There’s a secret benefit of Umarex NitroAir cartridges that one’s talking about. It’s endless dry air for your PCP air rifle! True this will not be a cost-effective solution for large-capacity “bottle” PCPs. But – for the right gun and owner – it can be a viable solution that needs to be put on the table.
It’s well known that dry air is a HUGE factor in keeping your PCP air rifle working long-term: maybe it’s actually the biggest. It pays dividends long-term in avoiding leaks and associated expensive, inconvenient repairs.
Hard Air Magazine has long publicized the corrosion damage that moisture creates inside PCP airguns. So this is not a new issue. But I’ve not previously seen discussion of how NitroAir cartridges can help prevent it.
Below. Corrosion damage to the Gauge Port of a Benjamin Marauder air rifle. That’s an Aluminum part. You should have seen the rusting inside the steel pressure tube!
Dry Air For Your PCP – It’s Tough To Get
First, humidity is everywhere and humidity means water vapor – the mortal enemy of the PCP airgun. This interesting web site lists average Relative Humidity values for every state in the USA.
It tells us that the ambient Relative Humidity across the USA averages-out at no less than 78.7% in the morning (between about 4 and 6:00 AM) on an annual basis. In the afternoon, between about 3 and 5:00PM, the average falls to 52.4%.
So what do we learn from that?
Well, if you are using a hand pump or electric compressor without desiccant system, it’s better to fill your PCP in the afternoon than in the morning. That – in itself – is news to me!
Secondly it’s a reminder that everyone using a HPA hand pump or electric compressor to fill their PCP really needs a desiccant system in place to minimize moisture ingress during filling. And by that, I don’t mean just an inline “cigarette butt filter”, but something more significant. Much more significant…
Above. “Cigarette butt filters fit into an HPA whip like this.
Airgunners have become used to ever-higher pressures in our PCP airguns. We now think of 3,000 PSI as a “low” fill pressure and 4,500 PSI as “normal” in many cases. But it’s a sobering thought to realize that 3,000 PSI represents no less than 204 TIMES more than normal atmospheric pressure at Sea Level. You can make that 306 TIMES more for 4,500 PSI.
Such pressures take the effect of even that 52.4% afternoon Relative Humidity completely off the charts for corrosion inside your airgun. It means that even the tiniest remaining amount of moisture passing through your desiccant system can have a cumulatively-disastrous effect inside your air rifle. And the higher the pressure, the greater the corrosion.
Below. This corrosion in the Gauge Port and Gauge Adapter of a Benjamin Discovery happened at just 2,000 PSI fill pressure!
This means that those bargain-basement $100+ HPA hand pumps, or $150-$300 HPA compressors (with no desiccant system whatsoever) become instantly less attractive when you understand that they are pumping appreciable amounts of damaging water vapor directly into your PCP air rifle every time you use them. They are killing your gun every time use use them!
Dry Air For Your PCP – What Are The Choices?
But how to get dry air for your air rifle?
Well, you can use a large HPA tank to store dry air from a dive shop, paintball store or similar location with an extremely-expensive air compressor with advanced desiccant system. But the tank is expensive ($500 to $800 for a large one, as in the photo below), the fills generally cost $20.00 or more a pop, plus there’s the cost, time and inconvenience of travel to the facility. And don’t forget the costs and time for that 5-yearly tank hydro test you’ll need to stay compliant with regulations.
Another way is to buy a high-end HPA compressor plus dedicated desiccant system. For example, let’s look at the Air Venturi EVO-310 Compressor by Hill. We’ll need to add the Hill Dry-Pack Pro Air Dryer System to add that desiccant capability: that makes a total of $1,660. Oh, plus Dry-Pack refills cost about $43 per pack of four: these will be required on an occasional but repeating basis to absorb that pesky moisture.
By contrast, you can get into completely dry air for just $70.18 by using NitroAir! That’s the price for one Umarex NitroAir Fill Station, plus a two-pack of NitroAir cartridges.
Below. I was surprised by how small the NitroAir Fill Station is. It’s similar in size to a tin of pellets.
You see, the NitroAir Fill Station makes it possible to use completely dry Nitrogen to fill a wide range of PCP airguns. Nitro power is no longer just for the Komplete air rifle…
True, those first two cartridges are not going to get you far, but we’ll investigate this in a future post.
Many people are adamant that NitroAir is too expensive. True, it’s not cheap. But without including the “dry air” benefits it also delivers, the concept is considerably under-valued – at least in my opinion.
Today my main purpose is to again raise awareness of the corrosive nature of “wet air” in our beloved PCPs. Next, we’ll explore the practicality of providing dry air for your PCP using NitroAir, as well as the models that can benefit from it.
BUY FROM PYRAMYD
Umarex N2 Fill Station
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