PCP gases "Argon"

[kiwi]

Hi.. has anyone heard of argon being used in a PCP gun?
I'm asking becuase my scuba tank failed test & I have bottles of argon at work
They are 11 cubic metre @ 3000psi and may get 60/80 top ups from a bottle.
Argon is inert so it won't go bang or harm seals or O rings and has about the same
density as air.
Just bring one home use it till is down to around 2700psi then swap it for a full one.
We also have nitogen again its inert but lighter than air so it would travel quicker
and may increasse power?

Any thoughts?

[PeakChick]

You can use an inert gas like nitrogen or argon without any issues. It sounds like you have an economical way to fill.

[melloroadman]

From what Air Hog told me nitrogen is better than air for your PCP because it does not heat up  as fast during filling and you get a better fill with less expansion and contraction .Marvin

[MEHavey]

HEATING:
If you are going to fill/top offdirectly from/to the bottle, differential heating should not be a problem with either gas.

VELOCITY:
Pure nitrogen is 97% the mass of normal air -- go with it and don't expect any observable difference in either pellet velocity or spring stress.

Argon, on the other hand, is 1.37 times denser than air. I honestly don't know if that mass difference will slow the spring down (lowering pressure to the pellet), or the increased mass of the argon then pushing the pellet will increase the pellet's velocity -- or whether the two factors offset each other and there is NO observable difference in velocity.

`Interesting science experiment if you have access to a chrony.

[MEHavey]

What am I thinking about?  This is the PCP forum !

No springs....    :-(

High pressure Argon -- being almost 40% denser than air -- should *really* zip those pellets out.  

Supersonic should be the least of your effects.  

:-)

[MEHavey]

Your Air Gun...  is now an Ar-Gun.

 :-)

[daved]

I've been filling my PCP's with nitrogen since I got my first Talon about 2 years ago.  Like someone said, no appreciable difference between air and N2.  On the other hand, I've read claims of people getting extreme velocity by using helium.  It seems counter intuitive, but apparently the lighter the gas, the faster the pellet.  Main problem with helium is leakage, the gas molecule is so small that it leaks past the valves.  Based on that, I'd think the argon would slow things down, but it would be interesting to find out for sure.  Try both and post some results.  Later.

Dave

[PelletPaul]

I wanta Ar-gun or Nit-gun.  Somebody do some testing and let all of us know.    Paul

[kiwi]

Thanks guys,
Better start on a fill adapter