Hand pump as a back up?

[newbee]

Hi Everyone,

My fx wildcat is due to arrive soon. Woohoo!! I ordered a 74 cu tank to make refills from…easy button and I’m lazy…they told me it would take 30-40 min to fill my wildcat with a hand pump. I’d try it a pinch but not as a rule. Thoughts on keeping a spare hand pump around. If it’s a good idea, which does the best job.

All thoughts are appreciated.

 

[uhfradarwill]

It is never a bad idea to have a backup. Enjoy your new rifle!!

 

[pcwhite]

Filling an air rifle with a hand pump maybe takes 10 minutes with a few breaks if you are targeting under 250 bar. Anything above that, well good luck as thats the zone where pumping becomes difficult.

 

[CyberDyneSystems]

Although the bicycle pump is less than ideal, it it reliable and affordable. I would not be without one.

 

[newbee]

Where do you fill your tanks

 

[uhfradarwill]

Where do you fill your tanks

I have my own compressor, but I know SCUBA shops will fill tanks.

I've heard that many local fire departments will also fill them.

Will

 

[dizzums]

i wouldnt hesitate to get one of the chinese 50$ pumps on amazon, from what ive heard they get the job done ... i have my old benjamin pump and its definitely a good one but that was before the generics were available .. wouldnt be without it .. when your gun serves varmint duty like around here you never know when you might need a fill at an inopportune time ...

 

[Healthservices]

I have 2 of the cheap amazon $55 pumps. Both work great. If anybody uses them i sure use them and hard. The Uragan takes a 300 bar fill so when it drops below 150 bar time to fill. I filled 4 times today. But if you have to use it dont let it get too low as its a lot of pumping.

 

[Ripper]

I have heard of some people getting rid of their hand pumps when they got a compressor. Doesn’t make sense to me. I know if I did that my compressor would probably go up right away. Hand pumps work fine on smaller air cylinders. 2000 psi I can fill up real quick. A 3000 psi takes a little more work but not too bad. But it’s just a cheap Chinese pump that I paid $40 for like three or four years ago. All I had to do is replace one of the orings in the female connector.

 

[newbee]

FX WC Sniper is 230 bar with 300cc tank so I am just under the difficult zone. Gonna prolly get the hill mk 5 and have a good back up so if I have to work I will work smart. ; )

Thanks for the responses...

 

[LMNOP]

I have heard of some people getting rid of their hand pumps when they got a compressor. Doesn’t make sense to me. I know if I did that my compressor would probably go up right away.

I am one of these people . Hand pumping sucks if you can afford a compressor. I see no need for keeping one around as a backup if you purchased a quality compressor. I gave my Hill MK3 away to a fellow AGN member here and never have looked back in the 3 years I have owned my quality compressor.

I may have evaded Murphy’s law though by giving it away instead of selling it

 

[deadhorse]

Hand pump as a back-up.... YES! But many more reasons to have one laying around I think.

If you are prepper minded then its a must, being able to refill your guns without electricity is just smart.

Workout, it will always be a good workout and healthier then a compressor. and if you have extended family like grandkids and nephews and they want to shoot your guns get them on that pump so they learn the value of Work = Reward and gets them active doing something.

Mobile fill station. I just bought a Yong Heng compressor but sadly its not portable and many of the reviews I looked at for the portable 12volt ones said they are prone to issues, have super slow fill times, and are just not built as well as the standard 120 volt compressors. With a hand pump you always have a mobile fill station, going camping for the weekend? Take your bottles and pump and if you run out of air get one of your kids or nephews on that pump lol.

And one of the most important reasons is when one of your friends see your cool PCP gun and wants his own you can lend him your pump till he gets his compressors and bottles purchased. That way he isn't at your house every weekend treating your garage like his fill station lol. But seriously that can help someone else get into PCP, I think the #1 factor keeping people out of PCP is the overall cost of everything. 

I think another thing is if you ever want to sell one of your PCP rifles including a pump might be a good thing and more enticing to a buyer as to him its a complete package and will get him shooting that same day.

I bought my pump used from the amazon warehouse store for $36, the liquid air pressure gauge built into the pump is stuck at 2,000 psi, so that's why I got it so cheap I guess, but it works great and is worth every penny of the $36. 

 

[newbee]

Thanks to all!
I have a hill in the basket.

Dang I can’t stop spending money on this PCP addiction and I haven’t even shot my rifle yet because it’s not here.

Supposed to arrive tomorrow!
Hope to see it & it touch it and get familiar with it tomorrow eve. and by the time all that happens it’ll be dark. I hope my wife won’t be jealous. 
Hopefully first shot Thursday morning going up against some of the squirrels that have been raiding the bird feeder. 

thanks again to all for the input

 

[rcs9250]

I filled my Marauder tank with a hand pump for years. It ain’t bad. You can always turn on the TV, pump a bit, take a break, pump some more. 

I did it all in one shot, no big deal and I’m 65 years old.