Which gas?

[DanBow]

I know that I said I'm an aeg man on another thread but I've got a WE P226 gbbp coming in the next day or so. 

I know that I need gas but and think that green gas is the popular one, depending on climate?, but is one brand of gas the same as another brand? Is it just gas? 

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

Ultrair green is my go to

Its got zero silicon content, so won’t jigger your hop rubber 

Never had a hassle with mag maintenance yet

 

[Sewdhull]

The issue I have seen is the naming of 'similar' pressure gasses and variations in gas formula.

I bought asg ultrair gas because it came at different pressures and formulations which I could in the future replace with a known product.

It's cheap, I can choose a step up in pressure and it's cycled my gas pistols fine.

You can choose a no silicone version too

 

[DanBow]

So I don't want one with silicone? Does the silicone not keep the seals in good order?

 

[EDcase]

All the gases are based on Propane but airsoft version does not have the smell added. (Usually added for safety)

You can fill a lighter with airsoft green gas and you can use Propane from camping shops but you have to get an adaptor and it will smell bad when used.

Most green gas from Nuprol comes with silicone mixed in which you want.

I use Ultrair too and buy from HERE or HERE  (Bulk buy is cheaper)

Remember to clean the barrel (and hop rubber) with a bit of Isopropyl Alcohol occasionally.

Use the cleaning rod with a strip of cloth for the barrel and a Q-tip with a drop of Isopropyl for the hop.

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

So I don't want one with silicone? Does the silicone not keep the seals in good order?

Yes it does, but as Mr Flange notes, it does make the hop rubber slippery and therefore less effective (and consistent).

So you can do one of these

1) Not give a stuff about accuracy, cos it's a pistol anyway, and use oily gas to keep the mags good without any further faff

2) Use maintenance gas between games to look after the mags, vent them before a game day outside the gun, use dry gas during games 

3) Use dry gas all the time and sort the mags when they go wrong (if you're ok with taking them apart and lubing the seals)

I've tended towards option 1 with pistol mags, but option 3 with the rifle mags... but the last couple I bought aren't holding gas nearly as well as the first couple, and stripping one of the mags has left it ... buggered?  So might move to option 3 there.

 

[DanBow]

1) Not give a stuff about accuracy, cos it's a pistol anyway, and use oily gas to keep the mags good without any further faff

Looks like the winning option to me but with a bit of isopropyl cleaning every so often.

 

[Krisz]

I know that I said I'm an aeg man on another thread but I've got a WE P226 gbbp coming in the next day or so. 

I know that I need gas but and think that green gas is the popular one, depending on climate?, but is one brand of gas the same as another brand? Is it just gas? 

Green gas under normal conditions and you can try and risk red one when it's a few deegres in the winter. There are major differences between PSI if you compare a Vorsk to an Nuprol or ASG. I'd say your average green gas PSI is about 110-120.

Nearly all of them has silicone oil that's why it's called green gas and not propane. It keeps your seals and o-rings lubricated so you don't struggle with leaking magazines later on but as other people said that silicone finds its way into your barrel and hop rubber so this is the trade-off.

 

[Sewdhull]

If you are in the UK as I am, game temps can range between 5 and 20C for the most part of the year. Propane pressure can nearly double over that range and the reason propane won't cut it for some guns as the temp drops.

Mag cooling only makes this worse.

The orange ultrair is about 30psi more than propane at 25C and the same as 25C propane at 15C.

The red ultrair take this same pressure as 25C propane down to about 10C.

You can decide how propane works in your gun and adjust accordingly.

Silicone oil is only a few percent and won't make any difference to the pressure, but can in theory contaminate the hop.

However I've not experienced this nor seen any evidence of it happening.

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

Ultrair orange on the left, red on the right

View attachment 122796

 

[Cannonfodder]

I go with option 1 as I'm lazy and I  don't mind losing a bit of accuracy or range as I only use a pistol for cqb as I'm a crap shot 

 

[Sewdhull]

It's worth nothing that these pressures are likely at what's known as psia, with reference to vacuum.

The addition of the HFC 32 gas, adds pressure as the amount of propane reduces which would otherwise reduce pressure, butane being a lower pressure gas than both of those.

On its own the HFC 32 would be around 245 psia.

 

[Fatboy40]

I like an easy life, so I'll be the boring one and say that I use Nuprol as it's a good one stop shop and predictable.

Green equals around 60% of the year for me in a slightly tweaked AAP-01 and red when temps are around 10 degrees centigrade or less (I've made a personal decision to never use black). Shots are consistent and I know that my mags will remain pretty much gas tight, with shots of Abbey maintenance gas when I won't be using them for a while.

I rarely need to disassemble my mags to oil up the o-rings, I've never needed to replace any o-rings, and as a side-arm I've not noticed the slight amount of silicon affect grouping / range on 0.32g.

 

[novioman]

Abbey Ultra, it has upl suspended in its mixture, great on the guns seals and doesn’t gum up like silicon oil.

 

[GiantKiwi]

Abbey Ultra, it has upl suspended in its mixture, great on the guns seals and doesn’t gum up like silicon oil.

UPL has molybdenum disulfide in it which is worse for rubber than silicone oil.