The dreaded *&$%# Fill Probe...

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biohazardman

biohazardman

Member
Jul 3, 2019
5,451
294
Herriman, UT United States
I actually only have one gun that requires a fill probe and that is my HW44. Love the gun but really hate the fill probe. So much so that I seldom take the gun out to shoot. It is a complete waste of my time to just keep track of the thing let alone keep it clean and in good order so I don't pollute my gun with tiny pieces of foreign crap. Then there is the dust plug I have to keep track of and take care of as well. These are two pieces of yesteryear now as the Foster fills werq just fine and are never, misplaced, lost or dropped in the dirt.

To have to pull the dust plug and insert the fill prob then hook it up to air then do the reverse every fifteen shots is just plain ridicules.

Just a reminder to the the manufactures out there that be listening. It's time to clean the cobwebs off the dinosaurs in your closets and get rid of them.

 I will never buy another airgun that requires the use of a separate fill probe and I would expect there are many that feel the same.

I really feel bad for you who have more than one gun requiring the use of the evil fill probe.
 
It is rare, but I have seen foster fittings not click into place 100% securely, and do the wild snake thing once pressurised. Not pretty, very dangerous. Happens mostly to the inexperienced. Probes are safer that way.

having said that, I do prefer foster…
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I had a female foster QR that was extremely difficult to get a secure fit on a male foster fitting. First time it popped off during a fill was jarring. 

I don't mind the fill probes. I 3d print little dust covers for them, so I don't have to worry about the probes getting contaminated. First time I lost an o-ring on a fill probe I went out and bought 600+ replacement o-rings. Haven't needed one since. 


 
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So you guys are saying you would rather dig around for your probes install them then pop on your foster fill and fill your gun rather than just snapping on the foster and filling your guns? 

I really can't comprehend that train of thought.
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No, that’s not what I’m saying. Quite naturally a universal fitting would be ideal, but that isn’t the case. Although older, my EDgun Lelya is such a great gun for me I don’t mind that it has a fill probe. Its fill probe has a foster fitting attached to it that I can quickly affix to a female QD foster fitting that I use on my other guns. It’s not a major inconvenience to me. I can hunt on a single fill for a week with that gun. No need to take the probe out of the house, but I can if I need to. I keep it in a container in a designated space until I’m ready to use it. I do my target work at or close to home with my Lelya so when it’s time to refill it I go inside, fill it, come back out, and continue shooting.
 
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I can understand your frustration, but it can be avoided very easily. I have my PP700SA that requires a probe, but it has a Foster fitting on one end. I dedicated one 12 liter bottle with a whip that has this foster and probe permanently attached. This fills that gun only. To keep the probe clean, I use a short length of hose. Works for me. Further, there is no such industry standard for Foster fittings. There are many out there in all kinds of different sizes, which can be very dangerous. So Every one you use needs to be carefully measured before use.
 
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I do prefer foster fittings over probes to. Had my AA410 extra FAC fitted with a foster fitting (To replace the cup fill fitting) when I had it resealed. Currently only PCP I own that takes probe is my P12. In the future when I buy another pcp - I for sure prefer a foster fitting gun over a probe gun, but it’s not a deal break for me either way. 
 
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I am new to the foster connector, and as i have used nothing but the probe on my cyclone, so i feel the probe are more easy to work with.

Of course my probe was permanent mounted on the fill kit, so would take some effort to loose that whole "kit"

But i can understand the people that have a probe fitted with a foster and then have to connect that to the foster on their fill kit, but isent that then a issue from having too many & different guns more than the fill probe itself. you now added a extra operation to putting a foster on it, so you have to plug in ( foster ) and then plug in probe.

I now have 2 fill kits one for when i shoot my old cyclone and one for when i shoot my Maverick, if anything the foster take some effort plugging in VS the probe that just slide in



With the 2 guns on a bipod on a table / bench you can sit behind them and on the cyclone put the probe in with one hand without touching the rifle, and on the cyclone you are reaching out further.

On the Maverick you also have to use the right hand or you will push over the rifle trying to insert the foster, of course the other way it is fairly easy to rip out the fill probe when under pressure ( shooting tethered ) but it dont worry me and have not happened yet.

I find i often misplace the cover cap for the foster fitting on the Maverick, or forget to put it on packing up the gun after a session,,,,, i have now also gotten a blind plug for the fill side, if i start to forget / misplace that i will have to secure it to my 1.5M fill hose.



The foster filling Maverick will soon be a minority here, as i am getting a fill probe Vulcan 3, and i have already gotten the foster adapters to put on the fill probe as i am of course not getting a #3 fill kit.
 
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I also hate the full probe. I actually keep the full probe in my leshiy 2 all the time so I don’t miss place it. I’ve contemplated messaging someone to custom make a fitting for me to replace the probe with a fixed foster. I really don’t understand why probes are still a thing. In this day and age, a universal fill system seems a requirement, not a novelty!
 
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I currently have three rifles that use fill probes, and three with foster fittings. I don't really have a preference, assuming I have the correct probe with me. There is a safety issue with the foster style, but if properly attached, that should not be an issue. But, of course, accidents depend on just that kind of happenstance. Two of my probe rifles (Weihrauch and Taipan) use the same probe, Daytate, ever the champion of oddball sizes, is different. My larger complaint is the fitting and location of the cylinder gauge, usually at the end, so you are in an uncomfortable and potentially dangerous position when viewing it. A simple fix is to use an adapter fitting, as RAW, which attaches between the bottle/cylinder and the plenum. Both a cylinder pressure gauge and foster fitting can be attached to that piece, solving both issues. The cylinder itself is then just that. All that's needed is a bottle style valve that screws into the adapter. 
 
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Also not a fan of fill probes, but the easy work-around is to just leave the probe in the gun all the time and then the gun has a male foster.
wink.1644074376.jpg

 
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The people that make the probe filling guns, i will consent that in that hole they should make a thread, so one could cap off the one side and install a foster in the other side,,,,, i dont think that is too much to ask.

And i think that is possible at least on the probe filling rifles i have seen so far.

THOUGH ! The rifles like my cyclone with the fill probe in the air tube, i think that would be annoying to have a foster there, but the ones that have the fill place in the frame or in between air bottle and frame, i think a thread for foster would not be too much to ask, it is like seconds more machine time to give people choice, and in my world choice is paramount.
 
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