regulator

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glassy2010
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:17 pm

regulator

Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:53 pm

i have a mk3 s200 its my first air rifle ive owned it nearly 2 years and i love it.
i mainly hunt rabbits and pigeons.
the main thing i was looking for was a pressure guage and when im browsing online i keep seeing regulators and people talking about them i understand the concept ,
but can some1 explain what the pros and cons are of a regulator and also internal vs external
i use a 300bar 7ltr tank to refill my cylinder

hope this makes sence

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143granville
Posts: 263
Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2017 8:15 pm
Location: barwell leicestershire .

Re: regulator

Thu Aug 10, 2017 8:16 pm

raj is the man to have a word with on 200 .

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Archer50
Posts: 200
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:06 pm
Location: Perth

Re: regulator

Fri Aug 11, 2017 10:09 am

I have no experience of the S200, but I have fitted an Altaros regulator in my S400 and a Lane regulator in an S410. I also have experience of fitting a Huma in a BSA R10 (which is just a drop-in replacement). Here are some general thoughts:

All any regulator can do is ensure that the air pressure for each shot in its working range is constant (within tolerances) so there is no power curve. This has two main effects. The first and most obvious one, it should mean that pellet velocities are also more constant. Secondly, and perhaps more important, it should now be possible to adjust, modify or replace standard parts to give the best possible performance for the constant air pressure. In an unregulated gun things like hammer weight, spring tension and transfer port size have to be compromises to deal with a range of pressures. If these are kept unchanged after regulating the gun, it will usually result in very inefficient use of air.

Pellet velocity has much less effect on accuracy than a lot of people think, and there a lots of factors other than air pressure that affect it. If you are getting a spread of less than about 20 – 25 fps in your sweet spot it is very unlikely you would see any improvement – or any difference - by reducing this to the 5 - 10 fps typical of an aftermarket regulator. If your velocity spread is more than about 25 fps there is probably either something wrong with your gun, or the way it is set up, or you are using unsuitable pellets. A regulator won’t cure these problems.

If you simply install the regulator without the other adjustments/modifications/replacements you are very unlikely to improve your shot count, in fact you will often reduce it, especially if you use an internal regulator. Even with an external regulator, you may find that the number of regulated shots is less than the number of shots you used to have in your sweet spot because of the inefficient use of air.

Depending on the gun, and as I said, I don't know enough about the S200 to be specific, the modifications needed to get the best performance from a newly regulated gun can be quite drastic and involve things like drilling out the transfer port and drilling holes in the air cylinder – be very sure you know what you are doing before you start.

Since there are external regulator options for the S200, I would consider these first. In general external regulators are easier to install and easier to maintain. Also they don’t reduce your air capacity.

Regulators are not known for their reliability - just look at any of the airgun forums, including this one. Many people (including me) think they are just something else to go wrong, and in general to be avoided. In my opinion, the best regulator is a big air cylinder and I would have a look to see if that's possible before considering anything else - the Altaros 150 cc cylinder perhaps?

Sorry if this is a bit long, but overall, as you will have gathered, I’m not impressed by mechanical regulators and in future, the only time I would consider fitting one would be if my usable shot count was too low for my purposes. Then I would do the full irreversible thing, including drilling, new parts etc – or buy a different gun, which if your current gun has a decent second hand value may actually be the cheaper option.

Hope this helps

Alan

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glassy2010
Posts: 6
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:17 pm

Re: regulator

Tue Aug 15, 2017 10:43 pm

alan thats great more info than i could have asked for and has rested my mind that im not missing out on something life changing by not having one
as i say i love my s200 ill put my money towards a newer scope then cheers

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Archer50
Posts: 200
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 5:06 pm
Location: Perth

Re: regulator

Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:58 pm

Good decision! :D

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TenMetrePeter
Posts: 1043
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 5:40 pm
Location: Luton Beds UK

Re: regulator

Wed Aug 16, 2017 5:29 pm

Also remember the resistance of the firing valve against the hammer force is higher with higher pressure. As pressure drops the valve opens more to let in more of the lower pressure air.
The hammer energy to open the valve is constant (spring and mass) so the air energy released will tend to be more constant than when simply opening a tap. Thus AA claim "self regulating" valve.

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