PCP air compressor recommendation

[seamaster]

Just had an epic battle with my Hill MK5 pump. I took it apart, it was just full of grime and rust inside. I changed all major inner seals, clean up, and lubricated. Still no go.

So I am going to for the PCP air compressor route now. Thought about scuba tank, but not interested in doing periodic tank leak, and fees for getting it filled. So I think a solid, reliable PCP air compressor might be easier.

Any recommendation for PCP air compressor less than $500?

I don't need 540 bar monster pump. My Steyr pistol cylinder green mark max at 200 Bar.

[Randall]

I bit the bullet and bought a Hill Electric compressor. It's twice your budget, but rebuild parts are easily available, unlike most of the low cost compressors out there. So far, I'm glad I did. https://www.airriflepump.com/acatalog/E ... tml#SID=15

[David M]

Search for "3500 psi air compressor paintball"

[Rover]

After seeing the results due to unskilled handling on two compressors at my former club, I say don't add to the horror.

Use a SCUBA tank or large nitrogen tank, after all, you've already seen the results of YOU.

[brent375hh]

I have a Hill 5. I pump very slow in both directions. It never gets warm, or builds moisture. I kid myself that the desiccant actually has enough dwell time to be of use if I pump slow.

I prefer the scuba tank, but I hate lugging/driving it to get filled, and having the annual visual.

I would have to take a wild guess that a cheap compressor builds heat and moisture even more so than your hand pump.

[Rover]

"I prefer the scuba tank, but I hate lugging/driving it to get filled, and having the annual visual."

If you feel this way, go with the large nitrogen tank. They will deliver a full one and exchange the empty. Also, it will last damn near forever.

[Gwhite]

The Hill compressor looks pretty well thought out, but compressors & pumps take maintenance. The drying system on the pump is a pain to keep fresh, and it looks like the compressor uses the same system, requiring regular changes to the dry pak filter. Scuba tanks are a hassle, but for the expense of a compressor and the issues of maintenance, it's not a simple tradeoff.

[m1963]

As others have pointed out- a dive tank refilled locally is generally the way to go for least expense.

This link may be helpful-
https://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.ph ... in#p288071

[Richard144]

As you can see, you are getting comments all over the place. How you get your airgun air is really a personal choice. i hand pumped for years and used scuba tanks. You can buy a new pump from China really cheap. You could get a scuba tank for a bit more. You can get a carbon fiber tank for even more $$$. Compressors are nice but even more of a drama and you can get a cheap Chinese one for a little more than $200. or you can get a Brauer for $5000. All of the cheaper Chinese compressors have mixed reviews. I bought a Vevor which is an air cooled Chinese job for about $300. It works fine for now but who knows how long it will last? I figure when it fails I will just throw it away and buy another.
Good luck with whatever you go with.
Rick B.

[6string]

As you can see, you are getting comments all over the place. How you get your airgun air is really a personal choice.

I’d like to offer my recommendation which is going to sound like it comes from way out in left field.
You say you have a Steyr air pistol?
I think all Steyr air pistols can be converted to CO2. For the $500 budget you have, you could buy the CO2 conversion kit and a 10 or 20lb second hand CO2 tank. You get a LOT shots out of a full CO2 cylinder and and full CO2 tank will give you a year or more of refills even if you shoot every single day! Plus, you don’t have to deal with all those hassles of scuba tank certification, moisture build-up of compressed air, not to mention the risks associated with the higher operating pressure.
Trade-off? You have to be careful of ambient temperature as extreme high temps will cause muzzle velocity changes.
Also, if you do a lot of travel and match shooting, filling CO2 may not always be accomodated at certain ranges.
If you primarily shoot at home or the same range near your home, you’ll likely never miss using compressed air.

If you give CO2 a try and keep the compressed air parts, you can always switch back!

PS: I think our host, Pilkington, has on their info page an article detailing the advantages of using CO2.

Best Regards,
Jim

[Ray Dash]

After buying multiple cheap Chinese shoebox compressors I would recommend the GX Pump brand. If you are just filling air pistol tanks, they will last a long time and you could get the CS-3i model for under $500 with a good water filter. If you ever plan to fill larger rifle or even smaller scuba tanks in the future, then the CS-4 model is the way to go. The CS-4 is a little over your budget, but it is water cooled and, in my opinion, well worth the extra money over the CS-3i.

[seamaster]

https://gxpumpofficial.com/

GX CS3-1 is in deep discount.

What is the advantage of GX 4 except it is battery charged, mobile to carry into woods for your turkey hunts?

Intrinsically, mechanically a better unit?

[crankythunder]

Good Morning.

Ok, I live in the USA and hae a number of scuba shops conveniently located throughout the area and compete at a number of ranges. I assist with filling the scuba tanks at the ranges when necessary. Personally, I own two aluminum scuba tanks myself for home use.

