Help with pressure gauges?

[jacoblesann]

I’ve been hard at work making my everything launcher air cannon more efficient and nicer and one addition was getting a PCP airgun Pump. I’m a huge fan of the pump and I snagged it for like $80 but I have no idea what pressure I’m pushing. The pressure gauge starts at 5 MPA or around 700 PSI and I’m not wanting to go past 600 PSI so I’d like to find a way to measure things properly. Should I find a way to replace the pressure gauge on the pump, or should I try and devise an inline pressure gauge which is attached to the air chuck?

The air chuck itself is 1/8” so finding fittings is pretty finicky already. Then again, the dial itself also seems to be 1/8th NPT so I doubt thats very common either.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Good on you for shelling out for a better pump

Plenty of 1/8 NPT gauges in the range you're looking at, here is an example on eBay. Shipping is exorbitant for this one but I'm sure you'll find something similar locally. 1/8 NPT is the de facto standard for most paintball fittings.

Here are some 1/8 NPT paintball mini gauges at a more reasonable price though you'll have a couple of weeks before they arrive:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-2x-600-PSI- ... Swrg1bXY5J

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/2x1500-PSI-Pain ... SwvP9aoRpw

[jacoblesann]

Thanks JSR!

Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly it. Are these tightened with a large wrench like the gauge on the pump?

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Are these tightened with a large wrench like the gauge on the pump?

If you look closely at the gauges there are flats on the outside diameter that can fit into a wrench.

[jacoblesann]

Oh okay, thanks. I’ll look into getting one of these.

Sort of unrelated but do you know how much pressure I can use if my parts are rated to 600 PSI? Newbie question, but I’m not sure. The steel pipe has a higher pressure rating but the valve itself is a 3/4” brass ball valve.

[D_Hall]

The smart answer is 600 psi. Is there margin in the design? Sure. But if you don't ahve the skills to determine what those margins are, you really shouldn't be pushing the systems past their ratings.

[jacoblesann]

Yeah, I agree. I was just wondering if it’s safe to operate at 600 PSI itself. I’m probably not going much past 400. Although the valve is much smaller than the other parts of the tank, I’m not gonna risk blowing it apart. Thanks for the confirmation.

[evanjenkins]

Good on you for shelling out for a better pump

Plenty of 1/8 NPT gauges in the range you're looking at, here is an example on eBay. Shipping is exorbitant for this one but I'm sure you'll find something similar locally. 1/8 NPT is the de facto standard for most paintball fittings.

Here are some 1/8 NPT paintball mini gauges at a more reasonable price though you'll have a couple of weeks before they arrive:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/New-2x-600-PSI- ... Swrg1bXY5J

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/2x1500-PSI-Pain ... SwvP9aoRpw

Thanks for all the links provided, it is most helpful!