Winter storage of PCP: how much pressure left in the tube?

[steve-kville]

One will be staying "on duty" for the winter in case of a backyard squirrel invasion. The others I'm gonna case up and put away until spring, unless we get a super nice Saturday and can flip some steel.

Should I top 'em all off? Let 'em at 2000psi? What do you do?

 

[Peskådot671]

There's no such thing as winter where I live but I'd personally store the regulated ones at 10 to 20 BAR above the regulator's set point. If it's unregulated, I would store it at also 10-20 BAR above the tail end of the bell curve.

 

[rangur1]

I would do similar to Peskadot671. Basically I put mine away with just over reg setting pressure. This minimizes pressure on the o rings while in storage.

 

[douger]

never really store them as they get shot but i always keep 170bar in my guns never had a leak 

 

[18.13]

If you ship one to FX USA they recommend 150 bar for shipping 

 

[Guest]

I got in the habit of putting my guns away with 100 BAR in, I can still pick them up and have a couple good shots if needed,

and I will always know if any started leaking since last I used it since I always put them away at the same pressure.

 

[elh0102]

I think storing at a pressure over the reg set point is generally recommended. It keeps the valve under pressure.

 

[nervoustrig]

My advice: don't fret over there being an ideal storage pressure. The proper amount is some. Some pressure to keep the seals formed against the extrusion gap.

Granted it is true that higher pressures have an influence on the material aging (hardening and cracking) but I suspect it would require well controlled lab conditions using the same production run, same temperature and humidity, same lubrication, etc. to detect the difference.

A regulator doesn't really care provided you don't expose the gun to a massive temperature rise that dimples the valve seat.

There are some rare exceptions like a poppet slowly extruding but from my point of view that is an indication the poppet is ill suited to the task. I feel the same way regarding O-ring extrusion....if it extrudes and fails, it was an insufficient durometer.

I keep all mine full or nearly full but I see nothing wrong with putting them away with 500 - 1000psi if it suits you.

 

[wildcj5]

I bought a Career 707 from Mac1 years ago and he said whatever I did with it don’t store it over 2k. He said on the Career it was hard on the valve. If this it true with all airguns I have no idea but he for sure had more experience than I so I listened.

 

[bertman77mk2]

Winter storage—-will be using mine all winter!

 

[douger]

Winter storage—-will be using mine all winter!

LOL YOU REALLY SHOOT 

 

[stubshaft]

Winter down here gets to low 60's. I keep mine at 180 BAR when not in use.

 

[lothar]

I'd never really thought about this before as I would have assumed empty, but keeping pressure totally makes sense. 

 

[timothy50]

I have a Hatsan Blitz. I can't find any information in the manual for storage. It doesn't get cold here. So thanks for the info

 

[Johnnyko]

I'm pretty sure they store we'll pressurized. I usually keep mine with the bolt locked back and the safety on.

 

[HubenK1Sniper92]

Why put them away.. improvise, adapt and overcome

 

[Raden1943]

I store all my guns at whatever psi I left them. Several are at 2900 psi. I don't think it makes a difference and if it does it can't be all that much. I would take mac1 advice hower on that one particular gun. That guy knows what he's talking about. That being said I could be wrong. It's possible that some guns do have valve damage that happens when left at high pressure..... I haven't ever heard about it until I saw that post that said mac1 recommended 2k psi.

 

[Keyman62421]

Me too, whatever. Get out there and SHOOT. If needed, set jup a shooting blind w/ small heater to keep the frost off. Anything to keep shooting.
Find some straw bales to set the targets on ( to keep above snow). Paint targets enamel red. Keep going!

 

[Firewalker]

I have the tendency to air up my guns before I rack them. That way I know at a glance if they are leaking.

 

[john8]

I air mine up to 200bar, that's above my regulator setting and being a nice simple number lets me keep on leak detection.