I'm looking at getting a bottle for refills. After shopping around I believe I'll go with a AL19 with a DIN valve. I can pickup a new one at the dive shop for 175 filled and10 free refills. This would give me 2.9 liter of air. The tank is rated at 3000psi or 207 bar. Empty weight is 8 pounds. With this being said does someone know any reason not to?
AL19 tank refills
- Thread starter Gary61
- Start date
I can give you several reasons not to. It is the worst mistake I ever made in purchases for this sport. You'll be wishing you had your money back in no time.
First, you are only getting 2.9 liters of air at 3000 psi. Most PCPs are 3,000 psi fills so after your first fill you are only getting partial fills. You should get a carbon fiber tank that holds at least 6.8 liters capacity which will weigh the same as the aluminum tank and give you 66 cubic feet of air at 4500 psi. You'll be constantly running back and forth to the dive shop for air in no time with that small aluminum tank. After your 10 free fills you'll be paying the same amount as someone with a tank that is giving them many more fills than you are getting.
In summary, you are lugging a heavy tank, getting very few fills, and will grow tired of frequent, costly trips for refills. In a word, don't! Get a carbon fiber 6.8 liter or 9 liter capacity tank. Cry once, not twice. A small aluminum tank is the worst value you could possibly get for your money. If you can't afford a carbon fiber tank set, get a small compressor like a Yong Heng and direct fill your PCPs until you can buy a carbon fiber tank set. You'll be glad you did.
First, you are only getting 2.9 liters of air at 3000 psi. Most PCPs are 3,000 psi fills so after your first fill you are only getting partial fills. You should get a carbon fiber tank that holds at least 6.8 liters capacity which will weigh the same as the aluminum tank and give you 66 cubic feet of air at 4500 psi. You'll be constantly running back and forth to the dive shop for air in no time with that small aluminum tank. After your 10 free fills you'll be paying the same amount as someone with a tank that is giving them many more fills than you are getting.
In summary, you are lugging a heavy tank, getting very few fills, and will grow tired of frequent, costly trips for refills. In a word, don't! Get a carbon fiber 6.8 liter or 9 liter capacity tank. Cry once, not twice. A small aluminum tank is the worst value you could possibly get for your money. If you can't afford a carbon fiber tank set, get a small compressor like a Yong Heng and direct fill your PCPs until you can buy a carbon fiber tank set. You'll be glad you did.
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I totally agree with Steve, don't do it. I tend to stop to refill my carbon tank well before it even gets to 3000 psi. Your bottle maxes out at 3000.
Don't do it.
Allen
Don't do it.
Allen
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I agree with all above. It will be an exercise in frustration for you. That's why MOST people get 4500psi SCBA tanks not SCUBA tanks. Much better to have a tank that fills above the max pressure of your gun's bottle/air tube. They're also LIGHTER than a Scuba tank.
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I have a steel SCUBA HP100cf (12.9L 3442PSI), small FABER brand steel SCUBA HP15 (2L 3442PSI), and also two carbon fiber 4500PSI tanks 6.8L and 9L. Aluminum is the worst choice due to 3000PSI fill pressure and I don't think it should be considered when high pressure steel is an option. The HP steel tanks can give you a lot of fills if you are shooting a small caliber PCP with low fill pressure. I bought the HP100 tank first and only had a 22 marauder with a fill pressure in the 2800-2500psi range at that time. I good number of fills off that steel tank, but it was such a heavy beast I didn't even want to carry it the short distance to the backyard. Cost breakdown was tank $170 (used), fill kit $150, tank hydro $40 = ~$360. The best steel option I believe is the HP80cf (10.2L) size which is the best balance of size/weight/cost. This is probably the most common steel scuba tank these days.
Now while you can get by with steel tanks if your gun and shooting style match (small calliber, low fill pressure, not a ton of shooting, not traveling with the tank much), they are still not the best option. 1)Portability - even the biggest 9L carbon tank is going to weigh half of a steel HP80 tank. You won't think twice about grabbing the carbon tank, but you will with the steel tank, and you will grow to hate the weight. Also, during transport the steel tank needs to be secured more since it is twice the weight and will be a more deadly projectile in any accident. 2) Fills - if you can only fill a carbon tank to ~3500psi due to dive shop limitations, it is going to offer similar gun fills to a steel tank, but will offer much better portability. If you can fill the carbon tank to full 4500psi, there is no contest and the carbon tank will offer many more fills than the ~3500psi steel tanks. If at any point in the future you get into a PCP with higher fill pressure or bigger caliber that uses more air, a steel tank is going to be almost useless. Exception being if you wanted to tether directly to a gun.
