Okay, I used my GX CS4 compressor to top of my 6.8L tank the other day and ran it for about 30 minutes or so to top off the tank at 300 bar. As you may have guessed, I’m a tinkerer and am always curious how things work. So, I looked at the CS4, it looked at me and I removed the case.
It’s really easy to do – I removed the little sheet black metal screws that run around the edges of the red sheet metal cover, removed the coolant tank cover, unfurled the power cord wrapped on the spool and the cover just comes straight off.
Here are some photos:
The first thing that struck me was how cleanly it is laid out. The blue lines are the coolant lines – they are that color because the GL48 70/30 mix I am using is blue. It sure makes them stand out – you can see the water intake at the bottom of the fluid reservoir in the middle. The silver hard line is the high pressure air running from the top of the compressor over to the aluminum manifold block that has the pressure gauge assembly and the male foster fitting. Note how all of the machining is well done. Care was taken with the design, machining and assembly of this unit to look like this.Another angle looking towards the rear of the unit. You can clearly see the cooling lines – if someone needed to trouble shoot a fluid leak, it would be very easy to do.This is a view from the other side. The grease by the grease pot is my fault. I had removed the pot to look at it and made a bit of a mess. It wiped right off.Looking towards the front of the unit – those are the switches for the pump to the top left and the mast switch in the middle. You also get a pretty good look at the electric motor.
Summary
The design is well executed – everything is neatly assembled and the pump continues to work great. There are probably over 5-6 run time hours on it so far.
Here are the GX compressors from the CS4 down to the CS1
FastToBuy 30Mpa Oil Water Filter – Not a GX product but I recommend this filter and you need one between the compressor and your tank or PCP airgun. You will need an extra hose from it to your tank or airgun plus the proper fittings.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
There should be a small pamphlet in with the CS4. Take a minute and read the instructions for use. Afterwards read the following.
Distilled Water or Antifreeze for Cooling?
So the pump gets its really long duty cycle in no small part due to the liquid cooling system. Liquid is a far, far more efficient conductor of heat than air is. You see, water is much more dense than air and depending on the article you read it is 9 to 13 times more efficient at carrying away heat – maybe even more.
In the automotive world, to lower the freezing point and raise the boiling point, various chemicals have been discovered and are often referred to generically as “antifreeze”. You look deeper though and there are tons of variations for different manufacturers and different specifications.
GX said to use either distilled water or a PH-neutral antifreeze. Well, I wasn’t sure how hot the pump would get so I was worried about using distilled water. The benefits of distilled water is that it is cheap and it is PH neutral being neither acidic nor alkaline so it’s not going to cause excessive corrosion. On the other hand, it can freeze or boil like any other water plus there aren’t any corrosion inhibitors or pump lubricating agents.
I was very keen to use an antifreeze for longer life plus I was worried about boiling. I didn’t plan to keep the pump outside so freezing wasn’t a worry. The problem began when I tried to find “PH-neutral” antifreeze. I could not find any antifreeze with a true PH of 7. I turns out that you will be hard pressed to find it – I found cutting fluids (coolants for doing metal cutting) with a PH of 7, brake line antifreeze that had a PH of 7 — it was almost pure methanol, but not a thermal transfer fluid that I could buy in small quantities (like 1-2 gallons).
The more digging I did the more I realized that I could use an automotive antifreeze but needed to find one with a relatively low PH (7-9) and also that contained corrosion inhibitors and was aluminum and plastics & hose friendly. To make a long story short, this led me to Valvoline’s Zerex G48 coolant and I opted for a 70/30 mix of coolant to distilled water. My local Napa autoparts store was able to order in a gallon jug with same day in store delivery. It’s a fortune to mail order but only $14-17/gallon at a store.
Do not add it to the unit yet! You will need to test and flush the cooling system first
I thought I had it all figured out. I had premixed a 500ml 70/30 solution. That means 350ml was G48 and 150 was distilled water. I’ll explain why this didn’t work out the way I had hoped further down.
Powering It Up
Before you get to far, plug the AC-to-DC adapter in the wall. You should hear the cooling fan turn on — it definitely needs it so if you don’t hear the fan make sure there is AC power through the power cord to the adapter. There isn’t an on-off switch – the unit should turn on as soon as you plug it in.
Put a multimeter on the power supply terminals and you should see around 13 volts. My CS3 power supply is 13.16 volts and the CS4’s power supply which is the same model just newer measures 13.06 volts.
Make sure the CS4’s switches are off before you connect the compressor to the power supply.
