I have one that someone else did a service on, the only way it comes apart is by use of grips on smooth surfaces , these failures are basicaly just a little rubber ball wearing out or a simple "O" ring needing to be replaced and a relube of certain areas , I've got all the "O" rings needed for a full sela change and it could do with it, it still works fine but needs a good few extra pumps to get anywgere near things being full .
The magic part of them , little glass balls at the base of the filter, then depending on what model you have purchased sometimes, a 2nd lot of glass balls ahead of the pressure guage inside the brass fitting, some don't come with it but do have a particle filter instead
, thats basically an inline fag butt , totally useless . Your best to download both manuals foer the FX3 and the FX4 model if you want to be able to see all the neccessary fittings available , also the split diagrams show each "O" ring in position and list what it is , but as many have found out, no real useful instructions at all , the available videos are better than nothing but not of much real use . For ages the glass "Magic" balls weren't even mentioned on their diagrams , if you don't know and open up your bottom brass fitting, they fly out everywhere , I didn't find that out, Andy did, he managed to get some spares sent over, they aren't available to buy , I tried the same trick myself
, told them I'd opened it for cleaning/servicing and the little glass balls had gone everywhere , why wasn't this on the manuals instructions, about 6 weeks later I got a very small bag of "complimentary
" glass balls turn up, I think they must have counted them to the exact amount , but now all the instructions clearly state a "Warning" about the loose glass balls inside the fittings .
AS to buying British , Andy who I got the FX from also had a Hills Mk4 , he's a heavy user and gone onto tanks and compressors now , but the MK 4 Hills with its so called dry pack
he had was totally rusted inside in a matter of months , he'd done nothing wrong with it, Hill's didn't really want to know
, told him he was pumping it up wrong
, I think he was pumping up and down instead of down and up
I have added an inline filter to mine to be extra sure , it as the Charcoal, dessicant and cotton roll type filters , I've never found one fit of moisture in them whatsoever, those magic balls really do work well , but any moisture found is basically hot compressed air cooling down. You won't stop that, simply several slow sessions stops that happening rather trying to fill in in one go, Do a set amount of pumps , stop, then let things cool down, never had a problem doing it that way, yes it takes longer as does having the inline filter in place as well .
Stripped down both my HW100 tubes and my Air Arms S510 cylinder, no signs at all of and water sitting inside them, no corrosion either in any of them. Yes we'd all love to have a nice shiney compressor and multiple bottles /cylinders to not need the extra exercise a pump provides , I'm nealry 60 and I manage fine with a pump still. I do make sure I don't pump then shoot staright away, the old ticker rate is slightly raised , if you look trough your scope too soon it looks like your in a boat at sea going up and down on the waves