A fix to air tanks?

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Arsenul

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Jan 27, 2016
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I'm looking online and there are two things that are stopping me from getting a PCP air rifle. One, they are expensive, but it's a air gun, that makes sense. But the tanks I find online are almost as expensive as the gun! Why on earth is that? Couldn't I take a paintball gun tank instead? Why does it have to be that insanely expensive? What are some other things I can use?
 
A word of advice-don't buy any tank until you have a place to get it filled!
I too have balked at the cost of carbon fiber tanks, not to mention they are worthless without a place nearby to get them filled (not everyone does 4500 psi fills) . I opted to use guns tuned for low pressure fills. I have Marauders in .22 and .25, and a CZs200 in .22. They work on 2500 psi or less. I found a guy in my area who does hydro testing and always has used tanks for sale. I paid $125 each for my tanks and get lots of shooting in between tank fills. Another great platform for scuba fills is the Benjamin Discovery which usually works best at 1800 psi. They're decent out of the box and can be tricked out and dolled up if you wish. I think I got a almost a year worth of shooting from my Discovery before I needed to get my tank filled.
With two tanks you can cascade by filling with the emptiest tank to the maximum pressure in the tank, then using the freshest tank to top off to full pressure.
Warning!-once you have the fill equipment the guns have a tendency to proliferate!
John
 
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I recently bought a 97 cu. ft. carbon fiber tank (called the Great White) from www.airtanksforsale.com and it's fantastic! Yes, it's expensive but well worth the price. I'm getting around 55 fills on my Hatsan AT-44 when my tank is filled up to 4500 PSI, but it will safely pressure to 5000 giving you another 7-10 fills. Think of it as an investment. I shoot pests and paper targets every day so a good supply of HPA is a necessity for me.
 
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You can use a paintball tank, but they don't hold enough to do more than a couple of fills before they need to be refilled. Most are 90 cubic INCHES vs a tank that is 88 cubic FEET. Be careful using a tank beyond its 15 year age limit. There is good data showing these tanks can potentially last longer than that, but it was with regular testing via a method that I don't know is available right now to the general public.
 
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I decided to get into PCP last June and looked at the buy in - gun, scope, and air source. It was a little intimidating. First I bought a scope, then a 90 C.I. 4500 psi tank and then a Marauder in October. I liked it so much I bought a Talon in November. I soon realized that I was using a lot of air as I would shoot 2 times a week in my back yard = around a 120 pellets each time. There is a Sport Chalet about 15 miles from me so I have a source for air, but it is out of the way for my normal travels. So I bought a pump - that helps a lot. Now I'm planning to buy a bigger tank this year and another rifle, so I should be pretty well set up. If you figure that you shoot 1000 pellets for around $30 - $40 versus $300 - $500 or more for a 1,000 rounds of rifle ammo you can justify the investment in equipment. The only cheap rifle ammo is 22 and I don't have one. I probably spent over $1500 in 2015 on ammo. This year I've already ordered 500 rounds of 17 HMR and 600 rounds of 223 for a total of $380 shipped. This should last for most of the year as I'm shooting my PCP's more often. I just received 2000 pelllets from Pyramid for $50 shipped. Should last me for about 3 months.
I forgot to mention that when I bought my Talon, Air Gun Depot included the AF CO2 adapter and a 9 oz. CO2 bottle. I installed it and shot it today for the first time. You are supposed to get many more shots per bottle than with the standard pressurized air tank. Just another option.
 
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RidinLou, just saw this reply from you. Thanks for the info. So far, Pyramid Air keeps telling me my rifle won't be available until Oct. 6. Lady tells me yesterday that it should arrive by Sept. 29! Can't get a straight answer. IF if does arrive next week, I'll also have a Hill 4 pump with it so will be able to shoot right away. To quote Conan the Barbarian..."We shall see".
AlliInLL
===============AllilnLLI do not think a helium tank even comes close to the pressures needed to fill any of the PCP guns.
 
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Another option is to shoot nitrogen. Call your local red ball/and or welding supplier. Evwr see a welder's rig? You can rent a very large 6000psi nitrogen tank from these guys and get a crap load of fills off of that one tank. They typically charge a yearly rental fee for the tank, and then another fee to fill it up each time. Ive heard of yearly rental rates ranging between 60 bucks all the way to a 150 bucks. Fill prices vary also depending on your local supply. May cost 60 to 80 to fill. I bet Im not saving anything on fills with my great white vs someone with a nitrogen tank. There is just the yearly rental fee. Nitrogen is very very dry and completely safe for pcp rifles. Also, call around to various scuba shops and see if they have any old scba tanks laying around. Its not uncommon to pick one up for dirt cheap that has 5 years or more left on it.
 
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AlliInLLMarksman3006, thanks for the info. As for shooting nitrogen, would anything need to be changed? Seals, o rings, etc?
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Not one single thing!! You would need a valve and hose to hook up to your gun tho. I would contact airtanksforsale and tell them you need a valve for just this purpose. I never got that far in my research but couldnt be too much more. I know people do it. Research what everything would run you in your area.
 
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