What Filling Station can you recommend – where bleeding the hose is smooth & easy (not requiring a lot of force)?

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JungleShooter

JungleShooter

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Sep 5, 2018
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I would like to buy a filling station for SCBA tanks with a quick bleed valve –– or a bleed screw that goes EASY IN and OUT.


I have one filling station that has a "button" on it, the quick blead valve. I give it a push with my thumb, and in one violent Pfffft all the air in the line is gone. EASY!

The other filling station I have is a (China-)pain: It has a bleed screw. I need to unscrew it hard, it hurts, I don't like it at all. And that despite the fact that the screw is large-ish and has 3 blades to apply the force of my fingers better. And as people with whom I shake hands at times confirm: My fingers aren't weak.
That filling station model is pictured below.


QUESTION:
❓ What filling station can you recommend me, where bleeding the hose isn't a chore?



Another QUESTION:
Excuse my ignorance:
I use a 500cc alu bottle taken from an FX Royale,
and
I use a standard SCBA 9L tank.
❓ The filling station that I would like to buy: Will it fit into either of these tanks? Or do they have different threads?



Thanks. 😊
Matthias





Filling Station. Bleed Valve. BAD.jpg
 
JungleShooter said:
I would like to buy a filling station for SCBA tanks with a quick bleed valve –– or a bleed screw that goes EASY IN and OUT.


I have one filling station that has a "button" on it, the quick blead valve. I give it a push with my thumb, and in one violent Pfffft all the air in the line is gone. EASY!

The other filling station I have is a (China-)pain: It has a bleed screw. I need to unscrew it hard, it hurts, I don't like it at all. And that despite the fact that the screw is large-ish and has 3 blades to apply the force of my fingers better. And as people with whom I shake hands at times confirm: My fingers aren't weak.
That filling station model is pictured below.


QUESTION:
❓ What filling station can you recommend me, where bleeding the hose isn't a chore?



Another QUESTION:
Excuse my ignorance:
I use a 500cc alu bottle taken from an FX Royale,
and
I use a standard SCBA 9L tank.
❓ The filling station that I would like to buy: Will it fit into either of these tanks? Or do they have different threads?



Thanks. 😊
Matthias





View attachment 387562
Click to expand...
The fx 500 cc has a metric thread. The standard scba has an imperial thread and should be a size bigger. The fill station I like is the Ninja one. Super easy to use with just one big knob that both turns air on and bleeds. The push button one is a challenge to repair and I sold it. The chinese and the "airtanks for sale" are a pain to use so I use a Edgun Ezfill on the hose, so I don't have to deal with the bleed screw.
 
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A little pricey but I like the Stikman fill station. Have not had any problems and I even coil up the hose and then connect the hose end back to the fitting on the side of the Stikman to keep it coiled up and QD free from dirt.
airtanksplus.com

STIKMAN The Best PCP Airgun Fill Adaptor with Pouch

Official product page for STIKMAN. Your going to enjoy filling / charging your PCP airgun with our signature product.
airtanksplus.com
Thx
Dan
 
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Matthias, an standard SCBA tank uses a CGA347 fitting. Get a $45 one off Ebay. I've got 3 that I've used for the last 5 or 6 years with no problems. However, the pictures you show are for a REPLACEMENT VALVE that screws into tank collar. Can you post a pic of the SCBA tank you're using? The cga347 fill adapter (get a "hand tight") on ebay has a bleed screw. It's very simple & easy. No need to spend big bucks!
 
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I am using two. The Huma externaly adjustable regulator when the gun is connected to the tank for BR shooting. Also have the Egun eazy fill which is comfortably mobile. The easy fill I got was pretty pricey but several weeks later the clones surfaced at eBay and aliexpress for a 1/3 piece price. I have 3 large tanks and two I upgraded with that one from your picture, acecare (aliexpress) if I recall the name correctly.
 
