Fill whips, lines

I noticed that a lot of the Chinese lines (my assumption that they are) have a full length spring to contain the hose from whipping if the hose were to blow off. But I'm more concerned about the fittings. I always do a tug test after every connection is made. As some lose the retaining balls as they wear. I check my fittings often and see that they do wear. When I see cracks or missing balls I toss them and get replacements. At one time when I was really afraid of them popping off I used a slip loop safety cable at each fitting. I probably should start doing those again.

Allen

Like said above, periodically check the fill whips o'ring and ball bearings, these are what connects and holds the female foster fitting onto male fitting. I also place a drop of pure silicone lube on said o'ring and inside male fittings.

I've only been shooting PCPs since 2019 so my equipment is still fairly new. But definitely something to consider. I also pull test connections and I also add air slowly. I am using the stock Scott valve on my SCBA tank but I think it throttles airflow pretty easily. I like to feel when the air starts to flow in the line, then when the pressure in the line exceeds the pressure in the guns storage tank, then I watch the gauge until I get to the target fill pressure. The whole time my hand is on the valve ready to close it. If things don't seem to be going as planned, I close the valve and think about it a minute. The one way valve on my P35-25, for instance, is kind of stubborn about letting air in. So it gets a blip, I turn the pressure off, then another blip until it opens. I do not want anything unexpected happening. When I run my YH to fill my SCBA tank I am a little tensed up. Seems like the most dangerous operation. I have a one way valve at the inlet to my extra moisture filter so my tank cannot pressurize the YH. I also do not loose air when I vent the YH to let out moisture. During the fill, my safety is opening the YH vent. It stops the fill but I don't loose what I've already done unless I have a problem with the tank or line to the moisture filter. My next actions are to close the tank valve then open the vent on the fill set.

The worst thing that's happened so far is when I blew an O-ring on the extra moisture filter. I vented the YH, shut off the tank, vented the fill lines, and replaced the O-ring. The I restarted the YH and finished the fill. For me it is important to consistently follow the same steps so I will do it if things get a little tense.

The safety connectors you are referencing are "Hose Cable Chokers". They are used to restrain the junction of two hoses and are designed and intended to be used at airgun HPA pressures.

https://www.chicagocoupling.com/hose-safety/cable-choker-restrain

JimD said:

The worst thing that's happened so far is when I blew an O-ring on the extra moisture filter. I vented the YH, shut off the tank, vented the fill lines, and replaced the O-ring. The I restarted the YH and finished the fill. For me it is important to consistently follow the same steps so I will do it if things get a little tense.

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With YH set up I feel like you should have a checklist like a pilot.

badger5th said:

The safety connectors you are referencing are "Hose Cable Chokers". They are used to restrain the junction of two hoses and are designed and intended to be used at airgun HPA pressures.

https://www.chicagocoupling.com/hose-safety/cable-choker-restrain

Click to expand...

Lol, Exactly! Except I never really knew they existed! Or what they were called for that matter. So I'm not the only person who thought of making some type of restraint to tame or prevent a whip from happening. Originally this is what I used, just a small diameter made with a slip typ choker loop on each end just to hold onto the hose incase the connection broke.




But then I was afraid that the cable itself would be abrasive and damage the area where the attachment points were. So I started making them out of Kevlar string. Which actually had more holding power than the wire cable.




Hose Cable Chokers...

okay!




Allen

Back in the day I worked with pressurized hoses and lines, both high volume air up to 160 psi, and fluids up to 4500 psi. Two things that eventually became second nature are to assume that all lines are pressurized, and to use whip checks at EVERY connection not permanently hard piped. That practice served me well at work, and yesterday where I had 2 HPA disconnects within 5 minutes of each other, of coarse both at over 200 bar. The first disconnect was at a male to male connector where the fitting evidently deformed from use to the point it bypassed the quick-connect design. The other was most likely the result of the violent surge to the line which apparently affected the quick-connect at the end partially disconnecting it, but not obvious to the eye. So after replacing the failed male to male, I resumed filling. Both disconnects were controlled by the whip checks, so no property damage nor injury. Hopefully this will remind us to ensure that we have this safety measure in place at all times and regularly checked for adequate application to the potential risk.


The fitting that went bad.


Replaced with a quality Best Fittings connector. Note whip check.


The second disconnect occurred at the fill probe. Note the whip check on that end.

@Healthservices , where did you get the Kevlar cord and the little aluminum thingies?

igolfat8 said:

@Healthservices , where did you get the Kevlar cord and the little aluminum thingies?

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They are called Aluminum Cable Ferrules and Stops. They can be bought at either hardware or farm supplies stores, located in the bulk cable and chain isle.

Amazon of course!


emma kites 100% Black Kevlar Braided Cord (0.4~4.6mm Dia, 50lb~1800lb) High Strength, Abrasion Flame Resistant, Tough Survival Tactical Cord Model Rocket Paracord Snare Line Fishing Assist Cord https://a.co/d/0UgAfH2

Sanuke 340PCS Stainless Steel Wire Rope Cable Thimbles Aluminum Crimping Loop Sleeve 3/64'' 1/16'' 5/64'' 3/32'' 3/16'' for Wire Rope Cable Thimbles Rigging https://a.co/d/04WPbDD

Allen

Thanks Allen!