Thanks for this info...it's exactly what I was looking for. After moving from spring airguns to pcps about 6 years ago, I have been handpumping the entire time. Never had big problems because I had an entry level gun that with a small air tube which only pumped up to 2000 psi. Further I have taken it apart and maintained it often. However, I got a 25 caliber airgun a couple years ago that really needs to be pressured to 3000 psi (and it has a bigger air tube to fill). I can (and have been) hand pumping it, but even though I take it apart and reseal it each offseason, I notice moisture issues and the beginnings of corrosion. CONCLUSION: CLEAN, DRY AIR IS EVERYTHING. I love these airguns, and want to take good care of them. I had always feared I was getting moisture into them via handpumping (no matter how slowly, carefully I pump)--it is just basic physics. I have recently been looking into compressors and drying techniques, and your channel--and especially this episode--has offered me great information and support. I appreciate it--and I am ordering a compressor and pairing it with the appropriate carette filter. A big, but important step for a frugal guy like me.
Bought a Reg and Tank from Joe. After I realized a hammer spring error in gun setting, Joe reset regulator that is spot on at no extra charge. Saved me from belleville washer hell. You get what you pay for!
This sure explained most of what you need to know about drying the air. I have always been careful to fill my Daystate inside my air conditioned home to try and keep the humidity of the air going to my hand pump as low as possible. The rifle is over 20 years old and I have had it apart a few times, thank God no corrosion. Keep in mind, its a .177 gets 93 shots per fill. Now the problem. I just bought a FX dreamline compact converted to 30 cal for Coyote control. It only gets 10 good shots per fill, only need 2. Not bad as it only take 5 min to bring back to full pressure. I recently bought a GX 18 volt compact compressor. Mainly got the compressor for test and tune. I started watching your videos. Now I am afraid to use it without a solution to put in clean dry air. I have been aware of Joe's products for years,"Great stuff". My question is "Has he started producing the smaller drying unit" as shown in your interview with him? Starting to think this whole compressor issue is all hype and a waste of time. Could use one of Joe''s tanks but I don't live in and area that I can get them filled, the Dive shops here won't touch them. Thanks for the help. Oh yea, thanks for your quick reply on my last post. Your videos are GREAT and Your becoming my hero! Rick
Got the Carette filter from Topgun Airguns and paired it with the GX CS2 compressor--love it! It takes about a minute, maybe a little less, to pressure up the fill line and filter to the 2200 psi needed to overcome the pressure maintaining valve on the filter. Now I have clean dry air. It takes me a total of about 3 min (1 min filter pressurizing, 2 min gun filling) to fill my Benjamin Marauder (215 cc to 3000 psi from about 1700 psi). I really think the filter is good insurance and also like the GX CS2 which is also new to me.
@@BSJ-VT LOL! I have a Hate-Hate relationship with rivnuts.... Probably ill deserved, I worked for a manufacturer and many of the tubes had rivnuts and the failure rate on them made digging them out a real PITA for the techs. It was the vendors fault, and properly installed they can be effective, but I'm jaded. I was thinking of a bracket that attached to the black base and used the mounting hole in the base of the filter, which you will see soon enough, as you've already ordered it!
Dad was a chemical engineer who taught differential equations at CMU, and Iater worked for MM & N/G, so your anal OCDism feels like home. 😊 Been meaning to ask, why I don't see Boeshield being used in airguns, especially here. I use T-9 for all sorts of stuff in my shop. Re: molecular seives, I had incorporated one into my column still, but the effect of bead acidification was new to me. I work with high level water filtration quite a bit, but never gave any thought to my DIY stainless tube seive (although I'm not working w/ high pressure). This is another example of why I regret sleeping thru so many science classes. Now you've got my head swimming with laminar flow and cyclonic action. You're helping to create an OCD hell. Is it any wonder that so many vacation divers get sick from bad air? Loving this channel. 🙂
Sounds like you have identified an opening in the market! I will look forward to reviewing your budget water separator designed to this level. A bit of caution, it's not trivial engineering and manufacturing.
Silica beads in this application are really not effective. The material mentioned is micro sieve sometimes called Zeolite which is NOT Silica beads. The Silica is not really dangerous and the moisture contact won't create a weak acid, but its not effective either. Thanks for the comment!
So, in your opinion, you think it’s OK to keep filling my maverick without any filter for now and wait for a better solution. As usual thank you so much for your time and help. Fred
This sure explained most of what you need to know about drying the air. I have always been careful to fill my Daystate inside my air conditioned home to try and keep the humidity of the air going to my hand pump as low as possible. The rifle is over 20 years old and I have had it apart a few times, thank God no corrosion. Keep in mind, its a .177 gets 93 shots per fill. Now the problem. I just bought a FX dreamline compact converted to 30 cal for Coyote control. It only gets 10 good shots per fill, only need 2. Not bad as it only take 5 min to bring back to full pressure. I recently bought a GX 18 volt compact compressor. Mainly got the compressor for test and tune. I started watching your videos. Now I am afraid to use it without a solution to put in clean dry air. I have been aware of Joe's products for years,"Great stuff". My question is "Has he started producing the smaller drying unit" as shown in your interview with him? Starting to think this whole compressor issue is all hype and a waste of time. Could use one of Joe''s tanks but I don't live in and area that I can get them filled, the Dive shops here won't touch them. Thanks for the help. Oh yea, thanks for your quick reply on my last post. Your videos are GREAT and Your becoming my hero! Rick
Just found your channel and watched some of your portability videos. Very interesting and well done. What about the filter for these scenarios? Are you not using one in the field?
