Considering first PCP - Flashpup?

[VaporTrail]

I have two of the Chinese hand pumps. One I used once just for the thrill of it and one in the box that I only took out once to make sure it worked.

BTW.... The thrill is way over rated.... 

if you're thoroughly disenchanted, perhaps you'd be amenable to cutting the thrill in half and selling me one? 

I'd buy both, but I'd need to save up a little more scratch.

Just a little something to mull over. 

[SpeedyBB]

As for pumps, I have one of the ebay chinese pumps. I have pumped it to 4,500 psi and it held air. I have pumped it 100 times really fast with no breaks, no damage despite getting really hot. It's been used for many tins, hasn't needed a rebuild yet. I have been unscrewing the top and wiping clean the water that builds up inside and applying new silicone lube on a regular basis. It's been good to me.

To the guns. I only have one pcp, a .22 marauder with synthetic stock.
I can say it's been very reliable, it's not hard to work on, and every single part can be ordered from Crosman, as well as plenty of aftermarket parts. Very quiet. Factory tune accuracy was good, in the process of trying different tunes now. I've had it for just under a year, but I've put many tins of pellets through it. It hasn't leaked.
Problem you might have with the .22 version is the barrels can be a luck of the draw. My first barrel was only good with JSB 18.18's, but it was could group .75" @50 yards, 25 yards they stacked. I got a second barrel, it was awful so I had to send it back for another which they did free of charge. Current barrel is better than the original, not as pellet picky. If you have accuracy problems you can either send the whole gun back (assuming you haven't voided the warranty yet), or buy a new barrel. Crosman barrels are were 35 bucks last year if memory serves.
Second con that bothers some people is weight. It's not light nor exactly heavy, it's in the middle, 7.3lbs with no scope. You can buy an aftermarket aluminum tube that cuts the weight down by over a pound.
All in all it's a pretty low risk gun which is a big reason I got it.

[puddleglum]

Well, two cheap pumps it is, so I have an extra for backup/parts.

Should I make a big desiccant filter out of a plastic jar for hand pumping? Is it effective/worth it?

Thank you, all, for the excellent advice, this has been far less painful than I expected.

[VaporTrail]

a good choice. Now, prepare to have an inner debate with yourself as you pump for 15 minutes, wondering whether or not you need to buy an extra cylinder or just save up for that fancy compressor or SCBA tank.  I'm gonna pick up another pump (this time a Chinese one), but I'm also gonna start saving up for that SCBA tank. Refills are 3 bucks at the local dive shop which is about 5 minutes away from where I work. 4500psi 75 cu.ft tank that has the gauge, fill station and hose, a calculated 43.4 fills from 150 to 200 bar. The pump will be for when I'm shooting at home, tank will be for when I'm out hunting/shooting at the range.

As for the filter, if I remember correctly, some of the pumps come with it. Although I'm also sure that another inline filter won't hurt. I was pumping out in the jungle over the weekend and that was the first time I felt moisture come out from the bleed valve. That was with slow deliberate pumps, so next round I'll be taking it even slower.

Less painful is always nice. 

[puddleglum]

A carbon fiber tank is definitely a possibility rattling around in the back of my mind; the life extended 45 cu ft ones from PA in particular catch my attention. I would need to decide that PCP shooting is the bees knees before dropping that kind of money, though. I also would need to figure out what my options are for fills. Luckily for me, I live next to Lake Michigan and there seems to be at least one dive shop in my town, and two dive shops withing 30 minutes of me, as well as a few paintball places. But I am getting ahead of myself; for now, the hand pump will do.

I would need to use the hand pump outside a fair bit, so if a DIY desiccant filter is a viable and useful option to cut down on moisture entering the gun, I would be more than happy to make something.

[VaporTrail]

Yes, definitely a frequent thought in my head nowadays. Shooting the Bullboss isn't the bee's knees just quite yet, but in terms of power and repeatable accuracy, it's pretty hard to beat.

There's differing views on moisture buildup in pumps...but I haven't owned them long enough to make a very educated decision just yet. Safe isn't too bad either. 

[avator]

I have two of the Chinese hand pumps. One I used once just for the thrill of it and one in the box that I only took out once to make sure it worked.

BTW.... The thrill is way over rated.... 

if you're thoroughly disenchanted, perhaps you'd be amenable to cutting the thrill in half and selling me one? 

I'd buy both, but I'd need to save up a little more scratch.

Just a little something to mull over. 

One is a back up and the other is the back up for the back up.

[puddleglum]

The pup came in today. Everything looks good. I ordered two ebay hand pumps, a Competitive Electric Pro DLX chrony, med scope rings, silicone oil, and 150 of each of the big four .25 cal pellets: JSB 25.4, JSB 33.95, H&N 30.86, and H&N 28.24.

I am keeping an eye out for a used tank on ebay. I did find one: 45cu ft, 4500psi, manufactured 12/06, last hydro on 8/16. So I could get 2 years, 8 months of use out of it, and about 25-30 fills per tank. Doesn't seem too bad. They are asking $165 shipped.

Can any of you who have more experience dealing with these things tell me if this is a decent deal, or if I should be able to find much better if I keep looking?

Thank you,
pg

[VaporTrail]

I have two of the Chinese hand pumps. One I used once just for the thrill of it and one in the box that I only took out once to make sure it worked.

BTW.... The thrill is way over rated.... 

if you're thoroughly disenchanted, perhaps you'd be amenable to cutting the thrill in half and selling me one? 

I'd buy both, but I'd need to save up a little more scratch.

Just a little something to mull over. 

One is a back up and the other is the back up for the back up.

Drats. Foiled again!

 

[Wayne52]

Most people who start shooting pcp's a lot end up getting something other than a hand pump.  I didn't plan on it myself however after hand pumping a 13ci tank from 0- full didn't take long to buy a couple of used SCBA tanks on ebay to get filled at the dive shop and now I've got the F10 shoebox which will probably do me good for a long time to top off those big SCBA tanks.  If I could have just been happy with my Prod and Disco it might have been a different story but with all the PCP's that I have now the F10 is a savior