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Mine came from "AirTanksforSale" - Joe Brancato. It was not cheap but I tried a cheap Chinese set and was totally dissatisfied. It leaked so it didn't really work at all. I asked for input on- line and found issues were not unusual so I bought a "good one". The bleed screw is a nicely knurled and big enough knob that turns easily. It also has a good gauge I use rather than the gauge on my guns. Small hose too so filling a small gun like my Prod is easier. No complaints at all. Using air at the pressure we do is more comfortable with equipment that works well.
 
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JimD said:
Mine came from "AirTanksforSale" - Joe Brancato. It was not cheap but I tried a cheap Chinese set and was totally dissatisfied. It leaked so it didn't really work at all. I asked for input on- line and found issues were not unusual so I bought a "good one". The bleed screw is a nicely knurled and big enough knob that turns easily. It also has a good gauge I use rather than the gauge on my guns. Small hose too so filling a small gun like my Prod is easier. No complaints at all. Using air at the pressure we do is more comfortable with equipment that works well.
Click to expand...

I had the same overwhelmingly negative experience with a cheapy ebay fill station. I have a Joe B fill station for my SCUBA tank and it is high quality. My SCBA fill station is a StikBoy and it is also high quality. No complaints from either.

I'm normally onboard for saving some $$$, but I'm the case of fill stations, the attempt to save money ended up costing me more in the long run than had I just bought quality initially.
 
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Friends,

this is so enjoyable to write out a question here — about which I'm highly ignortant 🤦🏻‍♂️ — and receive such helpful answers.
Thank you! 😊


🔶 OK, Dan — @XSUltimate — the Stikman looks high quality — but thanks to your suggestion I realized I have another requirement:
I need something less prone to break off the gauge or other vital parts.... 😄
Because this fillstation will eventually serve on a buddy bottle in the field — rough handling guaranteed. 👍🏼


🔶 @Gerry52 and @Sergey1972 — you made me finally search my records — and look at the 9L tank — and discover a nice surprise:
Both bottle and tank are metric, 18M x 1.5.


🔶 And by your recommendation, I looked at the paintball fillstations. Found a nice one, with pleasant valve knob, and an additional fill port, the bleed screw looks better, and all is nicely in black.
Here:



🔶 For the issue with the air-bleeding that almost causes finger-bleeding:
I found some valves that I might be able to switch out with the garbage bleed screw I have on my China-fillstation.
There is just no way of knowing what thread (besides that it must be metric....).
Looking at something like this:


Cheers,

Matthias
 
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JungleShooter said:
Friends,

this is so enjoyable to write out a question here — about which I'm highly ignortant 🤦🏻‍♂️ — and receive such helpful answers.
Thank you! 😊


🔶 OK, Dan — @XSUltimate — the Stikman looks high quality — but thanks to your suggestion I realized I have another requirement:
I need something less prone to break off the gauge or other vital parts.... 😄
Because this fillstation will eventually serve on a buddy bottle in the field — rough handling guaranteed. 👍🏼


🔶 @Gerry52 and @Sergey1972 — you made me finally search my records — and look at the 9L tank — and discover a nice surprise:
Both bottle and tank are metric, 18M x 1.5.


🔶 And by your recommendation, I looked at the paintball fillstations. Found a nice one, with pleasant valve knob, and an additional fill port, the bleed screw looks better, and all is nicely in black.
Here:



🔶 For the issue with the air-bleeding that almost causes finger-bleeding:
I found some valves that I might be able to switch out with the garbage bleed screw I have on my China-fillstation.
There is just no way of knowing what thread (besides that it must be metric....).
Looking at something like this:


Cheers,

Matthias
Click to expand...
The paintball fill station you found is crap I have 2 and had to fix leaks on the gauges, it also has a separate bleed. The the tiny silver knob on 1 side, has a tendency to fall off during transport.

The stainless bleed screw is top notch.

Ninja Slow Fill 4500PSI PCP Ez Valve https://a.co/d/6DtE2Tx
 
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Sergey1972 said:
Ninja Slow Fill 4500PSI PCP Ez Valve https://a.co/d/6DtE2Tx
Click to expand...

