Looking to try HPA

[Charlot1405]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering if my post about HPA really belonged to the Newbie Tank, but since I know pretty much nothing about HPA, I thought I could take all the advice possible.

First of all, I want you to know that I probably know a lot less than you guys, so correct me if i'm wrong about anything.

So recently, I bought a We Glock 17 for the sole purpose of turning it into an HPA bb machine. I was first looking for a glock 18, but they have become quite rare, and I figured that if I can get my hands on one it would work as well, as they have the same mags.

I know I want to build an HPA gun, since I would love to have a very reliable pistol, and since I know I will have a lot of free time during the summer to work on that project.

First, I would like to know what you guys think of this idea. Then, do you guys have any recommendations as to which regulator or line to get, and, if possible, where to get them from.

Right now I own an old tank that I used when I was playing paintball. Here is everything I know of this tank. It still works, has no leaks, and is still pretty full. The brand is Empire, it has a max capacity of 3000 psi and is 48 CU. My question is: Is this tank going to work with my HPA setup? If more information is needed, I'll take a picture of it.

From what I know, I need a regulator, to convert the high pressure of the tank into lower pressure, so that my gun does not explode (right?). Next I need a line (seems to come with regulators normally). Finally, I need to change my fill up vavle for an adapter that fits my line into the we mag, as well as put teflon for it to have no leaks.

Would that be it? It seems simple (kind of), and I want to be sure im not missing anything.

Next would be to install all of it, which once again will probably be hard, but thats for another day

If you guys could help me by correcting me if I am wrong about something, and by giving me some links, I'd be glad.

Thanks!

[riley_A]

You seem to have everything you need to HPA tap your glock 17. As you said, all you need is a tank (yours will work fine), a regulator with a line, and valves for your magazines.
For the regulator, I would suggest looking at the offerings from redline, wolverine or polarstar. All will work with your current tank and most will include lines with them out of the box.
As for the valves, I believe there are CQB russian valves with the correct threading for WE magazines. I know for sure amped airsoft in the states carries them, and blackblitz in ontario may carry them as well.

[Charlot1405]

Thanks for the quick reply! Its good to finally know everything I need. At first I was not sure if my tank would be ok...

For the regulators, I will look into these companies for sure. Now the only thing I need is to find a store that have them in stock. Blackblitz does indeed have the vavles, which is great, but I dont seem to find any regulators. It will definitely take some digging. Could importing them solve the issue? I have never heard of rules concerning these, but since they are related to gas, could there be problems at the border?

I have another question that just popped in my head. I know that orings in the mags need silicon oil for them not to dry off. Normally green gas contains some. I have always used green gas, but with HPA, how do I make sure it stays lubrified?

Thanks once again

[riley_A]

Blackblitz does actually have regulators, they carry both redline and wolverine products so you should be able to get everything from them. As far as lubrication goes, you can put a tiny drop of silicone oil into the mag through the rubber gasket on top, but you dont need much and you dont need to do it very often. Whatever you do though, DO NOT put any kind of oil into the HPA tank itself. Oils can combust under high pressure and you dont want that to happen.

[Charlot1405]

Alright then I will need to look more into it, I must have missed them when I checked! And thast a good idea! I never thought about it this way but yes I'll make sure not to do that mistake

Thank you once again! Now I should be all set!

[Zfurlong]

ill start from the very beginning to make things as easy to understand as possible.
- you have a tank currently, that has an output of 8-900 psi
- you will need a regulator that will accept 8-900 psi and regulate that down to about 100-160psi (pending parts in your pistol). the reason for this, is that is roughly the psi that propane/greengas puts out, so you will need something near that same pressure
if you are open to the idea, there are dedicated SLP (super low pressure) tanks available on the market specifically for hpa (you should still use a regulator with them though)
- you do not necessarily need to get the cqb Russian valves or any dedicated valves like that for turning your pistol hpa. any 1/8 air hose connector will do the same job (I use them on some of my builds), the benefit of these are that they are more durable than the cqb Russian valves, the downside, is that there is a bit more work involved as you will need to drill then tap the hole (with the correct threads) into your mag
- hpa is extremely dry compared to greengas and will dry out the seals on your guns unless maintained properly (2-3 drops of SILICON oil into the mags where you connect the hpa line to every 5-6 mags worth of shooting should be fine)
- I would recommend keeping a few mags as greengas/propane due to some fields I have come across over the years having a straight up hpa ban.

[Charlot1405]

Yes, I have seen that, usually high pressure regulators can take in up to 1000 psi and reduce it down to 100-160 right? Normally there is a way to adjust exactly the desired psi if I'm not mistaken. For now I think I will stay with the tank I already have, as buying another one would cost even more money.

The idea of connecting it without the valve seems interesting! I will definitely look into it to see if it is as simple as it sound or not, although I am not certain about drilling my mag.
I see this is what I thought... It will definitely need more lubrification.
Also, I never thought about that problem.... I live in Québec and there are not that many fields near where I live, and they accept hpa.. But keeping a couple of mags untouched cool indeed be useful if anything happens to my setup...

Another question I just got: are there a lot of risks if breaking between the regulator and the line? I would think that t those pressures, the regulator could leak? Or are they generally pretty well made? And is there any chances that the line cut and starts emptying my tank on the field?

[riley_A]

HPA systems are typically very safe. Just like tanks, the safe operating pressures for regulators and hoses are typically about half to a third of what the burst pressure is, and the lines themselves are made extremely durable so they shouldnt break unless you intentionally try to do so.

[ThunderCactus]

Upside:
-never have to deal with propane smell
-very consistent across a wide range of temperature
-variable pressure

downside:
-either have to swap lines while changing mags, or;
-need to rig up a highcap to feed the pistol mag
-1 or 2 lines running to the pistol
-you look silly

[Charlot1405]

Good I am happy to learn that!! I never experienced hpa but from what you are saying it does look pretty safe!

And for the upsides those are the main reasons I want to try to hpa tap it... Consistency I what appeals me! I was also thinking of feeding bb's through some kind of auto winding box mag, but that project is for later ^^

[Katipunero]

Originally Posted by Charlot1405

Good I am happy to learn that!! I never experienced hpa but from what you are saying it does look pretty safe!

And for the upsides those are the main reasons I want to try to hpa tap it... Consistency I what appeals me! I was also thinking of feeding bb's through some kind of auto winding box mag, but that project is for later ^^

I've been running HPA tapped mags on all my GBBR's for almost 2 years now and I've found that it is the only consistent way to run GBBR's all year round and have fps consistency.

During the course of time I've run HPA, I always have someone come up and ask me how I reload and is it difficult. I then respond with a quick demonstration and then a look of astonishment at how it doesn't really interfere or slow down reloading with a non HPA tapped mag.

Granted it still takes 1/2 a second more to unplug/plug the hose, but like with any repetitive drill operation it becomes more efficient and thoughtless the more you practice it.

As for 'looking silly'; play the way you want to play. It's your gear and you can play however you want as long you're in the rules of the game.

[Charlot1405]

Exactly!! Since even indoors as you shoot through your mags the last bbs are usually less consistent... Can't imagine with the temperature affecting also...

And yeah well practice makes perfect!!