Potentially dumb questions

[Adolf Hamster]

Although considering it's to do with safety maybe not so dumb.

So short version is i've just got myself a polarstar f2 with a kit from highpressureairsoft.

Polarstar itself is fine, installed nice and easy, but my issue comes with the tank and regulator.

Now i've read through the faq which is pretty informative for some of these issues but some clarification would ease my sanity (well, until i lose it again when i get on the field )

So first question is: it's a tippmann bottle, 48ci and i figured 3k psi, noticed the 2 burst discs are marked 5k and 1.8k, so if i'm reading the faq right then that means the tank can take 3k psi (think my local's compressor only does 2k anyway but that's fine), and the 1.8k burst disc is for the regulated output?

Ie i can fill it to more than 1.8k psi and that disc wont burst because it's past the internal reg?

Second question is the regulator, silly me assuming something as potentially dangerous as hpa kit would come with a manual telling you things like how it works.

Its a balistyk hpr800c, and what confuses me is what steps one needs to do to turn pressure on/off both from the tank to the reg and from the reg to the line/gun.

The other setups i've worked on have had a knob that you can use to turn the tank pressure off thus letting you dry fire the air out of the reg/line before disconnecting from the tank/gun.

Tl:dr how do hpa safely?

 

[Tommikka]

So first question is: it's a tippmann bottle, 48ci and i figured 3k psi, noticed the 2 burst discs are marked 5k and 1.8k, so if i'm reading the faq right then that means the tank can take 3k psi (think my local's compressor only does 2k anyway but that's fine), and the 1.8k burst disc is for the regulated output?

Ie i can fill it to more than 1.8k psi and that disc wont burst because it's past the internal reg?

The high pressure 5k burstdisk sits in the first stage of the regulator on the cylinder side (before it does anything) and will fail it the cylinder is over filled, or that internal pressure increase in extreme heat etc.   The 5k protects you and the regulator from major failure 

The bottle is safety rated far beyond 3000psi so that it doesn’t explode on you.  Don’t ever be tempted to sneak in more air at 4000+ psi.  The burst disk will go through numerous cycles of pressure and may last a lifetime or may just give up - this is more

likely to happen if pressure is filled to 4500psi

It this ever breaks you can generally just replace it - after changing your pants

The low pressure 1.8 disk sits after the working parts of the regulator.  It’s there to protect your gun from regulator failure. 

If this ever breaks then something has gone wrong and I would recommend getting the regulator serviced (or just replace the regulator / entire cylinder due to VFM)

The most likely reason for failure will be gradual contamination of the air and fine

dust etc 

Cant say about your secondary regulator 

The main cylinder is ‘turned on’ when something is connected that depresses the regulator pin.  This can be a fixed object which automatically engages and disengages on fitting and removal.  If pressurized this can mean brute force to unscrew until the pin releases

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Yeah so i'll be fine filling to ~2000 psi then (ie what my locals compressor goes up to).

The thing that confuses me about the secondary reg is any other reg i've worked on has had a screw that you use to turn on the air by pressing on the tank pin, but this reg doesnt seem to have that and i was wondering how you're meant to safely unscrew it if the threads are under pressure

 

[Tommikka]

Yeah so i'll be fine filling to ~2000 psi then (ie what my locals compressor goes up to).

The thing that confuses me about the secondary reg is any other reg i've worked on has had a screw that you use to turn on the air by pressing on the tank pin, but this reg doesnt seem to have that and i was wondering how you're meant to safely unscrew it if the threads are under pressure

There was a potentially similar thread here:





With that there was to be a fixed pin to engage and disengage the cylinder.  If you have a similar pin in yours then that is the design and you’ll be unscrewing with pressure which means some brute force and a fins burst of air as you disengage and break the air seal

If this is the case then there appears to be a pattern in airsoft HPA systems taking a backward step, or the design expects you to run a seperate line with an on/off at the cylinder

 

[Adolf Hamster]

yeah as far as i can tell it's a fixed pin, i guess then i'm probably safest draining the tank before trying to pull the reg off, not ideal but in the short term as i've only 1 tank it's not too bad.

think i'll start off testing how it works with not much in the tank before filling it up.

 

[MisterG]

Not an expert on thesethings, but I get my bottles filled to 3k a the Dive shop.  Will easily drop below 2k during a skirmish and even below 1.5.

I might be heavy on the trigger, but it is semi-only.  Just something to bear in mind when filling to 2k, as you may find you'll need a second tank.

Cheers

G

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Not an expert on thesethings, but I get my bottles filled to 3k a the Dive shop.  Will easily drop below 2k during a skirmish and even below 1.5.

I might be heavy on the trigger, but it is semi-only.  Just something to bear in mind when filling to 2k, as you may find you'll need a second tank.

Cheers

G

Its a fair point, i'm planning to run mainly semi but i'm not adverse to dumping a mag when the situation requires.

Currently running 2 sites, one of which has the compressor (so filling between rounds will be easy) and the other is much smaller so i'll be sticking to semi more and if i run out i'm generally able to keep at least 1 aeg functioning at a given time.

Will be needing to look at a bigger bottle in future though, for when the mg42 custom magazine gets sorted and i can run it on hpa too.

 

[sevizy]

I run a Balystik HPR800c, when the regulator is turned off, air  vents out of a hole in the back of the regulator allowing the regulator to be unscrewed.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

I run a Balystik HPR800c, when the regulator is turned off, air  vents out of a hole in the back of the regulator allowing the regulator to be unscrewed.

when you say turned off do you mean turning the pressure all the way down so you'll need to set the pressure for your system each time you turn it back on again?

 

[sjhirst]

Hi,

Yes, that sounds like what he means. When you dial down the psi you'll hear the Balistyk vent the air out as it reaches zero. You can then unscrew the reg' from the bottle.

You then need to dial in your preferred psi setting again when re- connected.

 

[shando664]

As previously stated, turn the secondary regulator all the way down (anti clockwise - i realise this feels odd) and it'll vent the vast majority of the contained air. To remove the secondary reg while the tank is rather full can be an arse but I found using a bench vice on the sides and turning the bottle itself gave me enough leverage to loosen it. It'll still be a bit stiff as the pin on the primary reg is still under pressure and you can't disengage it externally on the balystik.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

thanks for the info guys, she's due a run today so i'll bear it in mind.

might just keep the reg on the tank, as i'm looking to keep the bottle filled so i can go to other sites that don't have compressors.

 

[sjhirst]

Good luck

Yep, might as well leave the reg on the bottle. That is all i do, though i do carry a spare just in case.

Running my Jack at 55 psi lasts me all day, but i do like some spray n pray every now and then lol

 

[Adolf Hamster]

Good luck

Yep, might as well leave the reg on the bottle. That is all i do, though i do carry a spare just in case.

Running my Jack at 55 psi lasts me all day, but i do like some spray n pray every now and then lol

yeah, probably gonna keep it on the bottle for the time being.

sadly didn't get to run it today, although the bright side is the reason was it was sending .4's to space at a mere 1j with the hop turned off, which i didn't think was possible but now i stand corrected.

i'm now stuck with the dilema of do i retune the hop to get less effeciency or bankrupt myself buying .5's for an assault gun

 

[sjhirst]

I wonder if thats an alignment issue with the nozzle?  might be worth checking.

 

[Adolf Hamster]

I wonder if thats an alignment issue with the nozzle?  might be worth checking.

oh no, it's just the hop unit was far far too effective, she was shooting perfectly aside from the base hop level is too much even for .4's.

i've done a bit of trimming so maybe it'll bed in a bit better now.

 

[sjhirst]

oh good stuff