Flushing the Liquid Cooling System
The nut with viewing glass that covers the water tank should just be on hand tight. If you must, use a wrench to remove it but just put it on hand tight when you re-install it going forward. The system is not pressurized – you can take the cap off while it is operating.
For some reason my CS4 shipped with a little bit of water in it – maybe from testing at the factory and there was also some kind of brownish sediment on the bottom of the “water tank”.
This is what I saw when I removed the cover to the water tank. It should be shiny silver so you can see there is some kind of brownish sediment.
The liquid had no smell and felt like water – I have to guess it was water so I just dumped it out. I then refilled the tank with clean distilled water and swirled it around. I did this four times until the water stayed nice and clean.
For testing and flushing the system, just use distilled water. It’s cheap and doesn’t make a huge mess if there is a problem or something spills. Been there, done that – use water – trust me. By the way, purified water may not be distilled – the purified water might just be filtered. Distilled water uses a process that not only purifies the water but has the minerals removed as well. You don’t want minerals to leave a scaly buildup so use distilled.
The fluid return is near the top and you fill the water or antifreeze to the bottom of it.
I then turned the unit on and watched the water – nothing happened. There is a water pump – the intake is in the center bottom of the tank and the return is on the side about 3/4ths of the way up – there was no water moving. Oh man … I started to get really worried that maybe the water had frozen and snapped the pump but everything was dry when I took it out of the box … but …. stuff happens.
The water intake is at the bottom. Now this is where I got nervous – notice there is no water movement. I knew from the diagram that there was a pump. I could hear the unit’s fan running but there was no way to hear or feel if the pump was. I started to wonder if the pump didn’t have power, had cracked or something else.
I started to take the case’s screws off to look inside. At one point, I leaned the unit part way over to get to a bottom screw and heard the familiar “glug glug glug” sound of water running into a void that previously had air in it. That was a very, very welcome sound because it dawned on me that the little water pump had lost its prime.
I looked at the water tank and the water level had definitely gone down. I turned on the pump’s main switch and the pump started moving the water! Lesson learned there – prime the pump.
This is what it looks like when the pump is working. The sediment blew out of the lines too so then I realized I needed to flush the system again. I did this a number of times until the water was clear.
The next thing was that brown sediment was entering the tank as the lines blew out in the unit. I then dumped out the water and flushed the lines three more times until everything looked clear. Each time I would wiggle the compressor around leaning it slightly from side to side and front to back until the pump would prime. You fill the water tank to the bottom of the return line. This gives room for the coolant to expand and it also gives you a visual cue if the pump is working.
Now this told me something – there would be more water in the unit than just what was visible in the tank. In the instruction pamphlet they say you need to add 500ml of liquid to the unit. The unit came with some amount of water in it and each time when I drained the unit, I was only adding back in about 130 ml of water each time – I was using a 1000ml graduated cylinder for all of this. So, 500-130=370ml of trapped water in the system. Hmmm…. this was throwing my planned antifreeze ratios all off. 500ml of fluid at a 70/30 ratio would mean 350ml of antifreeze and 150ml of distilled water. I was going to be off and you need enough water in an antifreeze for the chemicals to move around properly.
In general, 100% pure antifreeze concentrate is a bad idea – there is a ratio you need to follow either based on the temperature range you need or what the vehicle manufacturer recommends. With G48, most vehicle makers recommend a 50/50 mix and there is actually a premixed formula with a typical PH of 8.1 (the range is 8-9). I was going for 70/30 to have as low of a PH as possible (pure G48 has a PH between 7.1-7.3) and to maximize corrosion protection.
After dumping the final batch of distilled water out of the unit, I could only put in just over 130ml. This cylinder had 500ml of the 70/30 mix before pouring.
Well, the trapped water was throwing a wrench in my plans because I had already mixed the 70/30 not realizing I would have a bunch of extra water in the jacked and lines. Rather than drive myself nuts, I decided to go ahead and test the unit by draining out whatever water I could my tilting/moving the machine around while it was upside down and then refill with 70/30. After testing I will drain the tank get the antifreeze ratio closer to 70%.
I was not able to collect the final PH at this time. My test strips are absolutely useless with the dark blue of the G48 fluid. A friend has a calibrated digital tester that we will use some time in the future.
As I was writing this blog post, I was talking to my friend John, who is a master mechanic and has forgotten more than I will ever know, and told him about this. He didn’t even have to think about it – he said “pull a vacuum through the inlet or return and drain the system”. Duh. He was spot on – I sure hadn’t thought about doing that.
