scuba tank set up cost

[stevemag]

A co-worker and i were discussing airguns the other day and he asked me why i don't have a pcp.
I said i though most of them would be perfect for me but pumping them is a pain to me and pumps are just another thing that breaks or wears. seems like a lot of trouble.
He then showed me scuba tanks on ebay for  $50 bucks and under.
So my question would be,
what exactly do you need to make a scuba tank fill your pcp and what kind of money are we talking?

[cactusrat]

First off make sure those $50 tanks are worth $50.

If a tank has no years left to the expiration date, than it is useless.

Before getting a tank, find out if you have a place to get it filled.

Along with the tank, you will need a fill adaptor and a hose with the right fittings to fit the gun.

As for cost, it depends on what you get. Keep in mind that the bigger size of the tank, the more fills you will get off the tank. Also the higher the psi the tank the more fills.

[willbird]

Been looking into that myself, often the shipping s 35 or so, and ones close to requiring the 5 year hydro will mean another 25 for hydro. And if it fails hydro they destroy it :-).

The 62 cubic inch tank with a regulated output from Jds airman look like a god deal to me, you still need some plumbing to use t, but I can get the 62cu filled 8 miles from here for 3 bucks, the scuba would be an hour drive for a 5 dollar fill. The Benjy calculator says 83 fills on a disco from 1200 to 2k with a 525 cubic inch volume tank, the crossman calculator sticky thread says a typical 80 cu ft scuba is 600 some cubic inches, and I back figured the 62 cu ft from that number


Bill

[sperho]

If you shoot a 2000 psi gun, you can buy a brand spanking new SCUBA tank and fill yoke for about $250 total and you don't have to invest any more than that if you have a reasonable dive shop nearby.  That's about 80 fills on a Disco if you fill to 2000 and refill at 1000 and you have an 80CF SCUBA tank filled to 3000 psi.

[supertech77]

ta a dive/scuba shop locally i found used 80, tank fresh hydra,and life time refills for $125.00, has 2 of them, 125.00 each,he may deal if i buy both,is that a good deal?i did not price his new ones, that don't seem to bad to me, but hey i never owned a scuba tank before, i to am considering p.c.p air guns, too, and big bore as well. i think jonnyreb went that way with free refills,when he got the big bore.

[NitroBobby]

ta a dive/scuba shop locally i found used 80, tank fresh hydra,and life time refills for $125.00, has 2 of them, 125.00 each,he may deal if i buy both,is that a good deal?i did not price his new ones, that don't seem to bad to me, but hey i never owned a scuba tank before, i to am considering p.c.p air guns, too, and big bore as well. i think jonnyreb went that way with free refills,when he got the big bore.

$125 with lifetime re-fills? i'd say that's a good deal. if i found that deal, i would've taken a tank on the spot.
but i shoot a Discovery and i can use the 3K fill pressure.
if you are talking about going big-bore pcp, no dice. those guns typically run at 3K in the tank so you'd need the higher pressure (4500psi) tanks.

kgb

[willbird]

I exchanged a few emails with a dive shop about an hours drive away, they say 159 new including the first fill for an 80 cu ft aluminum . Then 5 a fill after that.

[gnef]

With free refills, that could be worth it if you cascade, but it won't be as convenient as having a 4500 PSI tank (particularly for the 3k psi guns).

It will be more and more worth it with cascading the more tanks you have, but will still be more work than a single 4500 psi tank.

If you have a Disco or another rifle with only a 2k psi fill, those tanks would definitely be worth it!

[supertech77]

ta a dive/scuba shop locally i found used 80, tank fresh hydra,and life time refills for $125.00, has 2 of them, 125.00 each,he may deal if i buy both,is that a good deal?i did not price his new ones, that don't seem to bad to me, but hey i never owned a scuba tank before, i to am considering p.c.p air guns, too, and big bore as well. i think jonnyreb went that way with free refills,when he got the big bore.

$125 with lifetime re-fills? i'd say that's a good deal. if i found that deal, i would've taken a tank on the spot.
but i shoot a Discovery and i can use the 3K fill pressure.
if you are talking about going big-bore pcp, no dice. those guns typically run at 3K in the tank so you'd need the higher pressure (4500psi) tanks.

kgb

  so those tanks aren't 4500psi tanks? so what is a 4500psi tank  a 97? i want the correct tank and these pcp set up are new to me,educate me please cause i,m willing to learn. 

[starlingassassin]

ta a dive/scuba shop locally i found used 80, tank fresh hydra,and life time refills for $125.00, has 2 of them, 125.00 each,he may deal if i buy both,is that a good deal?i did not price his new ones, that don't seem to bad to me, but hey i never owned a scuba tank before, i to am considering p.c.p air guns, too, and big bore as well. i think jonnyreb went that way with free refills,when he got the big bore.

$125 with lifetime re-fills? i'd say that's a good deal. if i found that deal, i would've taken a tank on the spot.
but i shoot a Discovery and i can use the 3K fill pressure.
if you are talking about going big-bore pcp, no dice. those guns typically run at 3K in the tank so you'd need the higher pressure (4500psi) tanks.

kgb

  so those tanks aren't 4500psi tanks? so what is a 4500psi tank  a 97? i want the correct tank and these pcp set up are new to me,educate me please cause i,m willing to learn.

no they arent.

scuba tanks are 3000psi.