Sergey,

that Ninja Slow Fill station looks nice — it is a bit pricey, though.

Now, the Amazon pages says nothing about connectivity — but elsewhere I keep seeing that they 7 it has a "DIN" connection. ➠ What in the world is that size?! 🤔 DIN is like SAE, it's just the name of a general standard of measurements. But it's not a thread or hole size....
The threads of both my bottle and tank are M18x1.5.

Matthias
 
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Sergey1972 said:
Paintball carbon fiber tanks have 5/8-18 threads. Big tanks have 3/4-16 or 7/8-14. Asian tanks have metric threads. I'm referring to neck threads for installing regulator or valve.
Click to expand...


Yupp, like I said, the neck threads of both my bottle and my 9 liter air tank are metric — like most of the rest of the world (not just in Asia) — it's just the US of A that hasn't arrived there. Yet. 😉


So, as I said, both threads are M18x1.5.



🔆 I'm thinking of getting a couple of the 50 dollar fill-stations. Then if one bites the dust, I have a replacement. 👍🏼
And still $50 left over in change compared to expensive fill-station....

🔆I'll order a few replacement gauges as well, then I'm prepared should they decide to fall off. 👍🏼
Thanks for the heads up!

Matthias
 
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The dimensioning system, metric or imperial, is not a quality plus or minus. Either work fine as long as they are properly implemented. I believe the SCBA tanks sold for firemen to use may be significantly higher in quality and may therefore be useful well after 25 years. But I cannot prove that. They could have been made with metric threads but they were not.

I hope you have a lot better luck with inexpensive fill sets than I did.
 
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JungleShooter said:
Friends,

this is so enjoyable to write out a question here — about which I'm highly ignortant 🤦🏻‍♂️ — and receive such helpful answers.
Thank you! 😊


🔶 OK, Dan — @XSUltimate — the Stikman looks high quality — but thanks to your suggestion I realized I have another requirement:
I need something less prone to break off the gauge or other vital parts.... 😄
Because this fillstation will eventually serve on a buddy bottle in the field — rough handling guaranteed. 👍🏼


🔶 @Gerry52 and @Sergey1972 — you made me finally search my records — and look at the 9L tank — and discover a nice surprise:
Both bottle and tank are metric, 18M x 1.5.


🔶 And by your recommendation, I looked at the paintball fillstations. Found a nice one, with pleasant valve knob, and an additional fill port, the bleed screw looks better, and all is nicely in black.
Here:



🔶 For the issue with the air-bleeding that almost causes finger-bleeding:
I found some valves that I might be able to switch out with the garbage bleed screw I have on my China-fillstation.
There is just no way of knowing what thread (besides that it must be metric....).
Looking at something like this:


Cheers,

Matthias
Click to expand...
The bleed valve in your 4th bullet point is 1/4-14MNPT. It is highly unlikely you would ever find that size female thread on a SCBA tank valve. I think likely you’ll find 1/8-27FNPT (female thread) on them for valves and or gauges.
 
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Franklink said:
I had the same overwhelmingly negative experience with a cheapy ebay fill station. I have a Joe B fill station for my SCUBA tank and it is high quality. My SCBA fill station is a StikBoy and it is also high quality. No complaints from either.

I'm normally onboard for saving some $$$, but I'm the case of fill stations, the attempt to save money ended up costing me more in the long run than had I just bought quality initially.
Click to expand...
Totally agree, Stikman or Air Tanks For Sale products are very reliable.
 
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I have 2 of the 'air tanks for sale'. The newer one which I think is 3 years old has a great presure release and the older one which has these horrible plier marks on it that will actually cut my fingers now if I use them to relieve pressure 😵.

The knobs will swap out but the older one has to have it's valve really tight un order to not leak. Opon further inspection I noticed the older version has a larger orifice compared to the newer one. Of course the thread size is totally different from standard blead screws.

Allen
 
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