how much air do airguns use per shot?

[Hurricane]

The following should be taken with a 'pinch of salt' as I only made some rough estimates when first getting my rifle.
My .22 Airwolf MVT running at 30ft.lb uses around 400cc per shot at 1bar.

[Rich]

Jon Budd points to an amazing fact. A springer can produce legal limit power with say 40cc whereas the average PCP needs maybe three times that much air, and a longer barrel too. Rock on, the adiabatics......

[the growler]

Whats the most efficient air using air gun out there then? Would be interesting to know.

[Hurricane]

Jon Budd points to an amazing fact. A springer can produce legal limit power with say 40cc whereas the average PCP needs maybe three times that much air, and a longer barrel too. Rock on, the adiabatics......

IIRC it's explained in the Cardews book?

[angrybear]

Jon Budd points to an amazing fact. A springer can produce legal limit power with say 40cc whereas the average PCP needs maybe three times that much air, and a longer barrel too. Rock on, the adiabatics......

But the springer is using the energy stored in the spring, it simply utilises the air as the medium to transfer that stored energy to the back of the pellet to propel it down the barrel.

A PCP uses the actual energy contained within the air itself due to it being under pressure in a confined space.

[shoota]

Put a balloon over the muzzle take a shot (without a pellet) and thats how much air......

[the growler]

How do we measure volume in balloon?

[Inspector 71]

You don't have a calibrated balloon? Good grief....

[Fluffybuck]

HW100K. Air reservoir: 105cc capacity, dropping from 200bar to 90bar = 11550cc (11.5 litres) of air used.

.177cal:
11550cc/4mags = 206cc per shot

.22cal:
11550cc/5mags = 165cc per shot


HW100 full-length. Air reservoir: 175cc capacity, dropping from 200bar to 90bar = 19250cc of air used.

.177cal
19250cc/8mags = 171cc per shot

.22cal
19250/10mags = 137cc per shot


In comparison, spring-piston airguns have a swept volume ('air efficiency') in the region of about 50cc and the sub-12ftlb Theoben gasram guns have an even smaller swept volume.

[spike589715]

Volume in a balloon
Simples
Take a measuring cylinder in a bowel of water and bubble it in
That's how I did mine - gives an idea at least
http://www.theywalkamongstus.co.uk/airguns/Balloon.html
Si

[the growler]

Spike! Show me what to do! Step by step,,,,, ok balloon on end of barrel and fire. Now what?

[spike589715]

Hold baloon in place and fire
Quickly squeeze balloon closed and remove hold under water and let air bubble into container and measure
Quick and easy way to get an idea
Cheers
Si

[angrybear]

Or put balloon over muzzle, shoot UNLOADED rifle which will fill balloon, pinch & tie off, holding balloon below the water surface in a measuring jug fill it to a mark, say 1ltr, remove the balloon & measure the drop in water volume from the jug markings, the difference between the two is the volume of air.

[RobF]

My daystate mk4is 177 uses around 1bar/shot at 11.5ftlbs. My mate has a daystate airwolf mvt .22 and he says his uses just over 1bar/shot at 40ftlbs... what is the volume! / shot of other rifles?

If your gun uses exactly one bar, then the volume is the volume of your cylinder. Same with your mate's airwolf.

I think the DSmk4 IS has 144 cc cylinder. So yours uses 144cc per shot if it uses 1 bar.

If your mate has a 400cc bottle and uses 1 bar, 1 shot uses 400cc. If he has a 500cc, 500cc.