Okay, here is a write up on the tear down and modding of my new straight from china “Hatsan Spark”. My warranty is completely voided and this is not a how-to, just for information only. Tinkering with high pressure air systems can be deadly and is to be done at your own risk!
Disclaimer aside now, it is not sold by Hatsan, but by all appearances seems to be the same unit. For that matter it seems to use the same basic components as the Traveler and the Nomad, minus the extra features. On that note if anyone owning one of those models is going to tear it apart anytime soon, please take pictures. I would like to eventually get a list of compatible parts. And maybe us cheapo Spark guys can one day add a Nomad style water/oil trap.
All I did was add a high pressure filter/anion bead/charcoal filter from Airmega and then a prefilter and desiccant separator on the inlet side. I wanted to add those inlet filters because I know the air being taken in is humid already and what comes out is a product of what goes in.
Opening it up.
Really a neat concept, dirt simple.
Close up of reciprocating action.
Here is the inlet. Just a brass filter. I think there must be a check valve built into the inlet, but is not on the fitting itself.
Short story is I removed that and replaced it with some fittings (brass) to put an air hose on it and run it outside the case to attach my filters.
Longer version of that story is that many of the threaded ports on this are M10x1.0 (I think, pretty sure anyway), the male foster outlet is M10x1.0. And that is close enough to 1/8 NPT for an NPT fitting to work. Just an inlet, no pressure, no worries. But that inlet port fitting is NOT the same as the rest of the fittings I checked before I started. It is M10x0.9 and no 1/8 NPT fitting or even the other M10s would thread in. As luck would have it I have multiple 1/8 NPT dies. One of them is mislabeled. I don't even know what it was, but the odd ball metric brass inlet fitting threaded right into the die, so I chased my 1/8 NPT fitting with it and all was well.
I don't have a picture, but I had to cut a hole into the bottom of the case and used a 1/8 to 1/4 bushing and then a female/female coupler and got my air hose on.
Here is a side note. I work with hydraulics and pneumatics as an engineer. Not a licensed or certifeid engineer, just a mechanical jack-of-all trades engineer. That cylinder setup is deceptively simple. Here is my best guess at the check valve arrangement. It's technically a two stage compressor. It may very well be different from my below layout, but its my best off-the-cuff guess. Also, that poor rod sees quite a bit of force off its center line. Not exactly side loaded, but not exactly stress free either.
And I did not disassemble everything that far without trying to get the "cylinder" apart. But I didn't want to tear down the hole reciprocating thing and my longest hex wrenches were flexing too much to turn by hand. It needs to be done with an impact and I just didn't go far enough to document the valving.
Now it has to be operated on its side. I think the gearmotor is greased instead of oiled, but either way its in a "gears down" position. I fired it up, let it build pressure a few times and called it a day. I will try to report back after enough hours are put on it.
My overall impression is good so far. As said earlier, it is dirt simple. Not much on it I can't replace or have made cheaply.
If anyone knows the gearmotor's output rpm, please share. I forgot to check for a data plate and don't have ready access to a tach. Maybe I can just time it good enough later.
Disclaimer aside now, it is not sold by Hatsan, but by all appearances seems to be the same unit. For that matter it seems to use the same basic components as the Traveler and the Nomad, minus the extra features. On that note if anyone owning one of those models is going to tear it apart anytime soon, please take pictures. I would like to eventually get a list of compatible parts. And maybe us cheapo Spark guys can one day add a Nomad style water/oil trap.
All I did was add a high pressure filter/anion bead/charcoal filter from Airmega and then a prefilter and desiccant separator on the inlet side. I wanted to add those inlet filters because I know the air being taken in is humid already and what comes out is a product of what goes in.
Opening it up.
Really a neat concept, dirt simple.
Close up of reciprocating action.
Here is the inlet. Just a brass filter. I think there must be a check valve built into the inlet, but is not on the fitting itself.
Short story is I removed that and replaced it with some fittings (brass) to put an air hose on it and run it outside the case to attach my filters.
Longer version of that story is that many of the threaded ports on this are M10x1.0 (I think, pretty sure anyway), the male foster outlet is M10x1.0. And that is close enough to 1/8 NPT for an NPT fitting to work. Just an inlet, no pressure, no worries. But that inlet port fitting is NOT the same as the rest of the fittings I checked before I started. It is M10x0.9 and no 1/8 NPT fitting or even the other M10s would thread in. As luck would have it I have multiple 1/8 NPT dies. One of them is mislabeled. I don't even know what it was, but the odd ball metric brass inlet fitting threaded right into the die, so I chased my 1/8 NPT fitting with it and all was well.
I don't have a picture, but I had to cut a hole into the bottom of the case and used a 1/8 to 1/4 bushing and then a female/female coupler and got my air hose on.
Here is a side note. I work with hydraulics and pneumatics as an engineer. Not a licensed or certifeid engineer, just a mechanical jack-of-all trades engineer. That cylinder setup is deceptively simple. Here is my best guess at the check valve arrangement. It's technically a two stage compressor. It may very well be different from my below layout, but its my best off-the-cuff guess. Also, that poor rod sees quite a bit of force off its center line. Not exactly side loaded, but not exactly stress free either.
And I did not disassemble everything that far without trying to get the "cylinder" apart. But I didn't want to tear down the hole reciprocating thing and my longest hex wrenches were flexing too much to turn by hand. It needs to be done with an impact and I just didn't go far enough to document the valving.
Now it has to be operated on its side. I think the gearmotor is greased instead of oiled, but either way its in a "gears down" position. I fired it up, let it build pressure a few times and called it a day. I will try to report back after enough hours are put on it.
My overall impression is good so far. As said earlier, it is dirt simple. Not much on it I can't replace or have made cheaply.
If anyone knows the gearmotor's output rpm, please share. I forgot to check for a data plate and don't have ready access to a tach. Maybe I can just time it good enough later.
