Paintball HPA fill yoke

[pescador775]

I bought a paintball style fill yoke (new) on EBay for a few bucks thinking that it could be used for filling SCUBA tanks off my portable air compressor. These things are very compact and travel friendly, and cheap, so why not? Well, let me tell you. My first impression was that the device was high quality, all stainless, very nice. However, when I hooked it up to a SCUBA tank the valve O ring blew out. The bleed screw would lock up tight as soon as it was partially turned. Extremely difficult to bleed off air in less than a couple minutes unless the screw was forced with pliers. The gauge was difficult to read.

The blown O rings were due to incorrect dimensions of the Yoke orifice. The entire orifice is removable so I had a new one machined to the correct dimensions. The bleed screw problem was traced to the drain hole which was too small. I drilled an additional drain hole. I replaced the original bleed screw with one designed for Scuba yokes. The original had a weird floating seat which was causing problems. The knob on the large yoke screw was too small so I drilled it and installed a dowel which allows one to get a FIRM grip (that was done after pic was taken). I installed a larger gauge. Whew, expensive lesson but it works well now.

 

[pescador775]

Here's another pic. Notice the flow valve attached to the yoke. This is a neat little item found on EBay. One problem. I prefer HP hoses with JIC-4 flare fittings. The valve output is a Swagelok compression type. I solved this by fabricating a packing to fill the gap and seal the connection. The packing is a #00 buckshot made of special hardened lead. The ball is drilled, inserted into a similar connection in a vise, then compressed and shaped by tightening. The drilled and shaped shot is placed into the gap in the female Swagelok and the female JIC-4 nut is tightened to the female Swagelok. Forms a pressure proof seal. The lead packing can be reused if the connection needs to be disassembled for some reason.

 

[KOMPRESSOR]

I don't know how much and WHY you paid for it on Ebay, but these things come for like $30 brand new, and made for scuba valves.

 

[pescador775]

Correct, the price is approx $30. The seller was a paintball shop, an outfit that sells dozens of these fill yokes every month, whether direct or on the net. The yoke was made specifically for decanting from SCUBA tanks. I don't think you understand that these "made for SCUBA valves" are manufactured by somebody (in Mexico) that have no clue as to how they should be designed. I dropped them a note but got "duh". I decided to post as a warning to all. Hope it helps somebody not to make the same mistake.
Pesky

 

[pescador775]

I had some tiny flow valves in the parts bin which were purchased for use as drains for compressor condensators. They are stainless steel, highest quality and purchased for very little money. Since the idea behind the paintball yoke setup was to assemble a fill whip which was ultra compact and cheap, it made sense to use a spare high pressure flow valve to complement the setup. The only hangup was that the valve outlet was a Swagelok female fitting, not standard stuff for a compressor whip which use either military flare fittings or pipe fittings. That was no problem for a DIY diver. Ultimately, the overall cost was about the same as if a regular compressor whip arrangement were purchased, you know, the kind made up of a bunch of bits and pieces screwed together in a long, clunky arrangement.. Ce la vie.