TargetTalk

Hi All,

I have searched the archives and athough there are some posts about using a compressor to fill air cylinders. I have an LP10 and am needing to decide on my own air source. I have only the use of one hand, so a hand pump is a tough ask. I am in the midst of possinly sourcing a good tank, but wonder if a compressor is an option. Does a compressor introduce condensate to the cylinders and / or can it attain decent pressure?

I appreciate any comments offered.

Regards,
Alexis

I think good compressors will remove moisture but check the model you are looking at buying. You do not want moisure in the cylinders or in the gun - bits will corrode.

Rob.

Yes a good compressor will remove moisture. But such a compressor is quite expensive, heavy, noisy and require regular maintenance.

So I do not see the benefit of it compared to a tank for an individual shooter.

Concerning the hand pump, the benefit of it is that you can easily take it with you, also on planes where filled tanks/cylinders are banned. This is not possible for a compressor.

About moisture risk for lp10, this is still unclear for me: Steyr mention moisture free air in their user manual but on the same page, the hand pump that cannot remove moisture completely is indicated as one option to fill the cylinders.

When I tried to find information about the effect of moisture, I contacted several shops selling Steyr lp10 pistols, including the official steyr distributor in Belgium (which is not a dry country !) and none of them had ever to service a moisture corroded lp10.

Both of the issues you mentioned are valid concerns. Both can be solved, but only with a lot of money:

1. Pressure: Your average "home compressor" has to strain to get 125 psi pressure (about 9 "BAR"). You'd have to spring for a very specialized compressor to get up to the 200 BAR (approx. 2940 psi) needed for your AP or AR. (1 BAR = 1 "atmosphere" (i.e., "BARometric pressure") = 14.7 psi if I remember my high school science).

2. Moisture: Getting (most of) the moisture out of compressed air requres additional expensive equipment. You can get some of the moisture out with commonly available attachments, but I wouldn't want to rely on them for my AP.

For cost, convenience, maintenance, etc. it would seem much better to simply buy a SCUBA tank. I bought an 80 cubic foot tank in January (February?) and have barely made a dent in the quantity of air in the tank even with a decent amount of shooting.

Tom

TomAmlie wrote:Both of the issues you mentioned are valid concerns. Both can be solved, but only with a lot of money:

1. Pressure: Your average "home compressor" has to strain to get 125 psi pressure (about 9 "BAR"). You'd have to spring for a very specialized compressor to get up to the 200 BAR (approx. 2940 psi) needed for your AP or AR. (1 BAR = 1 "atmosphere" (i.e., "BARometric pressure") = 14.7 psi if I remember my high school science).

2. Moisture: Getting (most of) the moisture out of compressed air requres additional expensive equipment. You can get some of the moisture out with commonly available attachments, but I wouldn't want to rely on them for my AP.

For cost, convenience, maintenance, etc. it would seem much better to simply buy a SCUBA tank. I bought an 80 cubic foot tank in January (February?) and have barely made a dent in the quantity of air in the tank even with a decent amount of shooting.

Tom

There was a guy that used to post on here that sold refurbished USAF compressors (that were used for breathing quality air (dry, no oil or water). They were pretty pricey around $1500 if I remember right and you'd still really want to fill a large bottle off it (like a Scuba cylinder) not the little pistol cylinders. For a large club or such it might make sense but for an individual, $1500 will probably buy you a lifetime of scuba tanks, fills and inspections.

For information, one of the best compressor specific for sport shooting:
http://www.bauer-kompressoren.de/en/pro ... /index.php

It includes a filtering and drying system: http://www.bauer-kompressoren.de/en/pro ... system.php

feedback of shooting clubs using it is that it is very reliable.

One drawback: its price in Europe is around 2000€.