Air Venturi G9 high-pressure hand pump.
This report covers:
- Smooth
- Microbore hose
- Do the more expensive hand pumps reduce the pumping effort required for higher pressures?
- Are the more expensive hand pumps worth the difference in price?
- Pump effort
- Pump slowly
- Filling the Crosman 3622
- Summary
Today we dive right into a review of the Air Venturi GP high pressure hand pump. We will cover the things I haven’t yet told you.
Smooth
The G9 is quite smooth. And I have tested a lot of hand pumps. The first one was the Axsor. It was sort of smooth, but nothing like the G9 I’m testing. In fact, none of the six pumps I have owned have been as smooth as this one, which is my seventh. Years ago we had nothing to compare to, so the pumps seemed smooth enouigh, but I have to say this G9 is the smoothest hand pump I have experienced.
When we developed what became the Benjamin Discovery I had Crosman’s female lawyer sit in a chair and pump with one arm to fill the prototype rifle. She got it filled to 1800 psi, pumping with one arm while seated. Yesterday when I filled the microbore air hose to 3000 psi I almost felt no resistance going up to 2000 psi. I will try that again today and show you what it took to do that.
Microbore hose
The early hand pumps did not come with microbore hoses. Many pump strokes were wasted just filling the larger hoses. Also, the G9 hose has wire reinforcing it. The old hoses didn’t. They developed bends and crimps when they were used and that weakened them. I have had an old unprotected hose blow apart at 3,000 psi while filling an airgun and believe me, it isn’t anything you want to experience!
Do the more expensive hand pumps reduce the pumping effort required for higher pressures?
No, they don’t. They can’t, because physics determines how much effort it takes to pump. But they may be smoother. Since I don’t have a Hill pump to test, I can’t say.
That being said, I do find that the G9 is the easiest hand pump I have ever used. At $130 ($100 refurbished) it’s one of the least expensive hand pumps on today’s market. “Yeah, BB, but that’s only from Pyramyd AIR. I can buy a brand new hand pump for $50 off eBay.”
Okay — you do that. I bought one years ago and have kept it — AS A DOOR STOP! That thing failed after a handful of fills to 3,000 psi. You go right ahead and buy that Yugo, and then in a year let’s compare notes. Don’t worry — I’ll drive to you because, sure as shootin’, you can’t drive that Yugo anywhere! Of the hand pumps that actually work, the Air Venturi G9 is one of the least expensive.
So, Elmer Fudd, my answer about what the cost of hand pumps does for pumping effort applies only to hand pumps that actually work. But there is another part to the pump effort issue that you didn’t ask. Are the hand pumps of today easier to use than the pumps of yesteryear? Yes, they are. In fact they all are. Pump manufacturers have all learned through the experience of 30 years of building and repairing hand pumps.
Are the more expensive hand pumps worth the difference in price?
My answer is — maybe. Since they probably don’t make pumping to high pressure easier, what do they do that the G9 doesn’t? Well, nothing, really, but they may do something a lot better than the G9. I speak of removing moisture from the air.
The G9 does have a moisture filter — something the very first hand pumps did not have. But it wasn’t even a year before airgunners started demanding something to deal with moisture and Axsor was quick to respond. The very first moisture filter was a set of tiny glass balls that lived in the base of the pump. I still have an unused set. The balls are relatively cool and cause the moisture to condense and be eliminated when the pump’s bleed valve s opened at the end of the session.
I remember bleeding my second Axsor pump three times while filling the 500 cc air tank of a TalonSS. It took about 30 minutes and three pumping sessions with periods of rest to get that tank refilled after shooting — which is why I didn’t need 1,000 f.p.s. and 20 shots per fill. I got along with 830 f.p.s. and 35 shots per fill, thank you very much.
The silver thingy at the end of the G9 hose (center of this picture) houses a replaceable moisture filter element. The pump comes with 5 replacement filter elements and I’m thinking they are probably recyclable.
