Air Gun Home :: View topic - Discovery Fill Station and Regulator Test Rig

rsterne · Moderator

I got the opportunity to pick up a SCUBA yoke HPA filling station on eBay for $17.50 plus postage.... so I got one "just because".... Once it arrived, I decided to take advantage of the built in bleed valve to create a fill station that would work from a regulated HPA tank so that I could fill my Disco and my 2260 PCP Carbine from a 3000 psi tank with a 2000 psi regulated output without having to worry about overfilling.... I already had an ASA airgun fill adapter with valve, so I whipped up an adapter that would fit into the yoke and connect to the ASA adapter.... I made the adapter from a 1" long piece of 1" D aluminum bar stock.... cut an O-ring groove and a locating recess in one end, drilled it 1/8" D for 5/8" in from that end, countersunk a small hole in the other for the point on the clamp screw, and drilled and tapped one side to 1/8" NPT.... I used a 1/8" steel hex nipple between, sealed with teflon tape, and oriented the valve on the ASA on the same side as the bleed valve on the yoke.... The adapter is easily removable should I ever wish to use the yoke on a SCUBA tank.... Cool

A local hydraulic shop made me up a 5000 psi hose with 1/8" NPT fittings both ends for $13.50, and I put that between the yoke and the female Foster fitting to make it easier to connect to the gun.... Bingo! instant fill station that works from either SCUBA or a portable regulated bottle.... Wink

The small item in the center that looks like a tiny high-pressure tank is exactly that.... I used a 4" long piece of 1" D cold-rolled steel, drilled it 9/16" D for 3.5" deep, then drilled and tapped the top part to 5/8"-18 NF to fit the tank thread on regulators.... Essentially, I made a 1/2 cu.in. tank that is good for over 5000 psi with a 4:1 safety margin.... I can fit a regulator into it, screw the regulator into the ASA fitting, plug the end of the hose (I made a male foster plug, shown on the left below the hose).... and then pump it up to 3000 psi (very easy because the volume of the mini-tank and hose are so small).... and then read the regulator set pressure on the guage on the yoke.... Shocked

Pretty flexible piece of equipment for about $40.00.... Mr. Green

Bob