Close call.. be careful with air!!!

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T

TitanFlyer

Member
Jul 25, 2018
214
4
NC, United States
So I got a Hatsan Lightning compressor and have used it a little bit to fill my smaller tanks but was waiting for a gold filter from ebay before I filled the larger tank. Today I set it all up, checked the parts, opened it up and took filter out to check on its condition etc. High pressure air scares the crap out of me, so I am uber careful. So, everything looked great and I was filling the tank up. I never go to 4500 psi cause I am one of those "why push the limit" guys. If I have free air, whats a few less fills to keep the compressor going for a long time.

Well I saw it was getting to 4300 psi and i went over to it. Just as I arrived at the tank to start the shut down process (was wearing headset so I maybe couldn't hear air) but the connector on the ebay gold filter busted and flew mm's from my nose. I couldn't figure out what happened at first but then I checked the parts and saw this... what a pile of crap this thing is... that should just never happen. I will attach a picture and you can see for yourself. It even transfered its o-ring to the male to male connector.

1537626172_19043617065ba6503c9375d9.65381784_IMG_3689.jpeg

 
Isn't Best Fittings a company in UK? Is there a US distributor for them? I will change the entire set of whips and connectors on everything I use.. that was scary. I have another new Ninja 90 ci with the EZ Fill on it and every once in a while it just decides to empty. Annoying as hell.. Maybe I should go springer or gas ram.. lol.. but those are dangerous as well.
 
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Hello-

I will second the recommendation for purchasing from BEST Fittings. They have been in business for a long time and deal exclusively with high end PCP air fittings. Saving a few pennies, buying on the cheap, will mean nothing when you or a loved one are injured or dead.

Kind regards,

641











https://www.bestfittings.co.uk/




















 
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Thanks for the report. I have seen reports on these things exploding a few things in various forums so I always stay away from my Yong Heng when it is running to reduce the chance of this kind of poops happening. 

It reminds me what happened the other day when I drilled a hole with my lathe on a brass rod brought from China. I expected to get a tube with very thin wall of thickness about 0.5 ~ 0.8 mm but I did not end up in getting a tube as multiple longitudinal cracks were developed as the drill went into the material and the tube opened up like a sun flower blossoming. Clearly there are defects in the material itself .

I have got a couple of brass connectors that came with my gold filter and Yong Heng. I think I will just toss them and stick to stainless steel connectors.

Can such failure be avoided by switching to other well established brands ? I take it with a grain of salt. Just a couple of days ago, a forum member has reported a connector exploding and that was on an Air Venturi hose costing $60-70 . I have got an Air Arms FTP900 rifle which is among their top-line products. Everything looked extremely well made but a steel sear snapped just after 10 shots. They sent me a free replacement and told me that it was likely due to defects in the material meaning that it's not something totally under their control. 



1537673380_10105043425ba708a4250ed1.79217817_broken parts 1 low resolution.jpg

 
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You could also check out Joe Brancato at airtanksforsale.com. All his stuff is made in the US and is top notch. His stuff may be expensive but safety is peace of mind. Dealing with HPA is no joke.
Click to expand...

Um...... I am not sure. I remember clearly coming across a report about a micro bore hose brought from J B exploding . The reason given by J B is poor workmanship. The clamping of the hose at the connector end was not done properly. Sounds like made in China ?
 
Upvote 0
Hello-

I will second the recommendation for purchasing from BEST Fittings. They have been in business for a long time and deal exclusively with high end PCP air fittings. Saving a few pennies, buying on the cheap, will mean nothing when you or a loved one are injured or dead.

Kind regards,

641















https://www.bestfittings.co.uk/























Click to expand...

Ahah—Best Fittings, not “the best fittings”. Thanks! Will check them out.
 
Upvote 0
You could also check out Joe Brancato at airtanksforsale.com. All his stuff is made in the US and is top notch. His stuff may be expensive but safety is peace of mind. Dealing with HPA is no joke.
Click to expand...

Um...... I am not sure. I remember clearly coming across a report about a micro bore hose brought from J B exploding . The reason given by J B is poor workmanship. The clamping of the hose at the connector end was not done properly. Sounds like made in China ?
Click to expand...

This is the first I've heard of this. Do you know where you came across this report? I would like to check it out for myself. 
 
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I've been a bit lax in the past but have become much more conscious of the risk with HPA no matter what materials are used after reading of issues with some high quality fittings and AV brand products as well. Buy the best fittings you can afford and use an auto shutoff compressor so that you don't have to get your face near the fittings while at maximum pressure. I have a Yong Heng and a Tuxing that I have only used for filling reservoirs directly to 3k. I have purchased a Great White tank and have only had it filled at a local fire station. I now plan to purchase a larger compressor (definitely still considering the Hatsan Lightning as this type failure is not isolated to just that brand) and it will have auto shutoff not so much for convenience as for possibly some added safety. Be careful with things that can kill or injure you.
 
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So, just to be clear, this fitting was not from the hatsan compressor, but from the gold filter kit purchased from eBay. Lately, the hatsan Lightning compressor is getting raked over the coals, so I wanted to make sure we don’t add to that, lol.



But, because of that his failure, I am going to be proactive and swap out the brass fitting on the end of the fill whip of the hatsan compressor to a stainless one. I was looking at the stainless steel female QD on my Hill pump. Actually it is at the end of an extended whip, that I bought from Pyramid(Air Venturi part). I was going to swap out the fittings since I don’t use my Hill pump anymore. The brass one in comparison to the stainless one is beefier. Bigger ball bearings, the body is bigger, along with the retaining clip. I couldn’t make the swap cause the thread pitch is different. The AV stainless tightens up to a threaded adapter and is sealed with an O ring. The one on the hatsan fill whip, the brass one, uses a plastic washer inside to seal against the threaded adapter on the fill whip. Does anyone know the thread pitch on the Hatsan fitting? Is it 1/8 bspp or the M10?



to the OP, glad you made out okay, and sorry for the fitting failure. Scary chit.
 
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Agree 100% Bigragu. The Hatsan Lightning seems very similar to the AV compressor, which people generally seem very happy with, but with a few additional desirable features on the Hatsan. Overall quality of the Hatsan should be similar. Failure of any part can occur, from design fault or poor materials or manufacturing defects. But this HPA area can have serious (even deadly) consequences in event of a failure so utilizing the best equipment you can get your hands on would seem to make sense. From the compressor to the hoses to the fittings. Be cautious.
 
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