The Air Venturi Mk5 Pump Kit by Hill comes with a more advanced moisture trapping filter. It even changes color to tell you when it needs to be changed! That, Elmer, is what the additional $130 buys. For an airgunner living in Miami, Florida, it’s probably the right way to go. For one living in Phoenix, Arizona, perhaps not.
The Air Venturi MK5 Pump Kit by Hill has a more advanced moisture removal system.
Pump effort
Reader Yogi — this is for you. How much effort does it take to pump” For this test I used the same analog (spring-based — NOT digital) bathroom scale that I use to measure cocking effort for springers. I put the 5-pound G9 pump on the scale and watched the needle as I pumped. These readings are approximate because that needle wants to bounce around a lot. But I went as slowly as possible.
Psi………….Effort lbs.
1800…………40
2000…………90
2500……….130
3000……….190
4500……….In your dreams!
Just looking at these numbers, 90 pounds seems like a lot of effort. It would be if you were lifting it. But you are pushing down and to do that you are using your body weight. Ninety pounds isn’t that hard for most adults and grown kids. But 130 pounds starts to become noticeably difficult (for me, anyway) and 190 pounds is downright hard. I weigh about 235 pounds, so that is my experience. You go with what you know. When I demonstrated hand pumps at airgun shows I saw a 140-pound man not be able to reach 3000 psi. He balanced on the pump handle with no part of his body touching the floor and the pump handle would not move. For him a hand pump may not be practical — UNLESS he is filling a rifle that stops at 2000 psi. And that’s why I use the pom-poms when I report on the Crosman 3622!
Pump slowly
I operated this pump very deliberately and slowly. I pulled the handle up and paused for a couple seconds to let the air flow into the first stage. On the down stroke I paused for several seconds at the bottom as well. After getting the pump all the way down I felt a secondary bump that came from inside the pump tube. This is something I have never felt on a hand pump before. I think it is one of the stages completing its cycle. It happened on every stroke after 50 bar was reached.
Filling the Crosman 3622
Here we go. The Crosman 3622 has no gauge (oh, NO!) but the Air Venturi G9 hand pump has a better gauge than I have on either of my large carbon fiber tanks. I will use it.
When you fill an airgun you can tell the pressure the reservoir is holding at the start by watching the needle on the pump gauge. When it stops moving fast the inlet valve on the reservoir has opened. In this test I found the 3622 was charged to exactly 100 bar/1450.4 psi. The trick about watching where the needle starts moving slowly works well, but the 3622 I’m testing made a distinct click when the reservoir opened. That won’t always happen, but take it when you get it.
It took precisely 20 pump strokes to fill the rifle’s reservoir from 1450.4 psi to 2000 psi — as indicated on the pump gauge. Does that mean the 3622 is filled to the fullest? I won’t know that until I check the velocity over a chronograph — which is another reason that instrument is important.
Summary
The Air Venturi G9 high-pressure hand pump is well built, easy to assemble and easy to operate for a high pressure hand pump. It comes with parts and tools for a rebuild, oil, extra water filters and an owner’s manual. As far as I can see, the G9 is a great hand pump with no drawbacks. I will be using and reporting on the G9 as I go forward with the Crosman 3622 test, and eventually when the 3677 becomes available I’ll use it there, as well. Elmer Fudd, I trust I have answered your questions.
B.B.
Ok 190 lbs to get to 3,000 psi, with how many strokes from empty? Also curious to know the stroke of the hand pumps? You went into great detail with the bore, if you did mention stroke, it did not register.
Would it require the same 190lbs effort to fill a medium sized carbon tank?
-Y
Not BB, but as I understand it, as long as the fill pressure is the same, the same 190# of _force_ will be required to reach 3000psi. But a bigger tank will require more pumps, so more overall effort. If it takes, say, 400 pumps to fill a 500cc tank, then it would take around 1300 pumps to fill one of those 100 cu.in. bottles. Hey, it could be a whole separate sport: airpumping!
