New pump
I have an older FX pump and it has been a trooper but blew an o ring a couple of days ago. I replaced the o ring and it is working fine but considering it’s age and usage it got me to start thinking about a newer, more efficient, easily maintainable pump. I have heard nothing but good things about the Hill pumps and honestly it is in the lead right now, I really like the availability of parts and the ease to work on at home. I am also looking at Air Force’s pump but have a few questions that hopefully yall can help with.
Is the AirForce pump made in the USA? And is it user servicable? Now I know that dang near anything is user servicable if you have the parts, the right tools and training. So I guess I should say are parts readily available and is it easy to work on? I hear the Hill is a breeze but I will buy American if it is even close. Thanks in advance, Chris
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Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
Hill with DryPac here!!! She’s the best! Easy as shit to rebuild.
You know I have not heard one bad thing about the Hill pumps. Looks like there is a new hill pump in my future. LOL
I have a Hill pump, one thing I can say with out any doubt is that I’ll never need another pump. I’ve had mine for 2 years and its never let me down. In the beginning I was considering getting back-up pump as I do a ton of shooting (every weekend) and the pump works very hard to keep the lead flying but I’ve forgotten about getting a spare pump as this one will out live me.
Its easy to service, I lube the main piston o’ring once a month and that lasts about 8 months before it needs replacing-takes a few minutes.
The moisture filtration is top class and I’ve never had moisture in the airtubes of any of my rifles.
The Hill Mk3 are easy to pump and can charge a rifle to 275bar.
So far I’ve had:
4x. AA s400
3 x AA s510-2 of them were .22 high power(FAC)
1 x Hatsan At44-10
2 x Condors
1 x Airvolution Sniper
1 x Benjamin Marauder .22
the Hill has filled them all many many times over. The engineering is excellent, you can’t go wrong with one of these.
Anybody have a Hill?
I have an AirForce Pump and have taken it apart and serviced it a number of times. Here are some of my findings:
1) no special tools are needed.
2) the first time you take it apart will be the most difficult. They tighten fittings down quite hard and it is difficult to break them loose the first time. After that it will be considerably easier.
3) not all parts wear out equally. The small o ring (007 duro 90) at the end of the solid metal rod in the center of the pump wears out the quickest. You can get a couple of doze spares on line for about $3.00 and I can replace it in about 10 minutes….
4) a full o ring kit from AirForces is about $30. I would get one right away when you get the pump and extra 007 o rings so you can service it at soon as a problem arises.
5) In humid weather moisture does form in the pump and has to be bled out after each use.
6) The first few cleanings are the most difficult. It seams that as you use the pump the need for cleaning diminishes. Kind of like changing the oil in a car. When the engine is new the oil gets dirty quickly. As the engine ages the oil needs changing less often.
7) overheating of the pump seems to only be a problem in warm weather. This time of year if you pump out side it never over heats…
Hope this helps.
The Air Force pump is made in China, and it sucks…. I know this because I bought one with my Condor. Hope this helps.
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I started with an AF. They were fairly quick with the first 1 or 2 replacements. The last one took so long I already had a Hill with dry pack. Checked out the last AF and it looks better made, only used it once and put it storage for the end of the world. Screwed up with the Hill and left it in front of a heat register, it dryer up and corroded a little but a rebuild oring kit made it like new. But, I already had a Shoebox 4500 psi pump on order. Had to rebuild the Shoebox once so far but that is the way to go if you have average mechanical abilities.
what ever your pocket can afford, buy at least one rebuild kit.