Brake line for HPA

[Mudbugmitch]

Anyone here ever used brake line and hydraulic fittings for HPA?
I saw a guy from Slovenia using this for a 22XX. Selling these, too.

[cobalt327]

It will help by narrowing it down to what type of brake line and what psi hpa you are dealing with.

[grand-galop]

I went on a forum and was having the same question as you have... This is one answer that is backed with numbers...


I'd think max pressure would be mechanical ratio x lever pressure/mc bore area?

So in the hayes stroker trails, - lever mech ratio is approx 5.33:1
The bikeradar brake test went to 150nm, so we can use that.
I think the stroker bore is 10mm, thought I read that somewhere, seems about right, I'll use it.

EDIT: 150x5.33= 799.5
10mm bore = 5mm^2*pi=78.5mm^2

799.5N/78.5mm^2= 10.18MPa, which converts to 1476psi.

I'm not 100% on my math/unit measurements, but this sounds abouts right.

[grand-galop]

This is another validation of what the calc from the forum confirm...  Look at the data  MAXIMUM HYDRALIC PRESSURE.

http://www.hayesbrake.com/markets/motorcycle/products/

[Buldawg76]

NO NO NO
Brake line is not rated anywhere near the pressure that PCP gun use even a 2000 psi filled gun. It is not seamless tubing and as such is only capable of a max pressure of 2000 PSI with most applications only seeing 1800 psi max with hydraulic fluids not air.

There is absolutely no safety factor built in that for it to be safe it would need to be tested at close to 10,000 psi or over for a 3 to 1 safety factor. In its intended use with fluid a leak or rupture only result in a leak with no catastrophic explosions. If used with HPA air it then become a bomb that will send shrapnel flying in all directions.

Mike

[oldpro]

It will help by narrowing it down to what type of brake line and what psi hpa you are dealing with.

There is NO brake line or fittings that will work so don't bother narrowing it down. This is completely unsafe and irresponsible for anyone to sell period.

[dyotat100]

There is stainless seamless tubing that you can use.

[Smoketown]

There are a lot of things that you CAN use ...

There is also a lot of things that are PROVEN for HPA use and for what you get, they're really not that expensive.

I guess it depends whether or not you like having your fingers and other body parts attached ... or not.   

Cheers,
Smoketown

[anti-squirrel]

With how inexpensive HPA tubing including paintball equipment is nowadays, using regular standard hydraulic brake line is bad.  Very bad.

The line used on a submarine's hydraulic plant would be adequate but none of us can afford them, nor would want to carry around an airgun that was "fed" by this type of line...  Yup, might be a wee bit heavy.

[Mod90]

Anyone here ever used brake line and hydraulic fittings for HPA?
I saw a guy from Slovenia using this for a 22XX. Selling these, too.

Good to know who's doing what & who to avoid. Some people like to live dangerously, I'm not one of them.

Materials used for hydraulic applications are not best suited for HPA purposes. Most hydraulic lines, even those with substantial wall thicknesses, are made of relatively soft material, even though they may be expected to hold some very high hydraulic pressures. Over time, that material may most likely become thinner & brittle from stress related work hardening. If it does hold, there's no telling for how it will do so, or how the material will react when it reaches its stress cycle limit. It may crack if he's lucky, or explode if he's not lucky, or of be launched off the gun if/when the threads or screws holding it in place shear off. I'd prefer to not be close by, or even in the same building in the last instance, for any of those scenarios.


My 2 cents? If going this route, one  should keep an extra pair of briefs in ones pocket & the nearest hospitals number on speed dial. Glean from this what you will.

[Mudbugmitch]

LOL
Thank you folks. I am in no way contemplating going this way at all. I just saw this being used and sold online. I thought that I'd give you guys another safety topic to pick and gnaw at.
I realize that most brake line is not seamless and I personal don't believe it would even hold up to co2 pressures.
I believe that with so many paintballers out there who still have all their own fingers that macroline is far more safe.
I believe any pressure above a co2 powerlet to be "High Pressure" but when my old pistol suddenly dumped it load it made me wet my pants. You Learn Respect, sometimes the hard way.
Ya'll be careful.
Shoot straight.

