Hand Pumps - how to do it right?

[Ribbonstone]

Also a China pump fan...have owned FX and Hills….never again.

Part of it is WHAT you are filling.  All pumps are a PIA when filling large volumes or filling to some of the current higher pressure ratings. Filling from empty usually means a bit of cursing along the way.


Had one of those “life reboots” 2005….got back to PCP’s by 2006.  Ignoring what happened before 2005,  was a pump filler for everything until about 2019.  Got a compressor, but still use the pump to refill the really tiny volumes (like the 50cc’s or a 1701 or the 65cc’s of a P-rod).

Had to have a good reason to take out the powerful PCP’s (something was either real far away or big enough to need the power).  Mentally, realized that I was getting one powerful shot for every 5-7 pump strokes put back in.  Just shooting in the back yard, usually picked a different (much lower power) PCP that gave a shot per pump stroke.


The enemy of a pumps:  friction and heat (to an extent moisture).

Little you can do about friction if the internal surface of the pump is rough. O-rings are not great moving seals, they’ll wear out faster with a rougher surface.

Heat from air compression basically collects in that internal final stage (kind of like those Russian “nesting dolls”...it’s a pump inside a pump inside a pump, each feeding the other and increasing the output pressure).  Pumping in sets of 60-70 strokes, then a cool down does ,extend the pumps life (but also takes a lot more time to fill up as you have to add in the coffee breaks).

Bleeding the pump every time you take a cool down, blows out at least a certain amount of moisture.  You’d see it/feel it as the bleed screw releases the pumps air.  Even with a “dry pac”, was wet air coming out.

Would fill the bigger volumes the night before to get at least one fill up before refilling.  Normal would during TV/movie time...whenever the wife took a bathroom break (or popcorn...or phone...or whatever kind of beak), would put in a set of pumps/bleed the pump/head back to the couch.

End of the night, got “together time” points, and a full 500cc air gun.

[Mr Fluffy Tail]

 how to do it right hmm .. they didnt have cheap pumps when i bought my first one, a benjamin, which 'was' the cheap offering at the time ... but i'd say for 50 bucks a chinese pump will get the job done ...... cant speak for others, but i bought my benjamin pump new over 10 years ago and it was my only pump for years .. i dont do 'all day' shooting just occasional sight-ins and pesting so it wasnt seeing constant use, but its never had anything fail and has all the original orings in it ... one thing i did do was watch a video on how to disassemble it, and thats a key point if you want them to last .. they WILL get moisture in them and that needs to be removed and they need to be lubed up real well with silicone oil .. the good news is after the intial disassemble they dont need to be tightened as hard and its very easy to do maintenace after that .. that said i have zero complaints .. use them at a slow pace and give them 10 20 strokes and walk away check the pressure etc, then back to it and theyll last .. and oh yeah again, get the moisture out of them and coat them internally with silicone oil on a regular basis ... so im happy with the banjamin ... after reading many examples of peoples claims on china pumps ive concluded the benji fills faster and takes less strokes, not a huge deal, but its a better pump ... just take care of it its not cheap .. a 50$ pump who cares though right lol ...

[JimD]

Initially I only had a Benjamin pump and my Prod.  My kids bought me the pump.  It worked fine but needed a little silicone oil from time to time.  It has no moisture filter (or oil filter) but I was only pumping it less than 50 times to fill the Prod.  It takes awhile for even a few drops of moisture to build up.

When I got my Avenger, I wanted a higher pressure pump so I could fill over 3,000 psi.  It's a lot more pumps to get a usefull amount of air in the Avenger but the inexpensive chinese made pump did it fine before I got a Yong Heng.  I pumped it up to 4,000 psi a few times.  These days I only fill it to 3,000 or a little more because the regulator creeps up on higher fills.  Reg is set at 2100 so I still get several mags of shots. 

