Air To-Go

If only we could harness the power of air … in Washington, D.C.

Think about it. By using a microphone as a primer or sorts, or bait if you will, we could lure an infinitely long line of politicians within range of some type of air collection device. Of course, we’d need to develop a way to cool it, as they tend to eject multitudinous volumes of hot air. Boyle’s Law would need revisiting, too — the sheer volume could never be compressed into any known containment vessel, at least one adhering to the laws of physics.

Okay, so scratch the unlimited air supply plan. It’s simply not feasible. But if you’re not quite ready to invest in a home air compressor, there are a few ways to source pre-compressed air locally. You will need a way to store it. Check out containers like the Benjamin Charging System Cylinder or Omega Air Cylinder — they hold enough high-pressure air to refill a PCP air rifle many times. Using a cylinder like this, the idea is to get it filled periodically and “store” the compressed air at home in a portable tank, using it to refill rifles and handguns.

Diving For Air

Most dive shops will offer a SCUBA tank filling service. While they specialize in breathable air, which you don’t need for an airgun, they have the gear to fill a storage tank with high-pressure air just like you’ll need.

You may not get as much pressure as you’d like at a dive shop. Many SCUBA systems run at 3,000 to 3,300 psi and carbon fiber airgun cylinders usually handle 4,500. Call and ask before you go. Shops near me had plans to upgrade to 6,000 psi-capable systems in the near future.

You’ll also need to ask about their valve compatibility. The shops near me use a yoke valve system to connect the fill hose or regulator during use. It’s worked well for Jacques Cousteau and all of his admirers, so it’s proven reliable. On the negative side, it’s not designed for the highest of pressures, like the 4,500 lbs. common to airguns. It’s technically possible to connect an adapter to a yoke fill hose system to “convert” this to a DIN threaded connection like the one used on my Omega Air Cylinder tank, but you’re really not supposed to fill through that method beyond about 3,400 lbs. per square inch. The key question to ask is whether the shop near you has the gear to support a DIN fill hose.

Do expect to pay for the service. The shop invested a lot of money in expensive (and safe) compressors to do this. Shops near me charge about $10 to fill a cylinder. Remember, the shop’s core business — and how they pay their mortgage — is servicing divers, not airgunners. Don’t be surprised when they ask to inspect your cylinder to make sure it’s current and up to snuff. Bad things can happen with aged or damaged cylinders. Also, you’ll likely be “topping off” a tank, not filling from near zero. Expect to pay the full price, not some partial price for a fractional fill. The labor, equipment overhead and risk still apply.

Fire!

Guess who uses carbon fiber air tanks just like the ones you buy for airgunning? Firefighters!

Many firehouses have state-of-the-art equipment for filling up those backpack tanks firefighters use. The one near me can fill several tanks at once in armored burst-proof containment cylinders. If a tank blows during a fill, the shrapnel is safely contained — kind of like those nifty bomb squad trucks used to transport suspicious packages.

Another tank fill possibility is your local fire department. However, the tanks they use are often a little bit different. One distinct difference you’ll usually see is there’s a male/female reversal in play. Fire department SCBA tanks have a male connection on the tank end. The fill whip on the large compressor at the station is a female SCBA connection. So, you’ll need to accomplish two things to connect your tank to their compressor. Assuming you use a DIN-compatible tank, you’ll first need to account for the female-to-female connection challenge. Then you’ll need to deal with the firehouse SCBA to DIN 300 difference. An airgun supply house like Pyramyd Air will sell an adapter to make this work.

Here’s the gotcha — fire departments are in the business of fighting fires and rescuing people, not filling air gunners’ tanks. That’s not to say they won’t, it’s just an observation that filling your cylinders will never be their top priority. It’s not like your airgun is on fire or anything.

There’s also the issue of liability. In a more metropolitan area, you’re likely to run into management frowning upon airgun cylinder refills. There’s no upside to the local fire chief allowing this, only potential risk. If your tank blows up and hurts someone, it can come back to haunt.

Before you run out and buy an adapter to connect your tanks to firehouse SCBA fill hoses, do some legwork and make a few visits to see if it’s even feasible in your area. If you do find a willing participant, first and foremost consider it a favor and don’t abuse the privilege. Hey, maybe you can find ways to return the favor by hooking them up with some needed piece of recreational equipment (like an airgun perhaps) for slow times at the firehouse.

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