PCP AIRGUN STIRRUP PUMP (3 Stage Hand Pump 4500psi)

[Hooptie]

I had a bunch of equipment in storage and wanted to get them tuned up, yet air refills are tough to manage to the pandemic. I checked the forums and learned about a hand-pump, and then discovered one for $50 shipped on eBay.

Opening the box and setup:
Previous forum posts said the manual was written poorly, and they are correct. The handle bar required two screws to install into the pump piston with a simple hex/allen tool. The whip had a disconnect on both sides, so it was easy to connect one end to the pump. The gauge has minimal sealant on the threads, so Teflon tape was added and the gauge was installed by hand and minor use of wrench to tighten it up.

Inside the bag of loose parts was a plug that fit into the whips disconnect line. I started pumping (and noticed a bleed valve needs to be closed) and was able to get the pressure up to 4500psi quickly. Within a few minutes, the pressure dropped to 2000 psi and held steady. Then after a few hours, the pressure dropped a bit further. I thought this proved the pump system to be ready for use, as long as I don’t leave the tank to be filled connected to the system after pumping.

First time use and experience:
The smallest tank I had was a 45/4500. It took several rest-periods and different body position changes over a few hours to get up to 2500 psi. The pump body does get plenty warm and there was a lot of oil splatter during the pump session (so don’t use this on the carpet inside your house). I heard a 13/3000 tank will take about 100 pumps, so I will likely purchase a smaller tank in hopes of reducing pumping time to get satisfactory fill. Afterall, I’m just working on markers, and not shooting so much.

Interesting Notes:

• The handle-bar came with what looks to be two bicycle grips. If pumping gets intense, maybe I’ll use a mountain bike handle-bar instead (which will help wide the stance and relax my back).
• Another idea is to mount the base to a hardwood platform. That way my feet do not always need to be on the pump base, and I can adjust my body position.
• There’s a distinct click during the pumping stage, I believe it’s when the pressure of the pump system equalizes with the tank pressure.
• The pressure gauge on the pump system read about 200psi higher than what was on my 45/4500 tank. When I’m tired from pumping, I relied on the pump system pressure gauge. When I had energy, I relied on the 45/4500 tank pressure gauge.

I’ll be sure to post again if anything happens with the pump, but so far so good. Thank you for reading.

[Aluminumchef]

Nice. I'm debating on one of these or a used scuba tank.

[Hooptie]

After two months of use, the PCP pump is still working. Though I'm getting tired of having of the physical activity involved to get a fill. I see electric PCP air pumps (4500 psi) are going for $299 shipped on eBay now.

I would rather put the $50 from the manual pump into the $299 electric air pump.

[Toestr]

I figure I'll tack on my experience with one of these. This isn't a particularly organized 'review', I'm just making points as they come to mind.

Build quality is nicer than I expected. The fill whip says made in Germany and rated for 1600 BAR (23 000+ psi), and the gauge says made in Japan, and feels quite solid (liquid filled, glass cover). Whether the markings are accurate or not I'm not sure.

As was stated, the manual is written in broken English, but also shows a slightly different model of pump that doesn't include a filter on the whip and doesn't come with the fittings installed. My pump came with a delrin crush seal in the gauge port, so it probably would have sealed fine, but I added Teflon tape anyway. It comes with a stamped metal wrench that is supposed to have sizes for all fittings, but the largest size on mine didn't fit.

This thing is a one stop workout machine. You can work your arms, back, core or legs depending on technique. It took me 250-300 pumps to fill a 13/3k and around 1000 pumps to fill a 48/3k. Not sure if these are actually 'filled' because the gauge on my 13/3k agreed, but my 48/3k did not.

Volume is definitely going to be your friend for tanks you fill with this. Once you get over 2k the pumping becomes significantly more difficult, and at 2.5k I needed my full body mass behind the pump the get full strokes even after rest (I'm 180lbs, and not very strong in the arms). I ended up getting bruises and blisters on my palms from pumping, so gloves or a wrap are a good idea. Consistent full strokes are important, because most of the compression happens in the bottom of the stroke. It was quite a chore getting to 3k, so I certainly wouldn't want to pump something up to 4.5k.

The piston did heat up significantly when pumping (not enough to burn after a couple hundred pumps, but it is certainly warm). The tank heated up very little if at all, so no need to account for cooldown pressure difference. The manual goes into some nonsense about water cooling built into the pump. Maybe it's insulated with water (an oxymoron) or something. Taking a few minutes of rest every couple hundred pumps is the best idea to cool down and reenergize.

The manual recommends lubrication but again isn't clear how often.

