PCP? HPA? LPA? what's the difference?

[Poorman Plinker]

Anyone here have any thoughts on what the difference is between PCP and HPA? And perhaps know the difference between High pressure air and Low pressure air? Thanks in advance. 

[rsterne]

A PCP runs on HPA (or it could run on LPA).... The term means Pre-Charged Pneumatic, as opposed to a pumper which is charged for each shot.... The air in a PCP is carried in an on-board reservoir.... HPA means High Pressure Air (and LPA, Low Pressure) although the difference is symantics, and what you deem "high".... You can tether a pneumatic to a tank (bottle) which delivers HPA (or LPA) through a hose to the gun, which would technically mean that the GUN is not precharged, only the bottle, so that would be a pure HPA (or LPA) gun and not a PCP.... Guns that are converted to run on a regulated HPA (or LPA) bottle are often called HPA rather than PCP, even when the bottle is attached to the gun by more than just the hose.... Bottom line is, they all work the same way, and the terms are virtually interchangeable....

Bob

[Poorman Plinker]

Thank you Mr. S.Your distinctions between the two are very much like my own.

I will also share this bit I found by asking the same question elsewhere. Matthew Wayne Helton posted this in The Airgun Research Foundation facebook group:

Different sports, different terminology. HPA was coined by the Paintball Industry , with evolved from "Nitro" tank usage. Regulators used by the paintball industry up until about 1996-1997 were all 850PSI (aka "HPA" for compatibility with CO2 guns). But then Tom Kaye (of Airgun Designs, and Shoebox Compressor fame) came up with a paintball gun which ran at 1100-1200PSI (aka SHP): The AutoMag RT, which was a Compressed Air ONLY design. However, some folks took a different tack, and started building and setting up paintball guns operating at lower pressures (350-450PSI aka SLP). With Airsoft taking off in the USA, some people started converting Green gas guns to Compressed air using Low Pressure regulators (~100-150PSI aka LPR). PCP guns before about 2000 ran from 1000 to 2900 PSI; when the "Simple Simon"/USFT came out, many were surprised to learn it was only a 1400PSI gun (with a very large reservoir).

LPR= "Low Pressure Regulator" 100-150PSI (LRPs are actually secondary regulators...they can take no more than about 1000PI input pressure, there are a few ULP "Ultra Low Pressure Regulators which regulate to 100-250PSI from 3000
PSI input pressure), SLP = "Super Low Pressure" 250-350PSI, SP = "Standard Pressure" 750-950PSI, SHP = "Super High Pressure" 950-1150PSI, Some people are starting to call 1200+ PSI regulators "Ultra High Pressure" UHP = 1200PSI-2000PSI, nodding to the tanks used for PCP filling and PCP power.
The "Simple Simon" evolved into the MAC-1 USFT built by Tim McMurray. Gen1 guns were unregulated and used a large 1400PSI Aluminum Reservoir (400CC), Gen2 guns used a UHP Regulator 1400-1600PSI with a 13 or 22 CI 3000PSI Tank.