In short, a carbon tank setup is going to cost around double what you could get a steel scuba tank setup for, but offer a lot more long term advantages. My steel tanks now just sit in my garage since I don't shoot the marauder any more and my Impacts fill to 3600psi.
Now while you can get by with steel tanks if your gun and shooting style match (small calliber, low fill pressure, not a ton of shooting, not traveling with the tank much), they are still not the best option. 1)Portability - even the biggest 9L carbon tank is going to weigh half of a steel HP80 tank. You won't think twice about grabbing the carbon tank, but you will with the steel tank, and you will grow to hate the weight. Also, during transport the steel tank needs to be secured more since it is twice the weight and will be a more deadly projectile in any accident. 2) Fills - if you can only fill a carbon tank to ~3500psi due to dive shop limitations, it is going to offer similar gun fills to a steel tank, but will offer much better portability. If you can fill the carbon tank to full 4500psi, there is no contest and the carbon tank will offer many more fills than the ~3500psi steel tanks. If at any point in the future you get into a PCP with higher fill pressure or bigger caliber that uses more air, a steel tank is going to be almost useless. Exception being if you wanted to tether directly to a gun.
In short, a carbon tank setup is going to cost around double what you could get a steel scuba tank setup for, but offer a lot more long term advantages. My steel tanks now just sit in my garage since I don't shoot the marauder any more and my Impacts fill to 3600psi.
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I currently have 2 HP100's that I use for diving. Not only are they heavy but I dive doubles. And only disconnect the two when it's time for inspection.
But all that to the side I found some 30 minute and 60 minute scba tanks on ebay. How many liters are they?
But all that to the side I found some 30 minute and 60 minute scba tanks on ebay. How many liters are they?
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A 60 minute SCBA is 88 cu ft. A 30 minute tank is 45 cu ft. Google a conversion to find liters.
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I really hate the cubic feet nomenclature since it can be used to show different capacities depending on interpretation. At least on the SCUBA side ratings are pretty constent, but for SCBA they are advertised all over the place.
Here is the volume sizing for SCBA:
60 minutes = 9 Liter
45 minutes = 6.8 Liter
30 minutes = 4.7 Liter
Here is the volume sizing for SCBA:
60 minutes = 9 Liter
45 minutes = 6.8 Liter
30 minutes = 4.7 Liter
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I don't think you'll regret it! You'll get a decent amount of capacity fills on your gun & you won't have to lug around a heavier tank. Will your tank use CGA347 fittings? Lots of options for those out there.
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Good call on the fitting side of things. One thing to consider is that if you are buying a high quality fill kit to adapt to a firefighter valve like CGA347, the price difference for jumping straight to a dedicated airgun valve for your tank may be worth it. Looking at Joe Brancato's options (airtanksforsale/experthpa/topgun-airguns), a CGA347 fill kit is $160 while the entire valve with included fill hose is $230. The airgun tank valve has some advantages. It is much more compact since the gauge and bleed screw are built into the valve itself. All you have is the foster nipple sticking out, so there is nothing to disassemble for transport. I even leave the hose attached to mine. The other advantage is a gauge port that will show tank pressure at all times. The convenience of being able to glance at the gauge and see tank pressure without having to connect a dead-head, pressurize the hose, then bleed, cannot be understated.
I have Joe B valves on both of my tanks, however I upgraded the tank pressure gauge to something much larger and more accurate.
Valve: https://www.topgun-airguns.com/product/tj3-dual-gauge-valve/
Tank pressure gauge upgrade: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_413322_413322
The other valve I have heard good things about is the Omega HP3 valve but that is a little hard to find online right now in standalone form. You might be able to get one by calling one of the Omega tank dealers. The Omega HP3 has a permanent foster nipple attached to the valve while Joe B's TJ3 valve has a Female DIN300 socket and comes with a foster nipple adapter installed in that socket. Depending on your filling situation and desired regulator connections that may matter. Both valves include the second gauge port that shows tank pressure.
I have Joe B valves on both of my tanks, however I upgraded the tank pressure gauge to something much larger and more accurate.
Valve: https://www.topgun-airguns.com/product/tj3-dual-gauge-valve/
Tank pressure gauge upgrade: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_413322_413322
The other valve I have heard good things about is the Omega HP3 valve but that is a little hard to find online right now in standalone form. You might be able to get one by calling one of the Omega tank dealers. The Omega HP3 has a permanent foster nipple attached to the valve while Joe B's TJ3 valve has a Female DIN300 socket and comes with a foster nipple adapter installed in that socket. Depending on your filling situation and desired regulator connections that may matter. Both valves include the second gauge port that shows tank pressure.
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