-Mike
Yogi,
It seems to be 17 inches if I did the math right. The final stroke to reach 3000 psi should be the same filling a carbon fiber SCBA tank, but it will require many, many more of those 40, 90, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180 pound strokes to get there. Total effort would be pretty exhausting in my estimation and would take a lotta your time.
Half
Yogi,
Wow! I see you are really thinking about this.
I need some time to think of a good answer for you.
BB
Yogi,
Why did I stop pumping at 3000 psi? Because it was borderline too hard. Going to higher pressure would have become too hard to do.
Filling a larger tank would be many times borderline too hard.
An AirForce tank gets filled to 3000 psi, but the last 500 psi is extremely difficult for this very reason. That is because it is many pumps that are borderline too hard. Do you understand?
BB
Yogi,
By the way — you and halfstep have just defined tomorrow’s report..
BB
Tom,
Closest analogy I have is the amount of downward force is the same whether you are pumping air into a bicycle tire or a car tire. The volume required by the car tire just requires a LOT MORE strokes to reach the equivalent pressure in a bicycle tire.
Siraniko
I bought an Air Venturi G6 pump when I bought my first PCP, a Gamo Coyote. I just compared its features, on Airgun Depot’s site, to the features list of the G9 at Pyramyd. They are the same features, listed essentially in the same order, and the only differences are that the G6 had a 2 year warranty and the G9 has a 1 year. The G6 came with 5 rebuild kits and the G9 only comes with 2. The G 6 stands about 1″ taller than the G9 and the G9 has a 1.5 ” shorter stroke than the G6. Those don’t seem like much in the way of advancements to me over the last 6 years or so. I assume that Pyramyd’s marketing department highlighted all the meaningful features, so what is the incentive to buy a new pump? What am I missing?
Half
Half,
I can’t really say because at this time I’m only looking at the G9. I did test the G6, so there is something about the G9 that I like more but I’m not sure I know what it is.
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2015/08/air-venturi-hand-pump-part-2/
I just scanned the Part 2 of the G6 test and I still don’t see that it is as good as the G9.
BB
BB
If there has been a remarkable breakthrough in the pump’s design, perhaps materials, more air displaced per pump, less air displaced and therefore less effort with each pump, self lubricating seals, new seal configuration or placement for longer life (though honestly, the shortened warranty period would make that hard to believe), more ergonomic, whatever, they should be putting that in the forefront. Just “NEW!” doesn’t really sell it with some folks, myself included.
I’ll look up your G6 blog. Didn’t realize that you had reported on it. It was the start of my journey as an older adult with disposable income, as they say, and I got the pump and a Mantis scope as parts of a packaged deal with the Coyote. Discovered your blog a little time after that.
Half
Half,
If the G6 is working still, keep on stroking. If it fails, rebuild and go back to stroking.
Very likely the difference in the G6 and the G9 is it might be better built. Maybe.
As for the shorter warranty on the G9, the longer warranty on the G6 may have been the result of over optimism on the part of AV. After replacing a few G6’s, they decided that a one year warranty on the G9 would make for a better profit margin.
The only reason I am in the market for another hand pump is I gave away the one working hand pump I had. I have an AV compressor and a carbon fiber tank. I still like to keep a working hand pump around for “emergencies” though.
RR
The pump is still working and it may largely be because I don’t use it much. I soon bought a 74 cf SCBA tank and the 4500 psi electric pump to fill it. Then I bought a China special to keep in the house to fill my guns or the tank in stages. Then I bought a China special 12 volt DC/120 volt AC gun filler. And that’s where I am right now. I think I finally have all my bases covered in case SHTF.
I don’t doubt that the warranty was “abridged” for the very reason you posit. My G6 spewed bubbly air out through the gauge from the first use, but Pyramyd sent me a replacement by Fedex overnight, if I remember correctly, and that made me a dedicated customer ever since.
