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
 
Well, there was so much recommendation for Best Fittings — I better checked it out.
Yupp, nice stuff. They have an external bleed valve that screws into the main valve — that would solve my hassles with the bleed valve screw making my fingers bleed.

Now, what thread for the bleed screw my China tank valve uses is is anybody's best guess, I guess.
Thanks for all your recommendations.


Question: Is there a difference between fill station 1 and fill station 2, or could they both be used on a "big white" tank (9L) — or only only on a "buddy bottle"?

Here the two links:


Fillstation 1️⃣:

500cc “Day Tripper” Charging Cylinder – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk



Fillstation 2️⃣:

BISLEY Charging Valves 300BAR M18 x 1.5 – Ideal for Carbon Fibre Cylinders – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk


Thanks, 😊

Matthias
 
Upvote 0
I've owned Chinese valves, Airtanksforsale valves, Airhog valves, and Omega valves. IMO, the best of the best (and it's not even close) is the Omega HP-3 valve sold by Airguns of Arizona. See the photo below. The Omega HP-3 valve has everything any user could ever want in a quality unit. It has a butter smooth main pressure knob which is easy to open and close and regulate the outgoing air flow. The air bleed knob is made of brass, it's knurled and is much larger than any competitor's bleed valve knob. It is super easy to open and close. The HP-3 also has a secondary tank pressure gauge. The tank is filled through a standard Foster male fitting.

Do not confuse the Omega HP-3 valve with the standard Omega valve that uses a push button bleed. That button bleed is much harder to use and it requires frequent o-ring replacements. It has a DIN300 hose connector but does not have a secondary tank pressure gauge. I had to clip 2 coils from the coil spring on the button bleed to be able to open it easily. Both Omega valves come with a super flexible microbore hose that is superior to any other brand. It can be tied in knots it's that flexible. Plastic outer wrap on most hose split if severely kinked and aren't nearly as flexible as Omega hoses. Chinese microbore hoses are notorious for leaking, cracking, and having quality control issues.

The Airtanksforsale valve is second best but the air flow knob is stiff to open. Its secondary tank pressure gauge is cheap and inaccurate. Mine read 200 bar higher pressure than was actually in the tank. I replaced the tank gauge with a 1.5" accurate gauge by Durachoice. It's hose is good quality but not nearly as flexible or as durable as an Omega hose.

All commonly found SCBA tanks such as SCI, Luxfer, Scott, etc. and the Omega tanks are all 7/8-14 threaded. Chinese brand SCBA tanks are all M18*1.5 metric threaded and must use metric threaded valves which are easily found at the outlets that sell those tanks. The biggest drawback of Chinese tanks is not their quality but the fact that they are metric threaded and use cheaply made valves of lesser quality.

HP-3 valve.jpg
 
Last edited:
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Reactions: Geezerhood, JungleShooter, Sergey1972 and 1 other person
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I now realize that Jungleshooter is not in the U.S. and already has a buddy bottle and 9L tank that are from China and metric thread M18*1.5 so the Omega valve is not going to fit his tanks.

@JungleShooter, don't waste your money trying to find a replacement bleed screw for that low quality valve you already have. Replace it with a Best Fittings valve or take your chances with another valve set like the one you are considering in this thread.
 
Upvote 0
Humdinger said:
I now realize that Jungleshooter is not in the U.S. and already has a buddy bottle and 9L tank that are from China and metric thread M18*1.5 so the Omega valve is not going to fit his tanks.

@JungleShooter, don't waste your money trying to find a replacement bleed screw for that low quality valve you already have. Replace it with a Best Fittings valve or take your chances with another valve set like the one you are considering in this thread.
Click to expand...

He can just get a m18 - 7/8 adapter if he wanted to
 
Upvote 0
JungleShooter said:
Well, there was so much recommendation for Best Fittings — I better checked it out.
Yupp, nice stuff. They have an external bleed valve that screws into the main valve — that would solve my hassles with the bleed valve screw making my fingers bleed.

Now, what thread for the bleed screw my China tank valve uses is is anybody's best guess, I guess.
Thanks for all your recommendations.


Question: Is there a difference between fill station 1 and fill station 2, or could they both be used on a "big white" tank (9L) — or only only on a "buddy bottle"?