I used a MityVac MV-6830 brake line bleeder to suck all of the liquid out through the inlet. I put 70/30 in the tank and used a right angle adapter to pull all of the fluid that way. I then refilled the tank with 70/30 and pulled just enough vacuum to the point I saw fluid entering the hose and stopped – I did that last part to pull fluid into the pump.
The Mityvac MV6830 connects to an airline and uses the venturi-effect to create a vacuum. There are several lines that come with the kit – a straight siphon line that is shown above and a right angle rubber fitting for brake line fittings. Guess what? The .26-.27 outer diameter siphon line fits the inlet perfectly and I could suck all of the fluid out of the lines. I then used the right angle fitting to draw G48 through the outlet line.
The 0.26-0.27 siphon line fits the inlet perfectly.
The right angle fitting can be pushed against the return outlet to suck fluid through. It’s a bit of a challenge and takes two hands. One to hold the adapter and a finger from the other hand to apply pressure so the fitting seals enough against the return. Note, the fluid level in the tank goes down fast.
I then turned on the master switch so the fan and water pump would start. Nice clean 70/30 G48 was coming out. I slowly added more mix to the tank until I got to the bottom of the return line. I had to top it off just a tad maybe 2-3x as fluid filled little pockets. I let the unit run for another five minutes and when the fluid level stayed the same, I put the cap back on – done. It helps to have smart friends.
Here’s my lessons learned that I want to share when it comes to the cooling system:
1. Flush the cooling system out using distilled water and then use a vacuum bleeder or siphon tool to more fully drain the system. I put put about 250-350ml of fluid to fill the system in the end. The important thing is to fill the tank to the bottom of the return.
2. If you don’t see the fluid moving, you most likely need to prime the pump either by moving the CS4 around to work fluid down into the pump or draw it into it using a vacuum bleeder.
3. Test the cooling system with water – not antifreeze or you will make a mess plus water is cheaper.
4. While you can use distilled water, I would recommend Zerex G48 at either 70/30 or 50/50. I went with 70/30 that I had to mix from the concentrate.
Testing the CS4
Now that the critical coolant discussion has been addressed and you have filled the unit accordingly, let’s switch gears and start actually testing the unit. After every test, drain the unit using the bleed valve. I will bring this up again later but do not attempt to start the compressor with pressure already in the line.
There will be some very high pressures involved. If a fitting does not want to come off, STOP. Many times a quick release collar will not move or a threaded fitting turn because the line is pressurized. Always make sure the line is depressurized before you work on it, remove a fitting, etc.
Each bold heading below is a test I would recommend that you perform and if it fails, stop and contact the Amazon seller – Ankul. I am not a representative – just a user. With that said, here are the tests:
Make sure the fluid pump is running
Before you start pressurizing the system, again, turn on the master red switch but not the pump. You should see the coolant circulating, If you do not, try moving the unit around to get the pump to prime
Turn the compressor on with nothing attached
With the airline off and just the male foster fitting exposed with nothing on it, turn on the pump by pushing the top silver button. You should hear the pump start and feel air blowing out from the end of of the foster fitting rhythmically – there is a piston so the air will come out as the piston pushes upwards – it is not a continuous flow. You should not hear any awful grinding noises or banging sounds. Slight squeaks as things start to lubricate and wear in are possible – you are listening for “OMG – what the hell is that?” sounds.
Let it run for a minute or two and if no scary sounds start then shut off the compressor.
Test with the supplied pressure hose only
To test high pressure air systems, always pressurize incrementally starting with the smallest thing first and work your way up to larger and larger volumes. In this case, start with just the air hose attached.
This is our first real test of the compressor under pressure plus we get to check the hose assembly. With that said, connect the air line and insert the test plug in the end. Make sure the plug is fully seated. Also, make sure the drain valve / pressure relief valve is closed – this is the black knob on the front of the unit. Clockwise closes the valve – it screws closed basically.
Set the limit switch / stop switch on the top to 300 bar. Put the secondary switch at 310/320 bar. I put my second switch just before 400bar but in hindsight, I would tell you to put it around 310/320.
Turn on the compressor by pushing the silver button. You should see the pressure build very quickly – the manual says it should reach the target 300 bar pressure in 38 seconds. I think mine was a bit faster than that.