I also experienced some slight leaking. When I initially got it and plugged the whip for testing and pumped it up to 3k psi. After an hour I only had about 100psi lost. When I was pumping up my tanks, I had some audible leaking at high pressures when left the handle sitting. I assume it would just leak out what's in the line, but I don't know.

Overall, I think this is worth while if you want to do teching, or want to prefill some tanks over the course of several days for some limited paint outlaw ball. Obviously this is not a good solution if you need to fill tanks immediately. If the only tank it is at all practical to fill to usable pressure in a 'between game' period of time is a 13/3k.

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[EvilCreature]

Where are people buying these contraptions?

[Toestr]

Where are people buying these contraptions?

eBay for the cheap Chinese ones. Sporting goods stores with a larger air rifle selection or air rifle stores for the more expensive brand name ones. The you're better off putting the money for a more expensive pump towards a shoebox or Chinese compressor though.

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[EvilCreature]

eBay for the cheap Chinese ones. Sporting goods stores with a larger air rifle selection or air rifle stores for the more expensive brand name ones. The you're better off putting the money for a more expensive pump towards a shoebox or Chinese compressor though.

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If I but one I want the good one. Thoughts?

[Toestr]

If I but one I want the good one. Thoughts?

What I have gathered from reading bullet point features on air rifle web sites:

- the cheaper branded pumps are part for part identical to or are a slightly different model with identical features. Both of these options are at least twice as expensive as the unbranded one I bought.

- the more expensive branded models ($200+) advertise having smoother/lighter or fewer strokes than the cheaper ones. Not sure how true this is, but I can't see it it being that much faster or easier.

- the most expensive models also have a desiccant filter over the intake, which helps remove moisture from the air you pump prior to it being compressed. The pump I have does have a filter on the fill whip, but it's pretty dinkey. It's definitely caught some oil and particulate, but I've found some condensation on my fill nipple after filling. I've been told I shouldn't worry about this too much, but I think I will be getting a larger external filter anyway. The more expensive unbranded models also have desiccant filters on the intake. I kind of wish I'd gotten one of those instead.

- depending on where you get it shipping may be quite a bit. Mine shipped from Canada, so it was pretty quick (luckily it was also the cheapest option).

- as a side note, my pump has developed a slight leak when the pump is not in motion and the intake valve can seem a bit sluggish to reset, but overall I don't think it's a big deal. Also, when I plugged the hose to test for leaks, the maximum pressure I could physically get it to was 3500 psi. I'm not the strongest or heaviest guy, but I was putting my body weight on it (180lbs).

Personally, I wouldn't get an expensive brand name one, and would rather get a Hong Yeng compressor. The cheapest model should do you just fine if you're not too concerned about moisture.

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[jeramiej]

I have the Hill hand air pump for my .25cal air rifle. Hatsan Flash with built-in sound suppression. This thing is awesome for removing pests. The rig has an on tank setup. I keep it at 2.9K 200 BAR so refilling is easier with the pump. Can do three mags and not drop BAR. (40 foot pounds of energy)

I might get the full auto Blitz next. No class III needed. I was wondering on the paintball realm, but probably won’t get one for that as I haven’t played in a decade.

[Rdav]

I recently bought one of these for topping up tanks for some back-yard target practice, I'm yet to put it to the test properly but everything looks to be relatively well made for the money I paid (£27 UK) .
On the suggestions here I'll probably pick up another aftermarket filter or try and bodge some solution up for a new filter though as I think as-stock the filter doesn't look stellar.
A shoebox compressor would be the dream, but I don't think I can entirely justify dropping 300 just to plink in my garden on weekends, plus I guess it gives a reasonably good incentive to work out!

[Toestr]

Something that I found can help with moisture filtration is keeping the filter end of the whip closer the the pump (change filter before doing this). This should help keep moisture in the bottom part of the pump, closer to the exhaust valve. When you drain the fill whip, do so quickly, as it can help carry moisture out of the system. Taking the whip off and turning the fitting down while shaking can also drain the condensation from the bottom. I will also store it with the whip off and the fitting facing down for a few hours to help drain the moisture.

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[Toestr]

Here's something I did:

I tapped the input hole for 1/8 NPT, and drilled out the middle of the handle bar. 1/8 gives you lots of options for fittings, but I chose to use a barb, and I'm going to run the tube to either a home made or off the shelf desiccant filter zip tied to the barrel of the pump. This doesn't need to be a super beefy job since it's not under pressure.

If you're going to do this, be careful not to drill out the inlet passage out too much, or else the rubber ball seal might not work. Also make sure the air passage on the fitting is smaller than the ball seal.

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