Notos with Scuba Tank

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So after several months of use the SCUBA tank is working out fine for me. I don't have a count on the number of shots I have fired but it is in the hundreds. The SCUBA tank is dropped to around 2200 PSI according to the gauge so my only issue is now when I fill the gun I am only getting about 10 shots before it gets down to where I see a drop off in accuracy. Good new is I am only using the gun for sparrow control so sometimes I go weeks without shooting and don't ever shoot more then a few shots in a day. I plan on getting the tank topped back off again but for my usage it has worked out perfectly.
 
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midwest said:
So after several months of use the SCUBA tank is working out fine for me. I don't have a count on the number of shots I have fired but it is in the hundreds. The SCUBA tank is dropped to around 2200 PSI according to the gauge so my only issue is now when I fill the gun I am only getting about 10 shots before it gets down to where I see a drop off in accuracy. Good new is I am only using the gun for sparrow control so sometimes I go weeks without shooting and don't ever shoot more then a few shots in a day. I plan on getting the tank topped back off again but for my usage it has worked out perfectly.
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After this thread and the posts saying it isn't doable because you don't get a full fill, i ran a proof of concept with a scuba tank I was given. The only number to be concerned with is the number you're empty at, anything you can fill above that is hand pumping you don't have to do. It's very possible. 88cf scuba isnt ideal but if you can get fills and you don't pay anything (or very little for it). It's worth your time.

Also don't run anything flammable in yong heng cheapo compressors, especially. Not vegetable oil. I retired my yong heng due to oil bypass into the air and I was using hydraulic oil for it's less explosive properties. I use dive compressor oil in a Chinese clone dive compressor now instead.

DO NOT BE CHEAP HERE! A diesel incident with non dive compressor oil could end your airgun fun forever. It works just like a drop of oil in the back of a pellet in a spring gun.

Use the airgun fill calculator (Google it) and you can find your realistic fills on scuba. I post this for future readers more than op who has figured some stuff out for his situation.
 
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20 years ago or so almost everyone was using scuba tanks for fills. They’re far from ideal, but it used to be it was a scuba tank or a hand pump and people made them work.

One thing they actually do excel at is a tethered feed on an unregulated gun. When your tank starts to get low, just leave it connected for a long bench rest session.
 
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Sawney Bean said:
20 years ago or so almost everyone was using scuba tanks for fills. They’re far from ideal, but it used to be it was a scuba tank or a hand pump and people made them work.

One thing they actually do excel at is a tethered feed on an unregulated gun. When your tank starts to get low, just leave it connected for a long bench rest session.
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That's my intent to tether the lesser pressure bottles, even loan the scuba with fill station to a friend to entice them to join the hobby.

I got a biiiiig 1058ci(240 cf iirc) carbon aircraft cylinder rated for effectively 3400 psi that will be used for 2 person bench tethers. Pic vs 45 min (66 cf?) scba cylinder I bought for 90 bucks.

IMG_20240827_150415_01.jpg
 
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6gun said:
That's my intent to tether the lesser pressure bottles, even loan the scuba with fill station to a friend to entice them to join the hobby.

I got a biiiiig 1058ci(240 cf iirc) carbon aircraft cylinder rated for effectively 3400 psi that will be used for 2 person bench tethers. Pic vs 45 min (66 cf?) scba cylinder I bought for 90 bucks.

View attachment 510095
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That's interesting. I'd never heard of a 3400 psi carbon tank before. There're a ton of early scuba tanks out there with oddball pressure ratings, but so far as SCBA goes, everything I've ever seen was 4500+.
 
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Sawney Bean said:
That's interesting. I'd never heard of a 3400 psi carbon tank before. There're a ton of early scuba tanks out there with oddball pressure ratings, but so far as SCBA goes, everything I've ever seen was 4500+.
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It's very very light weight and is an aircraft part that got rejected for a reason that doesn't matter for airgun use. That's why I obscured the label.
 
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Firewalker said:
That's awesome!

Yes, makes sense to be rated lower as size increased in diameter.
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So to get back on topic I use the < 4500 tanks to tether or do partial fills on guns that will take it. The regulated guns are happy to run anything above final regulator, and the scuba tank does nicely for the pcp crosman conversions that I run near co2 vapor pressure.

My intro to pcp was hand pumping a gen 1 mrod25 and my big step up was using old paintball tanks as buddy bottles, so you learn what air you can get away with when you don't own a compressor and you burn orings out of your hand pump every 2 weeks. Sure it's not a full fill, but you're not doing full sets of cardio all day. Don't push your luck with chinesium shoebox compressors filling anything over 1L/92ci. I burned up a couple, and 3 Yong hengs over the years before I popped for a big boy compressor. If its cheap or free, i wouldn't shy away from a scuba fill setup at all.
 
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