Gas treatise

[charleyfoxtrot]

I would like to devote a thread to the subject of gas. I am not very knowledgeable myself and I bet allot of other folks are not either. I want to know the difference between gasses like green, top, red, propane, duster, 134c, etc. Also for the stuff like duster and automotive 134c how do make adapters for airsoft, etc. Pretty much ant info you have about gas, but not necessarily how they function in SPECIFIC guns. Anyone that wants to contribute I believe would be adding greatly to the knowledge base of this website.

[kellhound]

Advise:

NEVER use a gas with more pressure tha 134a in a japanese gun.

[2nd Bat]

Essentially a quick overview on airsoft gases would include the following:

134 is essentially the same as duster gas which is a freon free gas with the only key difference being that the airsoft 134a includes a small amount of pure silicon lubricate which the seals of your gun will need from time to time. Hence if you get an nozzle adapter and use duster gas you must lube your gun quite regularly. The 134a and it's equivalent are the weakest gases available for airsoft use. Green gas is next and essentially (by all accounts) is propane without the added silicon (as mentioned above) and without the funky odor added to propane to warn of leaks from the highly flamable gas. (I have no idea how green gas gets away without the added fumicant.) It is more powerful then 134a. Most Japanese guns have tighter seals and less tolerance then their Japanese competitors so you usually can't use green gas in them unless you willing to risk damage. "Never" is an awkward word and seldom accurate. In the case of Japanese guns I would advise not using anything stronger then 134 in a gas blow back gun. The non blowback guns like some pistols and the M1 Carbine can use green gas just fine even if they are built in Japan. Red gas is more powerful then green gas. The power comes from the level of expansion each gas is capable of. Regardless of the type of gas, outside factors effect the amount of power they produce. the most significant is outside temperature. All the gasses produce greater power in hotter weather and reduced power in cold weather. The gas is usually injected into the expansion chamber located in either the gun itself or more commonly the magazine. You turn the expanison chamber or magazine upside down and squeaze the gas in by pushing downward holding it on the nozzle injecting the gas in fluid form until it starts leaking out of the nozzle. You then flip the magazine or weapon right side up and allow it to sit for a minute or so while the fluid expands to uniform gas and equalizes within the chamber. If the gas leaks on you you'll discover that all of them are extremely cold. 134a for example is a coolant gas used to replace freon in air conditioners which contained ozone depleting gases which have been banned in the past decade or so. You never want to store any airsoft gas cans in extreme temperatures especially areas that can get real hot like a rear deck in a car under the back window or in a pickup truck canopy where the sun can bead down on the can. This can cause an explosion that can literally kill you but for sure can cause extensive damage. Because of the potential hazard, airsoft gases must be shipped by ground shipment only and obviously shouldn't be stored in either carry on or checked luggage when flying.

This is preliminary input on the various gases used in airsoft guns and I invite others to add additional details that could be a worthwhile source of information for others. there does seem to be a lot of common misunderstanding with regard to this subject.

[charleyfoxtrot]

How does one aquire a nozzle adapter for the 134a gas then?

[fennrisulfr]

You have the punch out a nozzel from an old 134a can that was made for airsoft guns. Then you go to the auto parts store, buy a can of 134a, a 134a valve, some tubing to fit the valve and nozzel, and some clamps to secure the tubing around the valve and nozzel. When the can of 134a is finished, you can simply remove the valve and tube configuation that you made and put it on another can of 134a. Hope that sounds clear enough to understand.

[rbx6jm7man]

with all this stated... do you think i could run red gas through my tanaka kar98k?

[sabrepilot9000]

Hell I use red in mine. Only thing you need to worry about is the strike plate on the magazine and maybe the firing pin. The plates wear a little bit more than when you use it on green but I haven't seen anything wrong with the firing pin. Too bad you can't get any steel strike plates for the mags .

[Russianboy]

kellhound said:

Advise:

NEVER use a gas with more pressure tha 134a in a japanese gun.

I use HFC-22 in my marui M9. Still runing good one year later.