The supplied pressure hose will fill quickly for testing and will only hold a small volume of air so if something fails it will be less of a problem
Now, don’t do a thing. Watch the pressure gauge. It should just sit there – if it is going down there is a leak. The most likely culprit is the drain valve isn’t fully closed. Wait until it leaks all the way down or open the bleed valve to speed things up. You don’t need to go crazy tightening the valve knob as you are liable to hurt something but it should be firmly closed. Make sure it is snug and try again. 90+% of the time that fixes the issue.
If it still leaks drain the system, remove the test plug and look in the female foster fitting – is the rubber o-ring still down in there? Same goes for the other end of the hose that plugs into the machine. It could be missing. So, if it is, insert an o-ring and try again. If the o-rings are there, sometimes just removing and reseating a quick connect fitting/plug can solve the issue. Make sure the bleed valve is closed and try again. If it will not build pressure, contact Ankul on Amazon.
So the first limit switch at the 9 o’clock position was set to 300. The black needle is the actual pressure. Notice that the unit stops just short of the indicated pressure. The second limit switch which is the failsafe was set at about 390. In hindsight I would tell you to set that second switch just a tad higher than the first one. If I wanted the first switch to be at 300 then I would set the second one close to it at 310/320. You can’t put them right on top of each other.
Soapy water in a spray bottle can help you find where the leak is at. Do not run your hands right against the fittings or you risk air getting injected into your body and that is very bad.
By the way, I let mine sit for about 3-5 minutes before I decide. Usually a leak is really obvious in the first minute – the first few seconds even. Either it will not build pressure at all or it leaks down fast.
Bleed off any residual pressure. Opening the bleed valve also allows any trapped moisture to blow out of the drain line also. I doubt you will see it with this short of a test but you will sooner or later so don’t worry. It’s supposed to do that.
Test with the filter installed
Assuming the pressure line passes testing, it’s time to up the volume game and pressurize the air line and whatever external filter you want to run. I am using a big 300mm long filter with a 50mm outside diameter sold by FastToBuy on Amazon. Yes, the CS4 has an internal filter – but I really want the air to be dry.
First, make sure the system is depressurized by opening the bleed valve. Then plug your filter into the air hose and this time put the test plug on the end of the filter. All of your fittings should fit together very nicely. If you find something doesn’t want to go together, stop. Buy a replacement fitting, I like Air Venturi brand but any reputable brand will do. I’ve had Chinese no-name filters, hoses and other items with out of spec fittings that will not go together. Last month, I had a brand name fitting whip off a Hatsan Jet II and hit me in the glasses so hard that the polycarbonate lens was gouged and my glasses were flattened against my face on one side – I had tried to push the fittings together and they didn’t mate properly. Moral of the story – fitting should go together easily without forcing.
Once the assembly is together, the bleed valve is closed, set the pressure limit switches to 300 and 310 bar then turn on the compressor. It may take it a minute or two for enough pressure to build up to show on the pump’s pressure gauge. It may take a few more minutes depending on how big the filter is before it reaches 300 bar. As before – stop and watch the pressure gauge, it should hold steady and not leak down. If it does, then check the bleed valve, o-rings, etc.
Testing the big inline filter. It is very nicely made and comes with a spare filter cartridge.
The absolute most common source of leaks is at the fittings – worn or missing o-rings or one fitting not really sealing well against another and you then need to decide which fitting to replace. Soapy water in a spray bottle can help you find where the leak is at. Do not run your hands right against the fittings or you risk air getting injected into your body and that is very bad. Notice the repeat on that safety comment.
If everything passes, open the bleed valve to dump the air in the filter and line.
Time to Fill The Tank
Part of my push for the new CS4 was to also fill my new 6.8L 4500 PSI Airmarksman tank. I really wanted to go with a new Omni or Patriot (US made Omnis) but the 6.8L model is hard to find so I went with Airmarksman because I really wanted two gauges – one with line pressure and the other with tank pressure. Standard single gauge units just show you line pressure.
It’s nice, the Air Marksman’s air hose attaches via a quick connect. I can go right from a female foster fitting on an airline right into the tank – no more little male-to-male quick connect fittings that are easy to lose.
I also bought a really nice 3′ long Manloney air hose extension to go from the new filter to the tank. In general, I am not a fan of hanging a filter right on a fitting because you create a long lever arm that is too easy to snag and break. Instead, I prefer a hose to the filter and then a hose from the filter into the tank.
You know what this means right? I tested the Manloney hose extension by inserting the test plug, and doing everything we’ve talked about previously.
Tested the Manloney hose extension and everything was good.