I would get a chinese pump with one of the little cotton filters on it.  They include extras.  You probably don't need it but it won't hurt anything and might be beneficial.  If you pumps hundreds of pumps, it would be a really good idea to have it.  I don't think you need anything bigger.  I check the bigger filter on my Yong Heng after every tank fill and the color changing dessicant gets wet very slowly -  multiple 45 minute SCBA tank fills - more than 3.  But some is probably accumulating in the cotton filter that came with the Yong Heng.  I change it more often.  I have seen a few drops come out of the Yong Heng bleed valve when I open it (I have the filters arranged so any water in the lines flows back to the pump). 

My Chinese pumps is not built worse than my Benjamin in any way I can see.  I would spend a little more to buy American too but the difference is not small, the Benjamin is over 3 times as much.  Hill is even more.  That much difference for no discernable difference (at least none in the higher cost pumps favor) doesn't make sense to me.   

[Greg_E]

I only bought my cheapo pump because it is slightly smaller than the Benjamin, and the folding feet let's me strap it to my rifle bag.

[bduares]

Even though the pump being taken apart in this video has a liquid coolant inside and mine does not, this is the video that I found helped me most when I had the issue of not being able to pull the pump handle back up after a down stroke (burnt o-ring in bottom of pump from friction and non-lubrication). Replacement of that particular part is at around the 21:30 point if I remember correctly

[Tack Driver 10]

$45 China pump with added shop made desiccator on the input side.
Very good at removing moisture before it enters the pump/gun.

When I was in the AF they used similar devices on the waveguides on B52s.

[Gone Fishing]

I own 5-6 China pumps.
They cost $25-$35 each (including tax and shipping) and last a long time (1-3 years at least) if you pump 40-50 pumps at a time and let them cool down for 15-30 minutes (depending on the surrounding temperature).
If I had to pay $100-$250 for a pump (Benjamin pump, Hill pump, etc) I would have never started using PCPs.
Now PCPs are by far my favorite airguns, all thanks to the cheap and reliable China pump.

I do the Hill pumps. Love them. The intake filter is BS marketing though. Use an inline filter.

I suspect they are nearly all the same. I bought from Hill to buy English and not Chinese, but like I said I'm sure they are just about all the same.

That sounds like my speed.  I try to avoid buying Chinese if I can.  The inline filter, is that a moisture filter?

This is the filter I use on my pump.

https://www.pyramydair.com/product/air-venturi-compact-inline-filter?a=9038

This is the one I use.

[Gone Fishing]

Initially I only had a Benjamin pump and my Prod.  My kids bought me the pump.  It worked fine but needed a little silicone oil from time to time.  It has no moisture filter (or oil filter) but I was only pumping it less than 50 times to fill the Prod.  It takes awhile for even a few drops of moisture to build up.

When I got my Avenger, I wanted a higher pressure pump so I could fill over 3,000 psi.  It's a lot more pumps to get a usefull amount of air in the Avenger but the inexpensive chinese made pump did it fine before I got a Yong Heng.  I pumped it up to 4,000 psi a few times.  These days I only fill it to 3,000 or a little more because the regulator creeps up on higher fills.  Reg is set at 2100 so I still get several mags of shots. 

I would get a chinese pump with one of the little cotton filters on it.  They include extras.  You probably don't need it but it won't hurt anything and might be beneficial.  If you pumps hundreds of pumps, it would be a really good idea to have it.  I don't think you need anything bigger.  I check the bigger filter on my Yong Heng after every tank fill and the color changing dessicant gets wet very slowly -  multiple 45 minute SCBA tank fills - more than 3.  But some is probably accumulating in the cotton filter that came with the Yong Heng.  I change it more often.  I have seen a few drops come out of the Yong Heng bleed valve when I open it (I have the filters arranged so any water in the lines flows back to the pump). 

My Chinese pumps is not built worse than my Benjamin in any way I can see.  I would spend a little more to buy American too but the difference is not small, the Benjamin is over 3 times as much.  Hill is even more.  That much difference for no discernable difference (at least none in the higher cost pumps favor) doesn't make sense to me.   

They are the nearly the same in quality. Usually the thickness of the tubing in the Hill is a couple millimeters more and the hose is better quality (some of the Chinese hoses pop from time to time but that has become rarer now days). Otherwise it's all the same. If you we buying the Hill like me, it isn't because it is better, but because you want to support buying from on country and not another. The warranty on the Hill is good too.