Here the two links:


Fillstation 1️⃣:

500cc “Day Tripper” Charging Cylinder – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk



Fillstation 2️⃣:

BISLEY Charging Valves 300BAR M18 x 1.5 – Ideal for Carbon Fibre Cylinders – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk


Thanks, 😊

Matthias
Click to expand...
#2
 
Upvote 0
JungleShooter said:
Well, there was so much recommendation for Best Fittings — I better checked it out.
Yupp, nice stuff. They have an external bleed valve that screws into the main valve — that would solve my hassles with the bleed valve screw making my fingers bleed.

Now, what thread for the bleed screw my China tank valve uses is is anybody's best guess, I guess.
Thanks for all your recommendations.


Question: Is there a difference between fill station 1 and fill station 2, or could they both be used on a "big white" tank (9L) — or only only on a "buddy bottle"?

Here the two links:


Fillstation 1️⃣:

500cc “Day Tripper” Charging Cylinder – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk



Fillstation 2️⃣:

BISLEY Charging Valves 300BAR M18 x 1.5 – Ideal for Carbon Fibre Cylinders – Best Fittings

www.bestfittings.co.uk www.bestfittings.co.uk


Thanks, 😊

Matthias
Click to expand...
Matthias,
Email Best Fittings, tell them what bottles, make etc you have. Explain exactly what you want to do, achieve.
Best Fittings will advise and help.

I've used best fittings for years, not one complaint from me.
Earlier this year they built me a reg tester for bottle regulators, something not on the website. Couple of emails and I had a reg tester to the specification I wanted.

Buy once, cry once.
 
Upvote 0
Scotty1 said:
That’s a good question … no pressure rating listed. Does this work like the Ed valve?
Click to expand...
It is a simple slide valve. Normally they are 100psi. This one is probably 800 psi for paintball. I designed and manufactured paintball ones years ago. The design will not handle our pressures. If it was beefy enough for the pressure, the o-rings would self destruct.
 
Upvote 0
Geezerhood said:
Looks like the perfect solution for a shutoff valve that you could install pretty much anywhere. Too bad it is 1/8 NPT. All my stuff is M10. This one on Amazon is rated to 5000 PSI. Since the sealing is done with O-Rings, the higher the pressure the more difficult it is going to be to slide the collar. I looked for a video on YouTube but didn't see one.

Click to expand...
If the black sleeve doesn't explode, the o-rings sliding over the 1/32 vent holes at full pressure will extrude into them and shear.
 
Upvote 0
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.
Click to expand...

For the OP or anyone else looking for an easy to open and close bleed screw, these work way better than the ones like what comes on Tuxing or Yong Heng compressors. You can do a slow bleed or a fast one easily. I replaced all the bleed screws on my stuff with these.

1694615974349.png



SilentSquirrel said:
Has anyone tried one of these?
They are available on eBay, Amazon, AliExpress

It is a check valve with pressure release

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225183863877
Click to expand...

Looks like the perfect solution for a shutoff valve that you could install pretty much anywhere. Too bad it is 1/8 NPT. All my stuff is M10, but a male or female QC 1/8 NPT would solve that and allow me to insert it anywhere along the line with no tools. This one on Amazon is rated to 5000 PSI. Since the sealing is done with O-Rings, the higher the pressure the more difficult it is going to be to slide the collar. The O-Rings would wear over time and would likely need to be replaced to keep the seal tight. Hopefully the design allows that. I looked for a video on YouTube but didn't see one.



Sergey1972 said:
If the black sleeve doesn't explode, the o-rings sliding over the 1/32 vent holes at full pressure will extrude into them and shear.
Click to expand...

Good point. If that sleeve is made of aluminum as it appears to be, I don't see it is being strong enough to hold back 4500 PSI. And with the sliding over a hole like you said, I doubt the O-Rings would last very long.

Humdinger said:
I've owned Chinese valves, Airtanksforsale valves, Airhog valves, and Omega valves. IMO, the best of the best (and it's not even close) is the Omega HP-3 valve sold by Airguns of Arizona. See the photo below. The Omega HP-3 valve has everything any user could ever want in a quality unit. It has a butter smooth main pressure knob which is easy to open and close and regulate the outgoing air flow. The air bleed knob is made of brass, it's knurled and is much larger than any competitor's bleed valve knob. It is super easy to open and close. The HP-3 also has a secondary tank pressure gauge. The tank is filled through a standard Foster male fitting.