Annual testing and inspection is $60.00 although I can get it specified for above water use only and reduce that inspection requirement to once every 5 years. Refills are $15.00.

When considering a pump you have a $1,000.00 purchase price.

Figure out how many times a year you get a refill and you can get your existing base costs. Me, I refill my tanks twice a year (each) for a total cost of $180.00 although I could reduce that significantly if I ever gave up scuba diving. Plus a lot of the costs is shared between air pistol and scuba.

Looks like it is about 6 years or more to recover the costs of a pump purchase.

Anybody know the anticipated life of the high pressure pump?

Does not make any sense to me to purchase a high pressure pump.

[Ray Dash]

https://gxpumpofficial.com/

GX CS3-1 is in deep discount.

What is the advantage of GX 4 except it is battery charged, mobile to carry into woods for your turkey hunts?

Intrinsically, mechanically a better unit?

The CS-4 is water cooled, has a grease pot that you turn every 4-6 hours, runs extremely cool and quiet and "should" outlast the others by quite a bit if used correctly. You can also run the CS-4 much longer than the 3 without overheating. Again, if you are just filling small pistol cylinders then you could probably save the money and get the 3 but if you ever plan to shoot air rifle and need 250-300 bar fills and pick up a nice SCBA tank down the road at some point than the 4 is the way to go in my opinion.

[Ray Dash]

Good Morning.

Ok, I live in the USA and hae a number of scuba shops conveniently located throughout the area and compete at a number of ranges. I assist with filling the scuba tanks at the ranges when necessary. Personally, I own two aluminum scuba tanks myself for home use.

Annual testing and inspection is $60.00 although I can get it specified for above water use only and reduce that inspection requirement to once every 5 years. Refills are $15.00.

When considering a pump you have a $1,000.00 purchase price.

Figure out how many times a year you get a refill and you can get your existing base costs. Me, I refill my tanks twice a year (each) for a total cost of $180.00 although I could reduce that significantly if I ever gave up scuba diving. Plus a lot of the costs is shared between air pistol and scuba.

Looks like it is about 6 years or more to recover the costs of a pump purchase.

Anybody know the anticipated life of the high pressure pump?

Does not make any sense to me to purchase a high pressure pump.

That is also good advice unless you ever plan on shooting 250-300 bar rifles, then a scuba tank that only fills to 3000psi is useless. In my case when I was just shooting 200bar air pistol my local scuba shop closed down and I was forced to look for an alternative, so I ended up with a cheap shoebox compressor.

[seamaster]

Thank you guys for making your case for tank.

https://www.diversdirect.com/?gad_sourc ... gI4V_D_BwE

If I were to do a PCP tank setup, could you give me a list of items I should buy from the website?

If I were to get a 7 liter/ 70 cubic feet tank, what valve set up do I need?

If I get a carbon fiber 4500 psi tank, is there a regulator I can buy to get pressure down to 3000 psi for safety?

[Rover]

Pilk will tell you/sell you everything you need.

[Gwhite]

No offense to our host, but their selection of fill gear is somewhat limited. There are a couple of things to consider:

1) Used tanks are often available cheap, but they will need to be hydrotested. Check to see how much that will cost at a local dive shop. The dive shops may also have used tanks, which will be ready to go. One issue is that most diving tanks are rated for 300 bar, and will come with a DIN valve that goes that high, which you don't want (see below).

2) Tank size: 80 cubic feet is a good size. 100 cubic feet gives you some extra fills, but they are pretty unwieldy to haul back & forth to the dive shop for filling & inspections.

3) Steel vs aluminum. Steel will be lighter, but depending on how humid it is in your area, aluminum is rust free.

4) Valves: You want to get a "K" valve, which is good to 230 bar. That way the dive shop won't fill the tank to 300 bar and potentially get you in trouble. If you get a used tank with a 300 bar DIN valve, a dive shop can install a K-valve for you.

5) K-valve fill adapter: Air guns will typically come with a 200 bar DIN filing adapter. You will need a a K-valve fitting of some sort to get to DIN. Pilkington has such an adapter, but it doesn't have a good quality gauge, or a bleed valve. The gauges on cylinders are frequently very inaccurate, so it is useful to know what the pressure REALLY is. Depending on the pistol/cylinders, having a bleed valve can save a lot of wear on the cylinder & adapter threads. There is an outfit in England that makes VERY nice fill setups that have everything you need. Here a link to a posting that has all the info you need:

https://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.ph ... 80#p290480

[seamaster]

After another epic battle with my Hill MK5 pump, I noticed the leak comes from base hose connection.

I took it apart, accidentally strip the dowty metal seal’s seal. Now pump is leaking at that dowty seal.

How do I get the proper size dowty seal? How do you measure the size of those things? Where can I find two of them, without buying a whole industrial box of them?

[m1963]

Contact Hill Pumps and tell them what is going on. I have done this in the past, and they sent me what was needed to fix it, at no cost.

https://www.airriflepump.com/index.html