Can you charge a 4000 psi PCP with a hand pump or should I just buy a compressor?
I'be only used a diving tank for air in the past.
I'be only used a diving tank for air in the past.
Hand Pump vs Compressor?
- Thread starter Spokane2303
- Start date
You can, but it will not take long before you won't want to. I hand pumped for WAY to long before I got a compressor. Best damn airgun related purchase I've made. You don't have to spend a ton of $$. I bought a Yong Heng and it has served me well (bit over 17hrs run time on it).
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Also, probably more information out there on the set up, running, maintenance, and repair (if/when needed) on the Yong Heng compressors than any other budget compressor.
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Yong Heng will take a couple min for that, it’s fast. If you’re only doing 200cc, look at a GX CS2
Limited-time deal: GX PUMP CS2 Portable PCP Air Compressor, 4500Psi/30Mpa, Oil-Free,Powered by Car 12V DC or Home 110V AC with Adapter (Included), Paintball Tank Compressor with Extra Moisture-Oil Separator https://a.co/d/6EWGzWh
Limited-time deal: GX PUMP CS2 Portable PCP Air Compressor, 4500Psi/30Mpa, Oil-Free,Powered by Car 12V DC or Home 110V AC with Adapter (Included), Paintball Tank Compressor with Extra Moisture-Oil Separator https://a.co/d/6EWGzWh
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Agreed, hand pumping took the joy out of everything fast. Remember thinking, after each shot, gonna have to pump that air back in, a real buzzkill. Yong Heng made all that negativity vanish. WM
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Forum members will help with Yong Heng questions, first one being how to get an authentic. Searched "Yong Heng," on eBay, recently, clicked on several ads, scrolled down to Specifications Charts looking for name of manufacturer. Two, "Bestfactory01," and "NewStore,NewLife," listed Yong Heng. Both had high positive % ratings and negative comments didn't imply scamming. If replacing mine, I'd e-mail these two and verify made by YongyIheng Pneumatic Co., metal ID plate reflects same and what recourse if it isn't so. WM
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I have a Yong Heng and a GX CS1. Currently I have all cylinder rifles, so low air capacity. I only use my YH to fill my Great White tank. If I just want to top off a rifle and I’m not in a rush I use the CS1. I wish I paid a bit more and bought the CS2. My YH isn’t a permanent fixture anywhere, so I have to set it up every time. The CS1 was supposed to be a backup if my YH goes down, but I use it more and more. Now I’m socking a little away here and there to buy a good compressor, probably a Daystate, when the time comes.
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well I have both tube and bottle rifles and I have had my omega trail charger for 8 years.. only thing I have done is turn the grease pot about two clicks a year..
I got mine from Airguns of Arizona, along with my first recent PCP.. added several guns since..
I have been very happy with AOA and I really like the Omega trail charger..
Mark
I got mine from Airguns of Arizona, along with my first recent PCP.. added several guns since..
I have been very happy with AOA and I really like the Omega trail charger..
Mark
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My first PCP was a Benjamin Marauder Pistol (Prod). I filled it with a Benjamin hand pump and had a lot of fun shooting it. Refills took less than 50 pumps. Then I bought an Avenger. Hand pumping it took hundreds of strokes even if I stopped at 3500 psi. Wasn't so fun. So I bought my Yong Heng and later an expired SCBA tank and fill set. I really like this setup but it added cost, of course.
Hand pumps get hot if you pump them hundreds of times so even if you do not need a break the pump may. Total elapsed time will still not be real long, should easily be under an hour. Really should be under half an hour some of which will be in breaks. Probably no more than 10-15 minutes of actual pumping. If you think it might work for you I would get an inexpensive hand pump off Amazon and give it a try. I still have my hand pumps, I think they are an inexpensive backup option. Hand pumps are also very portable. They are less than $100 so you are not risking much to try one.
I may eventually add one of the little 12V/120V compressors. I think each type of filling has a role they do better than the others.
Hand pumps get hot if you pump them hundreds of times so even if you do not need a break the pump may. Total elapsed time will still not be real long, should easily be under an hour. Really should be under half an hour some of which will be in breaks. Probably no more than 10-15 minutes of actual pumping. If you think it might work for you I would get an inexpensive hand pump off Amazon and give it a try. I still have my hand pumps, I think they are an inexpensive backup option. Hand pumps are also very portable. They are less than $100 so you are not risking much to try one.
I may eventually add one of the little 12V/120V compressors. I think each type of filling has a role they do better than the others.
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Hand pumping is completely feasible if you are in decent health - you don't need to be an athlete, but it does take some effort to do. But more effort is what most people seem to need in life these days - we live with too much comfort . . . and it is way easier than running a mile!
The key to hand pumping is that each session should be limited to about 50 strokes of the pump, once the line is charged. Then you stop, vent the line, and let the pump cool down before resuming. This keeps the pump cool, and that is what keeps water from making it into your gun. If you pump much more that that the pump will heat up, and then hot air makes its way into your gun - and that hot air will carry a lot of water vapor that will later condense into liquid when it cools down.
