APTA launcher

[MattyF]

What are folks using to power up there launchers and what PSI with what weights?

I have only played with it but my findings are.....a double cylinder powered foot pump will only achieve around 90psi a compressor will easily achieve around 160psi and that seems ok for the high shots required.. So there has to be a better way of achieving more air pressure? A constant 150-170 would be good.

[mistahbenn]

Look up Tom Hoffman on YouTube. I have a hand pump that gets to 160, and that will fire over the oldest tree in New York.

[R Mac]

You might be better with a Track Pump designed for roadie bikes, they're designed to deliver high pressure/low volume, over 200psi.

 

See Here

[MattyF]

I was just looking at those pumps , I naively thought if I just kept on pumping with the foot pump it would feed the chamber with a decent pressure! Looks like the answer.

Tom talks about using a 12g gas cartridge Ben, that sounds interesting, but can find nothing further on the net about using cartridges to fire the APTA

[R Mac]

The problem with regular car type footpumps is that they're designed to deliver a high volume at low pressure hence the short stroke/wide cylinders compared to the long stroke/narrow cylinder on the track pump.

 

I can't say I really understand or at any rate put it in words why one does one thing and the other does something else but it does

 

Using gas cartridges? I'll assume that's co2 cartridges, you can get tyre inflators that use regular co2 cartridges but not sure they would deliver the volume/pressure you need, you can get them for mtb tyres so presumably they would work ok.

 

See Here

 

Combined Pump & co2 inflator 160psi, See Here

Edited March 7, 2016 by R Mac

[jomoco]

I've been using a couple of 20 lb CO2 cylinders to blow out my saws with and charge my pneumatic throwbag gun for many decades now.