I then bled the air off and let the unit’s cooling system run until the exhaust temperature was the same as surrounding surfaces because it was time to get real. Filling the tank from empty to 300 bar would take at least 2.5 hours and I wanted to record times, pressures, temperatures and and decibel readings along the way.
Filling the tank. Note – do not put the power supply in front of the exhaust fan. I noticed it was getting quite warm and moved it to the side a while after this photo was taken.
This is the pressure gauge on the tank. It read higher than the compressor so I followed it for safety’s sake. In other words, I did not want to exceed the rated 310 bar on the bottle – I actually only went to 300 bar – but if I had followed the gauge on the pump I would have gone higher. Which gauge was right / more accurate? No idea but I will always play it safe to not avoid a stated safety limit. By the way, the thank has another gauge on the back and they both agreed with one another.
This table shows you what I noted during testing. I just did the fill one time.
I couldn’t just sit next to the compressor and tank for the 3 hours and 22 minutes the test was running. I set the shut off on the pump to 300 bar but what I found was the needle you are moving around to shut off the pump is not precise. For example, I wanted 300 bar but what I got was 257 bar of 3,725 PSI. I then ran the unit another 10 or 15 minutes to take it up to 300 bar even and then moved the limit switch / shut off needle slowly backward until it stopped. Now the first switch is set where I want it. The second need is just behind it by about 10-20 bar.
The temperature management is remarkable. I was using a very good Fluke infrared thermometer to measure the exhaust fan area’s temperature and once it got up to about 100 degrees it pretty much stayed there once the unit warmed up. The noted coolant temperatures were collected by me removing the lid of the water tank and using the Fluke infrared thermometer to get a reading.
Speaking of temperature – this ran far cooler than I thought it would. I actually thought the fluid would get hotter and risk boiling. I still like using antifreeze for the corrosion protection and lubrication of the pump but boiling is not a concern and I don’t foresee it ever being some place where it could freeze but I guess lowering the freezing point is a good idea just in case.
In terms of sound, the unit turned on with just the fan and coolant pump running is 71DB according my BAFX 3608 decibel meter. The sound level with the compressor running was in the 82-84DB range about 8-10 inches from the side of the unit – not bad at all. I thought it might get louder as the pressure increased but it didn’t.
Last comment – the unit ran for well over 3 hours and thirty minutes – probably more like 4-4.5 with all of the testing. There were no funny sounds, no unexplained leakages, etc. That amount of running gave me a real good impression of the unit. After all of that running, I did turn the grease pot one rotation.
Special Note: DO NOT Start or Re-start The Compressor Under Load!
GX stated in multiple places to not try and start the pump with the system pressurized. I imagine it puts too much strain on the electric motor and other parts to get spinning. When I did the top off fill mentioned above, I closed the tank’s valve and opened the bleed valve on the compressor to depressurize the line. Unsurprisingly, maybe a teaspoon or two of water came out as well. I then closed the bleed valve, started the compressor and after it came back up to speed only then did I re-open the tank valve and put the system back under load.
By the way, I am not surprised by this at all. With shop air systems, part of the pressure limit switch is to also open a bleed off valve to depressurize the pump. It’s fairly common for these switches and valves to wear out. If the air doesn’t bleed off then a breaker may trip given the increased load. So, giving the CS4 a chance to start without a load and come up to speed first makes sense to me.
Summary
I was really impressed by the smaller CS3 model that I have used since November 2020. I bought this new CS4 model because I had such a good experience in fact and now that I have run the CS4 over four hours, I’m pretty happy. The CS4 will fill the niche in the GX line-up for a medium-duty machine for 6.8 Liter and smaller bottles. The CS3 will continue to be sold for people filling 1.5L or smaller cylinders.
Wrapping up – I really like the unit so far and will definitely post updates as time goes on.
Here are the GX compressors from the CS4 down to the CS1
FastToBuy 30Mpa Oil Water Filter – Not a GX product but I recommend this filter and you need one between the compressor and your tank or PCP airgun. You will need an extra hose from it to your tank or airgun plus the proper fittings.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
Life is a funny thing – I grew up with firearms. Yeah, my dad had these two old pump action Daisy airguns that were fun to shoot tin cans with but starting at a pretty early age I liked things that went “bang”! Sometime in the early 2000s, I got back into airguns to deal with pests. I started hearing about a class of airguns called “pre-charged pneumatics” (PCPs) that used 3,000 PSI high pressure air cylinders somewhere on the rifle to propel the pellet. They were reported to be accurate, reliable and capable of rapid repeating fire through through the use of a manually operated bolt and a magazine.