SCBA tanks run at 4500psi.


you can get all sizes of scba tanks,
from very small ones that will fit in a backpack that will give you a couple fills,
to large tanks (such as my 97 cu ft joe b great white tank) that fills my marauder at least 70-80 times.

also, i used to fill at dive shops,

but my closest one was about 25 miles away,and with gas and price to fill i was looking at $20+ each time i needed my tank filled.


so now i get my local fire station to fill my tank for me,
they are barely 2 min away and fill my tank for free (although i usually bring em a pizza or something similar)


the only thing was,i had to get a firehouse adapter for my tank,
considering the gas i save each time i fill its already paid for itself after only 3 fills.



but for guys with 2000psi max discos,a 3000psi scuba would be a very cost effective tank,


BUT


if youre ever going to get any other pcp's youll want a 4500psi tank.

because a standard scuba will only fill a 3000psi gun 1 time before pressure falls below 3000psi.


just my .02

[supertech77]

think i got it, 1 fill at 3k and each fill after would drop lower and lower, thus if i was running a 3k set up. the gun would get less and less shots per fill,  is that correct? so big bores are 3k set ups there for needing 4.5kpsi tanks, what about say a bt65 or a Benjamin marauder , would 3k tank be correct?  

[cactusrat]

think i got it, 1 fill at 3k and each fill after would drop lower and lower, thus if i was running a 3k set up. the gun would get less and less shots per fill,  is that correct? so big bores are 3k set ups there for needing 4.5kpsi tanks, what about say a bt65 or a Benjamin marauder , would 3k tank be correct?  

If a gun takes 3000 psi to fill and the tank only has 3000 psi in it, then you only get one (1) 3000 psi fill.

In the real world of pcp’s, each gun has a sweet spot. A pressure that they perform the best at.

As an example my AA S500 takes a 3000 psi to fill, but the sweet spot starts at 2800 psi. So by only filling to gun to 2800 psi, I get more fills off that same 3000 psi tank.

How many more fills you ask. That depends on how low I let the pressure drop before I refill the gun.

There are fill calculators to figure that out.

I own a compressor, so I have all the air I need. Filling my tank only take about 5 minutes. So I never worry about having air.

 The compressor only puts out 3200 psi. So I fill my tank to 3200 psi. I will get 5 to 10 (maybe more) fills off a tank before it needs refilling at 2800 psi.  It just depends on what guns I fill and what psi I fill them to and shoot them down to.

If I had to depend on having to go to a shop to have my tank filled, I would only use a scba (4500 psi) tank.

[willbird]

Talking to a guy I know who is IN the know, to make it even more confusing the BEST tanks in his opinion are STEEL 3442 tanks, they can be filled to 3442 PSI. He dives for a living. He said some places will not hydro aluminum tanks, he only uses steel. The 80cu ft 3442 steel are more easily acquired, the 100 and 120 cu ft according to him  are used by "technical" divers....and do not show up cheap much on the secondary market.

An 80 cu ft 3442 steel tank is smaller than an aluminum 80 cu ft 3000 psi tank because it still holds 80 cu ft, but at a higher pressure.


Bill

[supertech77]

OK so if i say bought a hatsan bt65 in 25cal, or at44, which tank do i need; or will work,

[Mod90]

BT65 and AT44 both fill to 3000 psi, so the SCBA tank would be better.

[Bullit]

Steve,
I would invest in a tank simply because of the "quality" of the air you get from a fill, versus your pump.  Moisture is your enemy.   Under high pressure, you make steam, and corrosion problems will follow in your rifle.   A commercial or military dive station is bound to provide as dry and clean air as you can get.  Don't look only at their pump...but the cleaning and drying that goes into it.  When I compared costs against handpumps, rebuilds, and the rifle...it was a slam dunk. 
Hope this helps.

[BCB]

O.K. I'm the NuBe back again...

I asked for advise concerning what to buy--I know, why not ask what the meaning of life is...

I got a few replies and it seems that the pcp ones might be the way to go--or not...

But, I have several CO2 tanks from a keg system I had years ago.  A couple of them still have CO2 in them...

Is that the gas I need for the pcp rifles?...

And, how do you control how much psi of gas goes into the rifle?...

Do the fill tanks have to have gauges to control pressure to the rifle?...

Never knew this airgun stuff was so complicated...

Thanks...BCB

[Bullit]

Simply...Co2 tanks aren't suitable for high pressure air.  Scuba tanks are the ticket.   Beware that tanks have a lifespan.  If you buy a cheap auction tank that is expired, nobody will fill it.  Same with one that has just had it's last inspection...it'll be dead soon.   Be careful in your purchase.  You will need a fill hose and regulator, that is pretty common fair.

[BCB]

Simply...Co2 tanks aren't suitable for high pressure air.  Scuba tanks are the ticket.   Beware that tanks have a lifespan.  If you buy a cheap auction tank that is expired, nobody will fill it.  Same with one that has just had it's last inspection...it'll be dead soon.   Be careful in your purchase.  You will need a fill hose and regulator, that is pretty common fair.

Thanks for the reply...

I know with CO2 tanks, I had to get the pressure tested every 10(?) years I think.  If they passed, they were good for 10(?) more years...

Is it that way with scuba tanks or do they have a definite regulated amount of time they can be used and then after that, they can not be legally filled. OR  can they get a pressure test and be good for as long as they pass the test?...

BCB

[sperho]

In general:  every 5 years:  hydro test.  "Officially" dead after 15 years from date of manufacture.  Any reputable place won't fill them without a valid hydro and you won't get a reputable place to hydro test a cylinder that is more than 15 years old.  If you have a Shoebox or other compressor, you can fill them after that, but most usually fill to a reduced pressure for a seat of the pants "safety factor".