Cheap Air Tank Output Gauge

[bonzibob]

OK We all know how important it is to have your tank pressure right for an A1 to function ..Here is how to make one for about 30 bucks and it will give you TRUE tank pressure as well as a look at your tank recharge rate .. people if you hate this , I posted it before and got flammed .. deal with it , It simply WORKS !! After you read how to build one properly I will tell you what you think should work does not work at all and could lead you in the wrong direction !!

1 Buy the cheapest , uglyest ON/OFF you can find that HAS TWO FITTINGS on it, Mine is some old purple POS but it does the job.
2. Buy a NEW 600 PSI gauge as well as a macroline fitting and 1 foot of macroline.
3. Put the gauge in one fitting port and the macroline fitting in the other
4. Put the ON / Off on your tank and keep it closed.
5. Disconnect the macroline from your mini reg and hook up the tank line to it.
6. turn your A1 on , turn the eyes off , make sure there is NO PAINT in the breach or the gun !!!
7. Turn the ON/OFF on , fire the gun two or three times , look at the guage , this is your true tank output pressure , do NOT trust any other readings .. WHY will be explained below.
8. Now dry fire the marker several times to see how fast the tank pressure recovers , the needle on the gauge should hardly move.

IF YOUR TANK DOES NOT READ BETWEEN 450 AND 550 PSI OR THE RECOVERY RATE IS DELAYED HERE IS WHAT TO DO :

TAKE YOUR TANK TO A CERTIFIED TANK TECHNICIAN , OR SENT IT INTO THE MANUFACTURER , DO NOT SERVICE THE TANK YOURSELF !!!

Answers to why what your are doing will not work , I love this part :x: Cause this is one of the areas I was FLAMMED in on a prior post of this info :rollseyes

Major Mistakes :
1 My field checked my tank !!

Most fields will check your tank with an ultra high pressure gauge on a fill tank , The accuracy of these below 700 psi is horriable , They are designed to operate and be accurate above 1000 psi DO NOT TRUST THEM !!!!!

2. I just put a gauge on an old ASA and the tank reads 700 WHEN I SCREW IT ALL THE WAY IN !!

HERE IS WHY : As you screw a tank with 3000 psi or 4500 psi into a small area as the valve opens, air comes in and pressureizes the area. As you continue to screw the tank in to the ASA you will get a reading that will keep going up , there is no where to the air to go so it will compress already compressed air and give you a false and very high reading. If you adjust your tank to this reading your output will be about 100 - 175 psi I have tried it just to prove it

I JUST BOUGHT THIS TANK, IT IS NEW !!!

The last LP tank I bought from one of the most depended upon manufactures was to be set at 450 psi .. REAL world output was 760 psi .... woops wrong shim pack .. people make mistakes

My tank pressure is OK but the recharge rate sucks !

TAKE YOUR TANK TO A CERTIFIED TECH WHO CAN SERVICE THE TANK AND TANK REG FOR YOU !! DO NOT TRY TO SERVICE A TANK YOURSELF !!!!

I can fix my tank myself , never done it but I can

WTF >> YOU ARE PLAYING WITH 3000 TO 4500 PSI UNDER YOUR ARM .. YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT , ARE YOU A MORON OR IDIOT OR WHAT ?

[karseras69]

nice info

[Bleda]

I've posted a variation on this many times before. If you dont want to connect it to your gun(and dont care about recharge rate) just take an on off with 2 ports, put a good gauge in one port and a screw in the other, then pressurize it, and slowly turn the screw out until you hear a very slight leak, let it leak for about 10-15 seconds, close the leak and then look at the gauge, thats your output pressure.

Also make sure that your tank is at a full fill! A tanks output pressure can vary by as much as 150-200 psi from a full fill to 1000psi, this is also why you should chrono on a full tank, so that you avoid shooting hot if you get spot checked later.

[alphozo]

I like. Thanks.

[bonzibob]

Make sure that your tank is at a full fill! A tanks output pressure can vary by as much as 150-200 psi from a full fill to 1000psi, this is also why you should chrono on a full tank, so that you avoid shooting hot if you get spot checked later.

This is why you need to check your recharge rate . IE: If you have a tank set to 450 psi , and the output varies above 900 psi on your tank gauge (double your output) your tank reg needs to be serviced !!

I never thought of simply bleeding air out of an ASA with the second screw , one hell of a good idea Bleda , but for $2.00 more you can check all you need to and identify the source of "HOT GUN SYNDROME" as well as SHOOTDOWN due to poor tank regulator performance.

[Bleda]

This is why you need to check your recharge rate . IE: If you have a tank set to 450 psi , and the output varies above 900 psi on your tank gauge (double your output) your tank reg needs to be serviced !!

I never thought of simply bleeding air out of an ASA with the second screw , one hell of a good idea Bleda , but for $2.00 more you can check all you need to and identify the source of "HOT GUN SYNDROME" as well as SHOOTDOWN due to poor tank regulator performance.

the recharge rate wont change the hot gun syndrome. Its caused because the large majority of tank regs are not compensating regs, they are like the mini-reg on the A1 and the output varies depending on the amount of pressure in the tank. For instance my crossfire has an output of about 600 at 4500, then settles down into the 450-500 range between 3500 and 1500 psi and then drops to about 350 by 1000 psi. This causes my velocity to vary from 296-297 down into the low 270's by the time the tank is emptying.