5 year CF bottle hydrotested for airguns, are you having it done?

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My local municipalities supply will do a hydro test for a SCBA tank for around $20. That's pretty cheap insurance. It's probably not likely that it will fail considering the engineering behind CFRP bottles but there are engineering based reasons why it's mandated that they get periodically tested.

For those that are arguing 250 vs 300 bar or where it's located on the rifle, in my opinion those differences are too small to really matter. I don't have testing to back this up but in my opinion if there is a bottle failure while you're shooting the gun, you are going to get at a minimum an expensive trip to the hospital. Let's not downplay that in the case of failure it's like a bomb going off. Just because CFRP doesn't fatigue like metals doesn't mean it shouldn't be checked. It still fatigues and is still subject to failure.


For me, when it's time for my Uragan's bottle to be tested (it does have a date on it), I'll contact my local shop and see if they can do it. If they can't I'll get another bottle. Again cheap insurance. 
 
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The tanks that The Fire Depts use are removed from service after 15 years. But over in Europe they are good for 30 years before they can't fill anymore. This is what I was told by a dive shop that fills tanks. I got some large carbon fiber tanks from a friend in the service that took them from large life rafts when they hit the 15 year date. They were as new never left the warehouse except to be tested. So far so good I fill them myself.
 
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Are you asking about the bottle on the gun? I remember something about under a certain diameter bottles did not need hydro testing. Maybe 2 inches or less.

I just checked my 580cc carbon fiber bottle I had installed on my FX400 I got from AOA in March. It says 1st inspection. 2024 - final inspection 2034. I guess it was made in 2019 as it was new in 2020. Just a made date on my 480cc bottles.
 
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Are you asking about the bottle on the gun? I remember something about under a certain diameter bottles did not need hydro testing. Maybe 2 inches or less.

I just checked my 580cc carbon fiber bottle I had installed on my FX400 I got from AOA in March. It says 1st inspection. 2024 - final inspection 2034. I guess it was made in 2019 as it was new in 2020. Just a made date on my 480cc bottles.
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If you are referring to my first post, yes, the bottle on the gun. And, just like most all bottles that I've seen or read about, yours has a 15 year life with inspections every 5 years until that 15 years is up. However, I know that PA was selling large tanks that were certified for 30 years and most of them had already passed the 15 year mark, or close to it. 

The funny thing is, I think even aluminum tanks on guns (aluminum bottles) have inspection dates, I don't think it's just CF. I still find it odd that manufacturers and vendors don't mention anything about getting the CF bottles on guns inspected, it's up to the customer to be aware of potential safety issues and whether or not they should have it hydrotested every 5 years. I'm not the Internet airgun police, personally, I don't care if people get it done or not. I've not heard of any accidents from a CF or aluminum bottled gun as far as bottle failures go. I think that even my Daystate Regal has a date on airtube, I'll have to look at that again and verify. PCPs have been around for a long time and the safety track record has been excellent, if there were issues I doubt that they would be as popular as they are today. We worry about buying DOT certified large tanks, yet our gun reservoirs aren't DOT certified and they see more abuse than a tank, at least my guns sure do. I appreciate all of the input and dialog from everyone.
 
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“We worry about buying DOT certified large tanks, yet our gun reservoirs aren't DOT certified and they see more abuse than a tank, at least my guns sure do.”
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That is a very good point. Our fill tanks need to be DOT approved for a dive shop to fill them with current hydro test. They will not fill CE certified tanks. Most (but not all) small CF tanks on guns are CE certified but we fill our own guns and not a dive shop. I have a couple Talon Tunes 480 cc CF bottles that are DOT but just out of certification, if I can hydro test cheap I may do it, but they are in excellent visual condition otherwise. BTW, CF tanks have an aluminum liner, it’s just thinner than all aluminum bottles. All they do to hydro test is a visual inspection inside and out, pressure it up to test pressure and measure expansion. The test pressure and expansion tolerance is on the bottle tag.
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The dive shop that I use in S.E. Portland , Oregon quoted me $80 but I have 3 more years left .I've got to get off my butt & get my shoebox running ,it's new & never been started . I'm not sure on the bottle guns as I'm trying to stay away from them , But that new FX MAV---- is really catching my EYE LOL





I live in SE Pornland , Yourgone as well. Used to be nice place to live although not so much these days with the sanctuary city, all the rioting and usually in the top ten or so for more pic shops per capita than 99+% of US cities and all the rest of the insanity. I be leaving my longtime home soon enough. It's sad I feel the need to go though. 😪

Yea, that Maverick looks like the stuff for sure I am thinking seriously on it also even though I already have an impact.



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Not sure I'd want this happening to me (I assume this occurred when testing). Link jumps directly to the time in the video where the tank is shown:



https://youtu.be/AlFWTcgjhl8?t=130

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I would assume that the tank did that with much higher pressure than the test limit. I bet that was done to show people that things can happen, however, remember that they are a test facility and they only stay in business when they have customers. I've seen videos where people shoot CF tanks with high powered rifles (CF tanks filled to 4500psi) and they don't explode like that at all. Not saying it can't or doesn't happen, but I think that is a little extreme. Imagine if a high end airgun manufacturer showed the public what a CF bottle looked like when something like this happens? The tank manufacturer isn't showing pics or videos, it's the testing facilities that do. Not trying to be controversial, after all, I started this post, just pointing out that you don't hear of any accidents, and if you do, it's probably very rare. 
 
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I just took my little CF guppy tank to the paintball store to get it filled and they told me it was 2 years out of hydro. So I took it to the scuba shop and hopefully in 10 days and $54 it will have a nice sticker that will allow my to get it filled again. I usually get it filled at a different paintball store that a buddy owns, they have never checked the date on it. So to answer your question, yes.
 
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This may sound really dumb, but I don't really want my large CF tank hydro tested anymore now that I fill it myself and it's older. My thinking is that if hydro tested, they will put the 7000 psi to it and weaken it more, or stress it more than if I just keep it at or below 4500 psi. I wouldn't mind the visual inspection inside of it that they also do, but they're going to really stress it out more with the high pressure test.
 
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