[Nomadic Pirate]

You can buy 5 China pumps for the price of a HILL, China pumps come with spare O-rings HILLs don't.

All 8 of my HILLs developes pitting in the main tube in a very short time, my 3 year old China pump is still perfect.

HILLs gunked up real fast and needed constant re-builds ( Rebuild kit for a HILL used to be 38 bucks ) in 3 years in my China pump only the check valve O-ring busted twice and that is the easier to change.

Basically a new China pump cost like a repair Kit for a HILL, you can if you want just toss the pump then if you don't want to fix it and get a new one.


After over 15 years of Handpumping, having used all kinds of pump I would never get anything but a China pump ( I have 3 still brand new in boxes for over a year now )

[Gone Fishing]

My current Hill is 4 years old. Hasn't been rebuilt once and used continually. I've heard of China pumps breaking immediately. I've heard of Hill pumps breaking immediately. They seem about the same, but depending on how much moisture is in the air, you will have dramatically different rebuild times (Hill) and break times (China), but I've heard of 10 year old Hills in Florida and ditto with China pumps. There really is no rhyme or reason some last beyond others. I've heard of pitting in both China pumps and Hills, and there was no rhyme or reason behind it either. Obviously the Chinese don't have a single pump, and some pumps will be better and some worse too. I know the Hill and the rebuild kit is more expensive than throwing one in the dump and buying from China, but the Hill has a better work ethic behind it and also has less ecological impact. I try and not throw things away and buy new as a philosophy. It is wasteful and not so good for the environment. But that is my conservationist ideas I suppose. Buy whatever you like: they are all the same.

[luge007]

My 2 cents.


I bought a Benjamin to pump up my Escape SS because it was half the price of the other 'high end' pumps.  It works flawlessly at keeping the Escape full of air up to 3k psi.


I eventually thought I should have a 'backup' pump that will do more than 3k psi and found an inexpensive Chinese pump online for around $45 shipped from 'the big A'.  Upon arrival I 'assembled' it and made a few no load pumps to see how the stoke felt.  It seems smooth and easy while not actually pumping, BUT it has an awefull 'petroleum smell' in the air it compresses.  No leak oil I can find, and nothing in the inline 'air filter', but the air STINKS. 


The Benjamin air does not stink.  Does it matter?  I have no idea, but if there are 'solvents' or VOC's in the air from the Chinese pump, would it be possible it will deteriorate the O rings in my airgun?


The Benjamin has also put up with a lot of abuse, I pumped a 68ci bottle to 4500psi with it.  The gauge was damaged but the pump did it.  The Chinese pump also pumped up the 68ci bottle, but it's gauge is rated for the pressure.  Hard to say if either one was easier or more difficult at 4500psi, they were pretty much the same.


Have no input on long-term use on the Chinese pump as I pretty much stopped pumping any airguns a few months after getting it.  The Benjamin is going on 3yrs old when I stopped using that one too.  not worthy to not be pumping, because it means I am not doing any shooting.


M

[Xraycer]

And what I think may be important - moisture filter???  Some say it's really important, some not so much? 

I don't think moisture is that important, unless you live someplace similar to the Amazon rain forest.
Be aware that ain't an inline filter will increase the overall air volume that you will have to fill. In other words, more pumps and more work. The larger the inline filter, the more pumps that will be required to achieve the necessary psi/bar in your gun's air tube.

[splitbeing]

You can buy 5 China pumps for the price of a HILL, China pumps come with spare O-rings HILLs don't.

All 8 of my HILLs developes pitting in the main tube in a very short time, my 3 year old China pump is still perfect.

HILLs gunked up real fast and needed constant re-builds ( Rebuild kit for a HILL used to be 38 bucks ) in 3 years in my China pump only the check valve O-ring busted twice and that is the easier to change.

Basically a new China pump cost like a repair Kit for a HILL, you can if you want just toss the pump then if you don't want to fix it and get a new one.


After over 15 years of Handpumping, having used all kinds of pump I would never get anything but a China pump ( I have 3 still brand new in boxes for over a year now )

Amen, Manny