Half
For the persons of PA that support the blog;
After almost two hours of editing I still can’t see the photos in the text…
Bill,
I have asked IT to look into this. But it is selective and may be caused by something you have set on your end.
BB
BB
Maybe but I doubt it because I never had this problem before, either with the iPhone or Android devices.
Bill,
I don’t know. But since some people have the problem and others don’t, it was all I could think of. Perhaps an update in IOS software triggered it? I don’t know.
I did escalate the issue to IT.
BB
The one I have seems to be working fine.
Two and a half hours later the photos have appeared. Maybe they needed a two hours’ nap.
Bill
Cyberspace gremlin decided to give you a break. I’m only half jesting. While my IPad gets the photos it has never let me use an imoji cartoon face on this website.
Deck
BB,
For what it’s worth I’m using a Win7 Pro desktop that can’t even get updates anymore and, when I read this earlier, all the pics were visible except the one that shows the replaceable G9 . It IS visible now.
Half.
Thank you vewy much BB. Yes, you have answered my questions well. I have more that you might be able to address. I am wondering about how to properly maintain the hand pump. How often and how much oil should we use on/in this pump? Also, how often should the filters be replaced. Does the pump make normal noises (if so, what does it sound like) when pumping and do they change (giving us a heads up) when it needs oiling or perhaps seals are getting worn out? Thanks again for all you do.
Elmer,
This pump makes very little noise compared to other pumps. Perhaps that’s because it’s pump tubes are finished better?
As for maintenance, a little oil and the manual for your pump should tell yopu how much and when the apply. And pump slow!
Pumping slowly takes care of most other maintenance operations because the seals stay in place and do what they are supposed to.
DO NOT CLEAN THE PUMP SHAFT — EVER! Unless it gets real dirt on it, keep away from the pump shaft. Keep the pump handle down and store the pump in a clean place.
You know the pump needs an overhaul when the handle won’t stay down but wants to rise after you push it down. One or more seal(s) is/are broken or out of place.
BB
Thanks!
The Air Venturi pump is identical to the non branded generic Chinese ones. While not massively overpriced (at least in the US) you’re just paying extra for the branding
Ade C,
I looked at those on Amazon. I read the reviews. Read the bad ones. It is sounding like a hit or miss thing with the ones straight from Wang Po Industries. Parts are almost impossible to get also.
Perhaps you should research into why GE brought the production of their newest type of water heater back to the United States.
The one I bought about 8 years ago is still going strong on the original seals (spares are included). I can guarantee the Air Venturi ones are made in the same factory
Sometimes you win.
BB,
meaning no disrespect, and you believe whatever you want, but I pump my Air Venturi 90 cubic inch bottle to 4500psi with my Barska pump. I am heavier than you are.
I guess I didn’t know it couldn’t be done, so I went ahead and done it.
CB
Capt.
I’d be curious to know from what pressure you are filling and what your weight is. The lower you let the tank get before you start refilling, the more effort it’s gonna take to fill it to 4500. BB did say a heavier person would be able to reach 4500 psi. If you weigh 150 pounds, on the other hand, you’ll never be able to even pump it to the 3000 psi that BB did. It’s just the physics of it.
Half
Half,
I’m well over BB’s weight. So this is both HPA, and exercise. I fill my guns to 3k psi, so that’s when the bottle needs filled.
Maybe it’s one of those things like when the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem starts looking like a nail. If I had a compressor, or a source for HPA locally, I almost certainly wouldn’t be doing it. I also would be shooting my PCPs more. Meantime, this is my cost of entry.
I know it sounds out there. I almost didn’t post at all. I am absolutely not trying to get anyone else to do it or even try it. To say this isn’t practical, I agree 100%. But to say it can’t be done, well, I’m doing it.
CB
Captain Bravo,
I fill my 100 cu. in. tank to 4500 psi with my Mk5 Hill hand pump, and I’m only grossing around 170 lbs. It is difficult but certainly possible, as you say.