@@TargetForge Is this a recommendation that it's generally safe to use CS4-I with built in separator? Or is an external separator recommended with said unit? I just picked up air gunning and the CS4-I. Have not dug deep into the mechanics of the system yet to see the integrated separator. I've got a background in crude oil & pressure vessel separation design--couldn't imagine this being too different.
@@AFitchguy07 You already have a leg up on most of us! Lol. I can tell you I fill right from the outlet of my CS4 all the time, it does a fair job of reducing moisture on it's own. I was looking at these primarily for use on the CS2/3 class machines but they will also work well on the CS4. In fact better and the increased volumetric output makes filling the extra space less of an impact. I have been trying to get someone to tool up and make a true small scale coalescing separator not getting a lot of engagement. I'll keep at it...
I hear you Fred, I can say that the separators on the CS3 and CS4 work surprisingly well. I tried to get the company that made that less expensive separator to make a batch for me, they would not. I AM going to China soon, who knows what I might turn up there...
I have written to Joe to ask this question but I did not get a reply so I am hoping you can help me here. Is it possible to reuse or refill the Alpha filter cartridges? It looks like it may be possible. I live in New Zealand so if I can refill the cartridge without needing to order new ones from the US, it would be great. Thanks for that and keep up the great work!
How does one determine when the molecular sieve desiccant should be replaced? This question pertains to any filter using that type of medium for dehydration. As far as I know it doesn’t change color when saturated.
Great question Hondo! Some folks add a few beads of color change silicone desiccant beads so they have an idea what the moisture level is. Some folks just cycle the media periodically with the hopes they have the interval right. I have seen color change papers that indicate humidity level, and I know that is what is used in Joe's Alpha cartridge. I have not found a source for those yet, but I'm sure they are available. If you watched my video on testing the output of our compressors, one of the tests was a moisture test. I am almost ready to make those kits available. They are not as cheap as I wanted them to be, but they are very accurate. The idea is that the user would characterize their fill output over time, noting the RH each time, and when they see the moisture start to go up on their output, they would then know what the approximate interval for media change was. The idea being that once completed, a guy would have an idea how long his media was lasting. Using both the mapping of media lifespan, and correlating that with some sort of color change strip would likely yield a great solution. Having really good moisture removal BEFORE the media is defiantly best practice. I will likely play with these: amzn.to/3Abxumd
I have a topa hydraulic so it's a Yong heng clone and im only using the standard little canister filter atm but have only used it once to fill my 68ci 4500psi tank and i would rather have the proper canister filter like in the video if it's going to make a difference and keep my tank in top condition
Thanks for your comment Drew. You also asked if he ships to your country, correct? Best to get that answer from him directly. A quick visit to his website will make it easy to reach out to him.
Hey Bill. I’ve been trying to buy one of these Alpha filters for three or four months now they told me they were out of stock on a part to assemble them. Do you have any idea if they’re still in business or not I’ve tried calling their answering machine is full no one ever picks up etc. I’m trying to get one of these filters so I can start shooting in the spring. Thanks for any info that you have. PS I had talk to you yesterday about my compressor not filling my gun all the way I let it sit and tried it again and it seem to work OK I’m not sure if it was just a glitch but I will keep you informed. Thanks. Fred
I honestly have no idea. I am working on a really solid solution to this problem with another company. Nothing solid yet, but they seem to know what I'm asking for and maybe we can get a reliable, inexpensive solution. If it were me, I would use your setup as is and fly some pellets when the frost is gone!
I'm not sure I understand your question completely. You can vent the compressor during the fill so you are not pushing as much water into the separator. The filter itself can be left at pressure, assuming you are filling something with the ability to vent the fill line. Hope this helps, thank you for the comment!
I know the filters Joe sells are top notch, but are the Amazon ones ok? Tuxing with the molecular sieve? I read they dont go to 4500 psi but inly 4350, would those be ok if kept at 4000 psi and below? Thanks
Good information on filtering! For those of us that live in Europe and cannot buy this filter, what other options do we have? I am using the Tuxing compressor and I also bought the Tuxing gold filter with the activated charcoal and molecular sieve. Do you thing that it is safe to use up to 230 bar? I am only filling PCP's, not bottles. Will it filter anything or is it pointless to use the specific filter? Thank you.
Safe? pretty hard for me to judge. If it is a genuine Tuxing unit, and it was rated for 300 bar, its likely fine at 230 bar. I know I had replaced the threads where the fittings attached with a high quality thread insert, which when properly done, drastically improves thread strength. Without a pressurized separation stage, (the little black filter has one), you will go through quite a bit more media as it has a finite life.
I don't know of a manufacturer that sells just that. But they may exist. Truth is, by the time you find one, that price going to be really close to a complete solution like the one Joe is offering. Do you remember that thread repair video I did? That was on a Tuxing filter, the more I thought about using that filter with the needed valves and fittings on it, the less I liked the idea because of the weakness of those threads. Also, creating a coalescing space could prove challenging, but the CS3 and the Yong Heng have a reasonable facsimile.
I DID FIND ONE! valvesandregulators.aquaenvironment.com/item/ard-flow-back-pressure-regulators-priority-valves-/1310-back-pressure-regulator/1310 Looks to be the same unit that the Alpha has on it.
Do you understand that with the valves on them you can maintain the pressure in the filter so you are not refilling the filter each time? Keeping the filter pressurized also keeps the media dry.
A filter costs more than a compressor.? No thanks! Joe stuffs are expensive. I can do better. Good information with a sale pitch. To those that don't know better they will pay for it. Not me!!!!! There are alternatives much cheaper out there you just have to research.
Interesting use of your time. Cast vague doubt then fade away without a shred of credible information. Not very helpful in my humble opinion. Really sounds like you just have an ae to grind with Joe. In the future, do not use my channel for nonsense.