Mitch

[oldpro]

It surprises me someone isn't killed everyday from HPA mods. I've seen so much botched work and ideas i cringe thinking some kid is out there filling his gun up right now after reading someone's crazy mod. Scary stuff this HPA

[dyotat100]

There are a lot of things that you CAN use ...

There is also a lot of things that are PROVEN for HPA use and for what you get, they're really not that expensive.

I guess it depends whether or not you like having your fingers and other body parts attached ... or not.   

Cheers,
Smoketown

My compressor has stainless tubing all over it. Take a look at REAL compressor. That's how the air gets from one stage to the next. Then goes to the water and oil seperator. Then to the large filter.

You must get the tubing that meets your pressure requirements. Not real hard at all to do.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-stainless-steel-tubing/=18710v7

[2K1TJ]

It surprises me someone isn't killed everyday from HPA mods. I've seen so much botched work and ideas i cringe thinking some kid is out there filling his gun up right now after reading someone's crazy mod. Scary stuff this HPA

I just read where a woman was killed by, of all things, a whipped cream dispenser! How is this related? They are charged with co2 carts. Part of it blew off and struck her in the chest, sending her into cardiac arrest.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usatoday.com/story/103098700/

[anti-squirrel]

Travis, I don't envy the stuff I'm sure you gotta work on.  I always look at things this way:

I have a lot of experience with HP hydraulics, air, and HP gases ranging from O2 and H2 to CO2, N2, and even refrigerants.  I worked in an HP Hydraulic shop and Air shop for the Navy and was a QA inspector. 

And yet I don't screw around with it.  I've seen at various times some things that make me ill, including a guy pressurize his arm with HP hydraulic oil  (2190 TEP to be exact), low pressure return piping for a submarine's hydraulic plant get pressurized to pump discharge pressure (copper line inflated to 3000 PSI)- looked like a bunch of shiny sausage between stanchions.  Saw another guy blow his finger off (literally blown off by the rush of escaped air), and I won't even mention about HP oxygen or hydrogen.  And on a sub or ship, you check for steam leaks with a broom-stick.  When the stick gets cut, you found it. 

High Pressure fluids, whether steam, air or a liquid/oil, are some bad joo-joo to mess with.  It's a lot like working on high voltage circuits while they're energized.  Gotta pay attention

[shultz]

It surprises me someone isn't killed everyday from HPA mods. I've seen so much botched work and ideas i cringe thinking some kid is out there filling his gun up right now after reading someone's crazy mod. Scary stuff this HPA

Oh come on, it's JUST air!!! you breathe the stuff all the time, how dangerous could it possibly be

Sadly, I really think this is how more than a few people view HPA.....

[Mod90]

It surprises me someone isn't killed everyday from HPA mods. I've seen so much botched work and ideas i cringe thinking some kid is out there filling his gun up right now after reading someone's crazy mod. Scary stuff this HPA

Oh come on, it's JUST air!!! you breathe the stuff all the time, how dangerous could it possibly be

Sadly, I really think this is how more than a few people view HPA.....

It's not just that people see air as something harmless, but most people just getting into PCP's & HPA sports are simply not aware of how dangerous HPA can be if not handled with the proper equipment or with sufficient safety factors in place. Couple that with the fact that lots of people have a natural preference to try cut costs to save money, or cut corners of a process to save time/effort/resources. I tend to think of it like this. While you might save some dollars today doing things the cheaper/shorter way, that small success at frugality can cost your hearing or eyesight or a limb, or even your life. I put it like this to people that are insistent on doing things in such a way. It's their life & their body & their loved ones lives, if they put the collective value of all those things at that $50-$100.00 you've saved, then they can do so if they wish. But they do not get to put my safety or my people's safety at risk. If something bad happens, they might feel a bit short changed, but they shouldn't, because they got what they paid for, and the responsibility for whatever happens will have to rest solely upon their shoulders, because they were advised against it, knew better, & went that route anyway. Can't blame the one that sold it to them, or whoever told them it would work out fine & never fail. Theirs & theirs alone. Basically, if you can't do something the safest, most correct way, you shouldn't be doing anything at all.

#dismountssoapbox