Daniel Krebs
Once upon a time I bought a used AirForce hand pump to go with my first Talon SS. It had the old fitting to screw the end of the tank in to fill it. I replaced that fitting with a hose and foster fitting when I purchased my Edge and modified that fitting so as to clip to the foster fitting on the hose. I still have that pump, though it does not work. I still have that fitting somewhere also.
Later I purchased a brand-new Hill. It had the moisture filter on the intake. I did not put much faith in the ability of it to remove moisture, but it is a dandy air filter for particulates in the air. As my grandson has recently entered the world of PCPs, I gave him the Hill.
I have an AV compressor and a 100 cubic foot carbon fiber tank, but I like to keep a hand pump around “for emergencies”. I also prefer to fill the “low” pressure airguns with a hand pump. I think this G9 will do nicely.
I have a Hill Mk 5 with the pre-filter that was bought from PAir. I found that when pumping to fill my Marauder pistol that getting to 3000 psi is not much of a problem and I weighed 175 pounds. When I first received the Hill pump I did a test to 4500 psi with the hose capped just to see how difficult it would be and to check for leakage. That test proved to me that 4500 psi was possible but more difficult than I had anticipated. Now that I have lost a few pounds (165 pounds now) getting to 3000 psi is harder but still less weight than the G9 requires that BB reported (190 pounds).
Well my digital scale worked sort of it would error if the weight varied to much.
2000 psi resulted in 120 – 125 pounds
3000 psi resulted in 140 -150 pounds
4000 psi was my maximum pressure.
Mike
Mike,
I dream of losing about fifty pounds, although if I use a hand pump, I may want to hang onto that.
The Hill does have a longer warranty than the G9. I am curious about the color changing beads in the newest Hill. I also do like the extra filtration of the incoming air, although I do not put much stock in it removing the moisture that much.
The Hill pump I purchased did not have the color changing beads but I purchased a gallon container of them to put in my gun hard cases. They really do change color when they become saturated with water.
They are however more sensitive to overheating when you need to regenerate them. The ones I purchased can only withstand about 200 F (package stated 230 F). I originally used an air fryer set on 200 F but I think the variability is too high and it exceeded the 200 F frequently. The last time the air fryer was set to 175 F this should prevent overheating the beads but does take longer, 20 to 30 minutes versus 5 to 10 minutes.
The desiccant used in the Navy was rated at >250F the regeneration temperature was 230 F and only took a few minutes of forced air.
https://www.pyramydair.com/product/benjamin-traveler-4500-psi-portable-compressor-digital-gauge?a=12825
My new source of high pressure air a Benjamin Traveler, though I did not like the lack of pre filter, so I used some parts from Amazon to hook up a filter assembly with desiccant added on the inlet.
The Traveler is much easier and faster.
I too would love to get down to my weight when I left the Navy ~150 pounds but will be satisfied to reach 160.
Mine did not have the color changing beads either.
RR
I don’t pretend to claim that this will eliminate all your worries about moisture, but it should help some.
In a pressurized air system feeding a machine of some sort, if you are going to use an inline lubricator (a device that allows a low viscosity oil to be siphoned from a bowl and introduced into the air stream) it should, ideally, be located at the level of the component that you wish to get lubricated and as near to it as possible. The reason for that is because, to locate the lubricator below and far away from the component will allow the oil to “plate out” of the air stream ( attach to the wall of the pipe/hose and fall back to the low point in the line) and thus fail to lubricate. This leads me to always have my gun as far above my pump or air tank as I can get it, rather than laying on the floor at the foot of the pump, in hopes that the water, if there is any, will plate out or at least have a harder time reaching my gun. I keep it in that position when I exhaust the air to get all I can to exit the hose. As I said, not a cure all, but In theory, at least, it has to help.
Half
I like to do very similar to what you describe and I hope that is what I relayed to Elmer just now.
