Life Expectancy?

[dwood5]

I asked this a month or so ago and didn't get an answer. Hopefully I'll have better luck this time.

My new HW100's air cylinder is marked with a date and the instruction manual clearly states that the cylinder is only good for 10 years and then must be taken out of service.

Quote from the manual, "According to regulations, you must not use the air cylinder longer than 10 years. After 10 years from the manufacturing date the air cylinder must not be used any futher, must be emptied and sent back to the manufacturer for checking against extra charge." End Quote.

[Yeah right, I'm sure we'll all be shipping our cylinders back to Germany]

Surely some of you old timers on the forum have had your PCP airgun for that long. Do people really take their gun's air cylinders out of service after 10 years [or some other interval] if it is not leaking?

DON

[bradyman1]

Pcp's seem to be a fairly new gun for the masses. I would think as long as you are filling it yourself you are fine but I really don't know.

[Nomadic Pirate]

Somethimes manifacturers have to write stuff like that for liability issues

[rsterne]

I would imagine that corrosion is the concern.... The reservoir is probably designed with a 3:1 or 4:1 safety margin.... but if it rusts out from the inside due to moisture in the air it could eventually lose any built in safety margin.... hence the warning....

It's probably a good idea to do a visual inspection of the inside of the tube every 5 years or so on any gun....

Bob

[JonnyReb]

 Great advice Bob    even with devices built in to remove moisture form the compressed air, water does get in. I used to get scared pumping up my old AR6. In my mind i could see the internals looking like the inside of a 60 year old galvenized water main scary stuff. I think every 5 years makes great sense.  J

[zsedcz]

I would imagine that corrosion is the concern.... The reservoir is probably designed with a 3:1 or 4:1 safety margin.... but if it rusts out from the inside due to moisture in the air it could eventually lose any built in safety margin.... hence the warning....

It's probably a good idea to do a visual inspection of the inside of the tube every 5 years or so on any gun....

Bob

Just like a scuba tank, after time it must be service.

[Markez]

Quote from the manual, "According to regulations, you must not use the air cylinder longer than 10 years. After 10 years from the manufacturing date the air cylinder must not be used any futher, must be emptied and sent back to the manufacturer for checking against extra charge." End Quote.

I don't think there are any regulations like that here in the USA. User beware.

Mark

[rsterne]

AFAIK, pressure vessels under 2" diameter do not require hydrostatic testing.... However, they should be designed with a much larger safety margin, as hydrostatic testing is usually done to only 5/3 of the rated capacity.... ie 5000 psi on a 3000 psi MSWP vessel....

Bob

[only1harry]

10yrs is not too long for a relatively expensive gun like the HW100.  I called  Air Force about 2-3yrs ago, and they told me the tank of a Condor & Talon is designed to last at least 25yrs if it is treated and stored properly (not in extreme temps).

In most cases the valve will go first, but they have safety features built in, so the tank won't dump all the air at once.

[aack73]

i would put some light weight silicone oil through it occasionally. least once a year inspect it, clean it out good and wipe down with silicone oil.JMO.  start using nitrogen too if available and affordable. more so to protect a very nice pcp rifle than anything. like harry said. i'm sure anything is possible but not very likely to explode. more than likely would develop a leak or blow out all the air if abused or neglected.