasting less some design issue is at play.

An RAW is a very simple rifle with very few poarts to work on also.







John

Marauders air containment uses just 6 o-rings

Valve 1

Gauge manifold 3

End cap 1

Foster check valve 1

I am not sure which gun has the least number of o-rings but some only have three or four. CO2 guns can have even less.

Just because an airgun has less o-rings doesn't mean it will outlast or be less of a problem than one with more. 

As far as easiest to replace that would depend on how often one has replaced o-rings in the individual gun and how mechanically inclined one is. I have not had problems with any of the guns I have replaced o-rings on and that has been quite a few in my several decades of repairing and modifying air guns.

Ask fifty people which gun is most or least problematic and you will get many different answers that mean little as it really depends on how old the guns are, how much they got used/abused and how many were sold.

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Great answer, thank you.

my point in asking about less o-rings is to find which designs have less variables to solve for in the event of a leak. For example, if an Impact has 47 o-rings (what I read in this forum) and another design has only 6, then the 6 ring design would likely be easier to diagnose...does that make sense?

For the first responder, I don’t care about the cost of o-rings. More of my focus is on difficulty to replace them, actually.

PS: I am able to field strip a pistol or AR, and maybe replace some parts on a simple pistol like a Glock, but don’t want to get in over my head with a complicated PCP that I can’t maintain myself.

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Yes, that does make perfect sense. My guess is if you are able to field strip an AR you are likely with the help of all of the videos out and about to strip down most airguns. Diagnostic wise they can be a pain but there really aren't that many problems to diagnose and there are plenty of vids out there to help with that also. I had a very slow leak on my Impact for months and when I finally decided to tackle it what I found was just a loose tank gauge. I was a bit intimidated by the Impact at first but once I tore into it that vanished immediately as I found that it is really not that complex after all.

Still I can understand the desire for simple.

Edit: Opps my post was meant for another thread. But I do believe the Brocok Concept has about 10 and no guages. I think the Priest has a pretty low oring count as well. 

PCP airguns need maintenance and it is good to know what you are doing.

I love to know and disassemble my airguns.