RidgeRunner,
I see you said more than once you didn’t put a lot of stock in the Hill removing that much moisture. I may be wrong, but would it have worked better if it was on the output side of the pump? I guess best would be on the input and output.
Also I asked the group a question the other day that no one answered and I thought maybe you can. I have read of a guy that says most people lay their guy flat on the ground to fill it. He puts his where the fill probe is facing up, claiming there is less chance of moisture getting in. Would you think that would be the case? Or doesn’t really matter?
Lastly would putting a few drops of “real” air gun silicon in the fill port help with moisture/corrosion (kind of like oil on a C02 Cart)?
Thank You
Doc
Doc,
All of the above.
Mike,
Your digital scale won’t work. I tried to use one on American Airgunner for a 45 pound effort and it was way off. They fluctuate too much and too fast.
BB
BB
I actually bought an analog bathroom scale specifically so I could duplicate your testing on single and multipump guns (I like testing, don’t know why, don’t care, ain’t gonna apologize). If I can remember where I put that scale I’ll use my G6 pump and see how my results compare to yours with the G9 and report back, if you think that would add anything to the mix.
Half
Half,
Sure. Please do that. A caution — when the pressure gets up over 2200 psi it starts getting difficult to even read the needle of an analog scale. Go slow and you can do it.
BB
BB
I found my scale (still in the box) and calibrated it with my electronic scale. I got out my G6 pump which it seems that I purchased in late 2016, shortly after I retired, and started to pump. I found it difficult to read the scale as the the pressure climbed, a large part of that being my poor eyesight, so I don’t have any incremental force readings to share with you, but I did get the pressure in the hose up to 4500 psi. I did it twice and was very careful reading the gauge and the scale face both times. I weigh 210 pounds and it took 160 pounds of it to reach 4500psi.
It wasn’t too difficult, but only because of the small amount of air needed to fill the hose and gauge and the few pumps required to do that. I wouldn’t want to do it to even fill a pistol, much less a rifle, to that pressure. It was harder on my wrists than anything else, since I was really only doing a series of slow partial knee bends and letting my gut do all the real work.
Sorry I couldn’t get those incremental readings for you, but at least we can extrapolate and say lower pressures will take less force than 160 pounds using a G6 pump. Maybe I can try again on another day in better light and have more luck, but I just didn’t have any confidence in the numbers I was getting today, other than the 4500 psi fill, and didn’t want them clouding up the discussion.
I did notice that the pump body has started to creep up, rather than stay down as it used to (I think). Pump still worked though.
Half
Half,
Thank you for doing this test. That’s quite a result. Either I went too fast with the G9 or the G6 is an easier pump to use.
BB
This has been a very thorough discussion about hand pumps. One thing FM has learned from BBs testing is FM might be able to hit the 2500 PSI mark through hand-pumping. Don’t think it will be a bad idea to purchase a relatively inexpensive airgun compressor. Or a G9 and/or solving the broken gauge problem with the Hatsan pumper. FM gets pumped up just thinking about it!
FawltyManuel,
You can always get a weighted vest or wrist weights to put on in the late stages of a fill to get your effective weight up…i bet you could make 3,000+ PSI easily!
shootski
Or full suit of armor? Definitely a more expensive proposition than an airgun compressor. 🙂
FawltyManuel,
You would be prepared if the pump fought back!
Or a loose hose tried to get you!
shootski
shootski,
I have met FM. He is just a little dude. He would likely need a step ladder to properly reach a fully extended hand pump.
😉
RidgeRunner,
Although i have been close to the seated height limits in a few cockpits my experience with altitude some challenged folks has taught me to show Respect.
I have been taken to the mat enough times by Little Dudes to ever make the mistake of underestimating their abilities.
I still think FM and others can get to 3,000+ PSI with a little help.
