Let us know how it works..

Did it come with the right attachment for the BCA canister?

 

Yes. Even came with a plug for the connector and an adapter for a threaded conection.

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I'm wondering if pulling outside air with moisture in it could cause problems with freezing up. I have a scuba shop fill mine and I would assume there is no moisture in those tanks.

I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it.

 

Would you be able to deploy your airbag in real-life conditions (freezing temps) and let us know?

Thanks,

 

I'm wondering if pulling outside air with moisture in it could cause problems with freezing up. I have a scuba shop fill mine and I would assume there is no moisture in those tanks.
I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it.

No you are not.
I'm in Idaho the air is some drier here than Mn. There are desiccant kits for the pcp pumps. Also, in regards to the dive shop thing. Rocky mountains in the winter, not many dive shops in my neighborhood. If you deploy today you will ride tomorrow with an empty bottle.

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Would you be able to deploy your airbag in real-life conditions (freezing temps) and let us know?

Thanks,

Not that cold yet....

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I'm wondering if pulling outside air with moisture in it could cause problems with freezing up. I have a scuba shop fill mine and I would assume there is no moisture in those tanks.

I don't know, maybe I'm over thinking it.

Correct, very dry air.

(You headed to Island park again this year? Hope they have better snow than last year! Then again, it was better than home!!!)

 

Not sure where yet this year. Might just wait and chase the snow whenever we go.

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Same boat, UP the last part of Jan then unknown. . . . .(Sorry for the side trip. . . . . )

 

Subscribed.

 

yea i really don't see why this wouldn't work. I'm sure you could even rig some sort of moisture trap between the fill line and bottle if you wanted. I don't see much reason why this be an issue.. At such high of a pressure I don't think even very cold temperatures would effect the compressed air deploying the bag improperly. I fill my bca canister at the local PB field for just a few bucks and my bca bag and bottle always seem to work fine and the bottle always has kept right at the pressure I filled to even a full year later. Im about to do my yearly test deploy and expect zero issues.

 

https://www.wildsnow.com/4623/bca-airbag-backpack-refill/

this article discusses the issue of dry fill air. I do tend to agree a scuba type fill is optimal. My local pb field fills their canisters with one to my best knowledge

 

Let me know how this works......

 

Well, I finally had time to deploy and refill. It works. It is more work than I expected. Good upper body workout. It is a 3 stage pump, up stroke draws air in and compresses stage 2, down compresses stage 1 & 3. Stage 3 is about 3/16" dia. I placed the bottle as high as the hose would allow while pumping. Hoping any moisture would condense in the hose. I openned the bleed valve serveral times during the process. Got some silicone oil from the pump and very little if any water. NWS reports, humidity 44%.

Strokes & pressure
25 250
125 1000
200 1500
275 2000
330 2400
360 2700

Over all, I'm happy with the pump. My group travels out of town a couple of times a year for a week at a time. If a refill is needed it can be done without screwing around trying to find a scuba shop at 6000' in winter. I've tried the FD fill thing and the fire chief in Rexburg is very against filling. Real putz! The dive shop in Idaho falls is a 50 mile round trip and might even be open when I get there. Got a bottle filled there once in three tries. 150 miles and serveral hours to fill once...I'm done with that... dont know about the paint ball shops... I thought they used carbon dioxide, not filling my bottle with that!
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360 "easy strokes" or not so easy?

 

I guess if it was me and had the chance; I would let the bag sit out on a - 20 day and made sure it still deployed. Otherwise I would say it would be a necessity in the trailer.

 

I plan filling my tank in Houghton from the paintball field. I'll share if i run into any issues doing so but i don't think I will.

Might see if a cant convert a few paintball tanks into a bulk storage system for trips out west, as a way to refill in case of a deployment

 

360 "easy strokes" or not so easy?

Higher pressure = more resistance. The up stroke never changes. The down stroke gets tougher. If you can mtn ride, you can fill the bottle. I'm old and did 2 in one evening. The second bottle seemed to fill a little faster. Felt like the pump was "broke in". I didnt hear air leaking past the intake valve as often on the second bottle. Pump does get warm. Hot if you get too vigorous. This not a fast as you can go operation. Up, pause for half second, down at a moderate steady rate. Full travel both directions.

No one in my group has to worry about a refill. If you are in a slide, deploy immediately. We will refill the same day. Also, no reason not to do the annual test. If someone from another group needs a fill, thats fine too.

If anyone else purchases this type pump, please post your findings.

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Found an article on BCA's site stating that, it is okay to use a pcp pump.

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I thought they used carbon dioxide, not filling my bottle with that!

why no Co2?

 

While at the BRP Avy class by Mike Duffy, he was talking about a hand pump they used at HayDays when they were doing the free tank refills. I don't remember the brand but he says it does work pretty good. I think he said they filled like 40 tanks with one.

I am lucky enough to have a family friend that is a scuba instructor and he lets me barrow a tank when we go out. I bought an adapter that screws onto the bottle and hooks up to the BCA tank.

 

why no Co2?

All together different properties. It is popular for air rifles and hobby welders cause it is liquid in the bottle, giving many more cubic feet of gas/vapor from a small bottle. The problem is making dryice....... if you up end a co2 bottle and crack the valve open, spraying a small amount of liquid, it will look like snow, it is dryice. If you open the valve to wot, it will instantly turn the liquid in the bottle to ice. In and avi pack you really dont want that to happen.

That principle is how all dryice is made. Spray liquid co2 into a chamber and collect the snow. Compress it into blocks, pellets, ect. It is about a 3lb liquid to 1lb ice conversion. Dryice is -109f. Does not melt, it sublimates, changes from solid to gas without ever being liquid. I know, thats more than you wanted to know.....sorry

Interesting triva.... there is an industrial cleaning process, dry ice blasting, like sand blasting with dryice. It will clean aluminium parts like no other. Make your clutches look brand spanking new faster than than you can say your name... See my user name.....

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I plan filling my tank in Houghton from the paintball field. I'll share if i run into any issues doing so but i don't think I will.

Might see if a cant convert a few paintball tanks into a bulk storage system for trips out west, as a way to refill in case of a deployment

Paintball tanks won't work for filling, the output from them is regulated down to around 800 psi. You could possibly rig something up using the gauge port, but that's playing with a lot of pressure in a way it wasn't meant to be played with. Scuba tanks make much better fill systems, and fill adapters are easy to come by.

You won't get a Co2 fill in your float bottle at a paintball field by the way. Some paintball guns can run on co2, but it is no longer the norm. Most prefer compressed air, same as you get form a scuba tank or that hand pump. If you really want to get into the cool kids club you can get a shoebox compressor.

 

I'm three hundred plus mile from a dive shop, there are a couple of compressors in town,,,but good luck using them. I keep three dive bottles around for filling tanks. I do ten or twelve a year and never run out.

 

The shoe box compressor is a really cool deal, especially if you have a scuba tank to fill with it. It is a slow fill and needs 85psi from your shop compressor. I'm thinking seriously about a pcp rifle, so more high pressure air equipment maybe in my future. Side note, if you like shooting sports, look into the pcp thing. 60 22 cal shots at 900 fps on 1 charge.

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