Do not confuse the Omega HP-3 valve with the standard Omega valve that uses a push button bleed. That button bleed is much harder to use and it requires frequent o-ring replacements. It does not have a secondary tank pressure gauge. I had to clip the spring on the button bleed otherwise it was extremely hard to push open to bleed the hose. Omega valves come with a flexible microbore hose that is superior to anything else on the market. It can be tied in knots with no damage. Plastic hose coatings on most brands kink and crack and aren't nearly as flexible as the Omega hoses. Chinese microbore hoses are notorious for leaking, cracking, and having quality control issues.

The Airtanksforsale valve is second best but the air flow knob is stiff to open. Its secondary tank pressure gauge is cheap and inaccurate. Mine read 200 bar higher pressure than was actually in the tank. I replaced the tank gauge with a 1.5" accurate gauge by Durachoice. It's hose is good quality but not nearly as flexible or as durable as an Omega hose.

All commonly found SCBA tanks such as SCI, Luxfer, Scott, etc. and the Omega tanks are all 7/8-14 threaded. Chinese brand SCBA tanks are all M18*1.5 metric threaded and must use metric threaded valves which are easily found at the outlets that sell those tanks. The biggest drawback of Chinese tanks is not their quality but the fact that they are metric threaded and use cheaply made valves of lesser quality.

View attachment 388124
Click to expand...

That looks like a great valve. It costs more than some of my airguns, but I am sure I would enjoy using it.
 
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Upvote 0
Here is my 2 year old bottle valve from jb it has a very small orfice for the bleed screw. No need for high finger torque to close.

20230913_202624.jpg


The older version has a larger orfice .
20230913_203240.jpg


And I have to use pliers to tighten and loosen that knob as the little burs will cut my fingers.

Today a new valve for a Chinese bottle came in and lookie same big orfice.

20230913_202703.jpg


Surprisingly they all have metric 12 - 1.25 thread. Now if I can only find a larger knob bleed screw in that size!

20230913_204428.jpg


20230913_204510.jpg



Allen
 
Upvote 0
Sergey1972 said:
It is a simple slide valve. Normally they are 100psi. This one is probably 800 psi for paintball. I designed and manufactured paintball ones years ago. The design will not handle our pressures. If it was beefy enough for the pressure, the o-rings would self destruct.
Click to expand...
I took another look at the link I provide and there is no working pressure or rated pressure stated.
That's frightening!
However, here is a link to a slide check device rated for pcp pressures (3k=5K psi)

The question again
Has anyone tried one?


Edward
 
Upvote 0
SilentSquirrel said:
I took another look at the link I provide and there is no working pressure or rated pressure stated.
That's frightening!
However, here is a link to a slide check device rated for pcp pressures (3k=5K psi)

The question again
Has anyone tried one?


Edward
Click to expand...
Chinese cut and paste job. The visible vent hole is half the oring cross section without proper lead in. The "extended quick disconnect for Fx airguns" isn't. The knurled sleeve looks standard length, whereas extended qd's for fx airguns typically have the knurled sleeve 3-4 times longer. If it doesn't explode it will be very difficult if not impossible to move under pressure. It will cut the orings in 10-20 passes to the point of a leak. No I didn't test that one. However, I've been manufacturing paintball parts and aerospace hydraulics since 1987, so I have a little experience and the equipment necessary to test products. We are in the USA so product liability is forever. I also offered lifetime warranty on my products so design and testing is of paramount importance.
 
Upvote 0
OK, I really appreciate all your input. Cool!

I'd love to go the safe route, and the beautiful route.
And both those routes would lead me to Best Fittings.

However, I have spent so much $$ on other gear..., a beautiful valve with comfortable bleed screw isn't a necessity.... 🤷🏼‍♂️ (Yes, I keep telling that to myself.)

Let me see if I can't get an assortment of bleed screws, of which ONE hopefully fits. (How would I know what thread size I have?)

Matthias
 
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