Also, their are two hand grips on most pumps what’s to keep FM (or others) from teaming up on the pumping?
shootski
Shootski,
I haven’t thought of that. In high school sports we wore a weighted vest. The coach told us they used to make weighted vest out of old vests with sand filled pockets. We also had wrist weights. Heck I still have ankle weights that could double as wrist weights. I don’t think I’ve have to use them, but could be a thought for some. Of coarse every time you lifted your arms/body for the up stroke, that is just more weight you have to lift every time.
Doc
Shootski
Come on man, I believe your experience in this field would be welcomed should you decide to comment. So much stuff to choose from.
Bill,
I responded with this to Yogi in an earlier part of the blog series:
You already know most of my thoughts on the benefits of PCPs; but there will be new readers for whom your blast of negatives need to be balanced by the voice of experience.
Newbies to the world of PCPs this is for you from more than three decades of experience shooting on the Dark Side. I started buying a 10 Meter PCP and a hand pump. It was easy to pump up that small cylinder that screwed right on to the pump outlet; it certainly beat a Single Stroke Pneumatic (SSP) pumping during a shooting session. But i also had SCUBA tanks from my diving so the pump was just a backup from the beginning. Some will complain that you can’t get full pressure fills after the first fill on a 200 BAR SCUBA cylinder and that is true. So i used my 3,600 PSI (250 BAR) steel 100s…plenty of fills using a CASCADE from those two big tanks. Later i upgraded to the much lighter 4,500 PSI (310 BAR) Carbon FIBER (CF) cylinders and never looked back with my two pumps just collecting dust.
WARNING
You must be certain you have a convenient fill source that will fill your cylinder(s) to their maximum pressure. It will be cheaper in the long run than a compressor(s) dryer air, faster fills (just not too fast to keep heat buildup under control) and far less time down spent on maintenance. CF cylinders are good for 15 years and now can be extended in the USA another 15 years with a special inspection; i think they will become unlimited in service life with proper testing in the next few years.
As far as pumps get almost any of the hand pumps and it will work for some number of cycles and then need to be rebuilt or replaced. Your choice should be based on the information you gather to base your hand pump purchase on; i would say this blog series is the most reliable and honest one i have read. Once you have that your particular situation needs to drive your choice. Just as in buying a compressor or tanks you need to think Life Cycle cost in terms of money as well as your time, abilities, and level of enjoyment in owning and using your choice.
shootski
If you do a lot of shooting (or want to) and do it with a PCP, life will be much easier with an electric pump. I aspire to purchasing a nice, small pump but have a hard time justifying an amount that probably try is more than I paid for the rifle. Luckily, my needs are small (in volume).
If I had a big-bore, or something with a large capacity reservoir, I might have to rethink my position.
As I see it, filling a high demand PCP with a hand pump would be like filling a 5 gallon water jug with a teaspoon. It can be done, but unless that action is the part of your hobby that you really enjoy, why go to that much effort?
Bill
I haven’t heard from Gunfun1 lately on his cheap Chinese hpa compressor. I bought one right after he bought his. They are just under $300 on Amazon, I even saw a different model (similar) for $200. I use synthetic compressor oil and a bucket full of antifreeze with my compressor and have not had any issues. I only fill guns though and not a large tank with it. I bought it in May 2020 so it is 4 yrs old now. I also added a post compression oil, water filter. I don’t let it get over 75 degrees centigrade. It only got that hot one time trying to fill one of my carbon fiber tanks. I now take the tanks in to be filled. Only drawback I see is: it is not very portable and runs on 110 or 220 volts. It makes quick work in filling a gun. Mine does not have an automatic shutoff so I need to keep a close eye on it.
Maybe Gunfun1 will chime in on his experience.
Don
BB,
I am confused about one thing. Is the G9 air pump a 3 stage or 4 stage? A lot of modern hand pumps including the Chinese pumps, the FX, and the Hatsan are advertised as 4 stage pumps.
Thanks,
David Enoch
David,
To the best of my knowledge the G9 is a three-stage pump. If I learn different I’ll tell you.
BB