If you approach your shooting in a manner that you stop and refill the gun at about that 50 stroke limit, everything works well. You don't waste time waiting for the pump to cool down, and 50 strokes is not that hard to do. I used to tune my guns to shoot two or three magazines off one 50 stroke filling session, and it was very manageable. That said, that was with moderate power .22 and .25 cal guns - with high power big bores that would be different; one shot could be a whole pumping session, depending on the FPE. But I could easily shoot 600+ FPE worth of shots on one 50 stroke pumping session that would take about three minutes to complete.
If you insist on shooting every last shot the gun is capable of before refilling, then you are probably in for a long pumping session. This can be fine if you are basically done for the day, and want to refill it while doing something else - like pump it during commercials while watching TV, cooling down the pump while the show is on - but is very limiting while actively shooting.
Filling a gun from empty is the part that is no fun - that will take quite a while. You can probably pump continuously for the first 150 strokes or so from empty, as the pressure is low and the pump won't heat up much, but after that you will need to be on the 50 stroke plan. Depending on the gun, the initial fill might be 400 or more strokes of the pump.
I started with a hand pump and did it for years. What moved me to a tank (and eventually a compressor) was working on the guns themselves - that caused me to have to pump from empty often, and that just was not fun (especially when I tried something that did not work, and had to immediately empty it and then refill again). But pumping to actually shoot was not bad - at least with guns that max out at about 3000 psi or less.
So maybe filling from zero or shooting big bores might be like running a mile, but filling for a short moderate power shooting session is no worse than walking a lap on a track, and faster too . . .
The key to hand pumping is that each session should be limited to about 50 strokes of the pump, once the line is charged. Then you stop, vent the line, and let the pump cool down before resuming. This keeps the pump cool, and that is what keeps water from making it into your gun. If you pump much more that that the pump will heat up, and then hot air makes its way into your gun - and that hot air will carry a lot of water vapor that will later condense into liquid when it cools down.
If you approach your shooting in a manner that you stop and refill the gun at about that 50 stroke limit, everything works well. You don't waste time waiting for the pump to cool down, and 50 strokes is not that hard to do. I used to tune my guns to shoot two or three magazines off one 50 stroke filling session, and it was very manageable. That said, that was with moderate power .22 and .25 cal guns - with high power big bores that would be different; one shot could be a whole pumping session, depending on the FPE. But I could easily shoot 600+ FPE worth of shots on one 50 stroke pumping session that would take about three minutes to complete.
If you insist on shooting every last shot the gun is capable of before refilling, then you are probably in for a long pumping session. This can be fine if you are basically done for the day, and want to refill it while doing something else - like pump it during commercials while watching TV, cooling down the pump while the show is on - but is very limiting while actively shooting.
Filling a gun from empty is the part that is no fun - that will take quite a while. You can probably pump continuously for the first 150 strokes or so from empty, as the pressure is low and the pump won't heat up much, but after that you will need to be on the 50 stroke plan. Depending on the gun, the initial fill might be 400 or more strokes of the pump.
I started with a hand pump and did it for years. What moved me to a tank (and eventually a compressor) was working on the guns themselves - that caused me to have to pump from empty often, and that just was not fun (especially when I tried something that did not work, and had to immediately empty it and then refill again). But pumping to actually shoot was not bad - at least with guns that max out at about 3000 psi or less.
So maybe filling from zero or shooting big bores might be like running a mile, but filling for a short moderate power shooting session is no worse than walking a lap on a track, and faster too . . .
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I have 2 compressors- one that I fill guns and one I fill tanks. I bought a pump for the reason @AlanMcD said “for the exercise”. I mainly use it on my GK1 and I can get it back to 300 bar with 50 pumps. And the last 10 are serious work. Since I’m usually out in a hurry the effort is what’s beneficial and I get a charged gun! Hopefully with enough use i may be able to get it to 350 bar.
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I currently own 14 pcps and I hand pump every one of them. I'm almost 55, below my 30 year old weight, and in better shape. I'm the kind of guy that has trouble finding the motivation to work out. Shooting is my passion and doing it daily at home makes me a better marksman. That's what motivates me to do the work and stay in shape at the same time. No hate towards anyone with a compressor, but this is what works for me.
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Doable, depends on what you're used to. I just hand-pumped my Uragan 2 (530CC bottle) from 2000psi to 4000psi. Took about 500 strokes over 10-15 minutes.....not easy, but not impossible. It'll be a while before I can afford a compressor, and I could use the exercise, so I don't mind. That said, when I can afford one, I'll get one.
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I think we finally figured out that it was 2-3 pumps per shot to get back up to pressure. We got really good at not needing follow up shots.....
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14 it is, and a couple of them take 3600 psi fills. One of them has a 4500 psi tank, but I don't top it off very often.
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