I thought that sounded so neat – especially the rapid follow up shots. What stopped me from buying one was that they had to be refilled from a SCUBA tank that was filled at a diving shop. Well, I eventually found out there were specialized hand pumps and you didn’t need to spend a fortune on a tank and hassles with going to the dive shop. I bought a Hill Mk.4 hand pump along with a .22 Hatsan Gladius Long that I used for a few years.
I wrote a post about buying it and also one about setting it up and testing it. I almost always used the CS3 to top off a really nice little Omni 18 cubic foot tank that I would then use to fill my growing number of PCP airguns. It really worked well – the tank was really convenient to pull out and top off an airgun and I would only occasionally need to bring out the CS3. Sure, I could have filled the airguns directly from the CS3 but I wanted to keep things simple.
Fast forward to January 2023 – I bought a .30 Umarex Gauntlet with a big cylinder and was planning to get one or two other high air consumption PCP rifles in 2023 so I started thinking about how to feed them. It was a total coincidence that GX unveiled their next generation CS4 compressor on Amazon. There were just a few four or five reviews at the time and I decided to gamble on the new pump and bought it on January 29, 2023. I took the leap because I had such a positive experience with the CS3 and I knew I could return it to Amazon if it turned out to be a problem child. [Yes, I bought this so you are getting my honest observations – click here for the Amazon CS4 product page.]
On January 31, 2023 the Amazon driver brought be a big heavy cardboard box with the GX CS4 and I started getting my stuff together to do some testing plus a time slot to fill a big 6.8L carbon fiber tank from empty to 300bar which would take 2-3 hours I figured.
Now, I’m going to tell you something – it is slick. It is really, really slick. I’m telling you this so you take the time to read more in this post plus one about setting it up and testing it.
What is the GX CS4?
The CS4 is an additional pump offering from GX for people wanting to fill larger cylinders than the CS3. It also reflects design advancements to the CS3 unit – here are the features that really caught my eye:
CS3
CS4
Working Pressure (Mfg supplied)
30MPa/300 bar (4,351 PSI)
40MPa/400 bar (5,801 PSI) – 33% more pressure
Air volume (Mfg supplied)
7 liters/minute (0.247 cubic feet/min)
11 liters/min (0.388 cubic feet/min) – 57% more air volume output
Suggested Maximum Air Cylinder Size
2.5 Liters
6.8 Liters
Cooling
Air with fans
Coolant with radiator and fan
Power (Mfg supplied)
12V 250 Watts
12V 350 Watts – 40% more watts
Duty Cycle (Mfg supplied)
30 minutes working and 20 minutes cooling
5 hours continuously working. Manual says to let it run for 1-2 minutes after pumping is complete – 10x longer duty cycle.
Sound Level (Mfg supplied)
75db
70db
Pump lubrication
Not needed (until it slows down – mine hasn’t so far)
Has a grease pot to add grease every 4-6 hours of run time
Limit switch
Simple rotary dial limit switch
Protected twin pin design where you can set both the limit and failsafe limit
Hose
19.6″ permanently attached hose
19.6 hose that is removable via a quick connect foster fitting
Weight (my digital scale)
19.4 pounds
29 pounds with antifreeze – 55% heavier
Dimensions (me with a tape measure)
5-3/8″ wide (about 5-7/8″ wide including the wire spool on the side) x 9-1/2″ deep (10-1/4″ if you include the release valve) x 10-1/2 high at the top of the case (about 11-1/2 overall if you include the handle)
6″wide case (6-1/2″ wide with the wire spool) x 11-78 deep (12-3/4 if you include the release valve) x 12-1/2″ at the top of the case (about 13-1/2 at either the top of the grease pot or the folded handle) – about 62% larger overall
For me, the really long duty cycle is what I was looking for. The 57% increase in air output is a welcome enhancement to have over the CS3. Since I would fill my guns from my tank, I was never in a rush. Now that I have 6.8L tank, the fills will probably be less often but a lot more volume will be needed so it’s good to get that increase.
The increase in air pressure is overkill right now – there aren’t affordable 400 bar working pressure tanks as of yet – they are out there for specialty applications but are in the $1,500-2500 range. I’m sure the price will come down over time but most carbon fiber air tanks that PCP shooters are using are in the 300-310 bar working pressure range. If you see 400 bar, read the ad again because they may be talking about the test pressure and not the working pressure – you fill to the working pressure only – never to the test limit.
To be clear, the GX CS4 is not replacing the CS3. They have added the CS4 to fill larger tanks faster. They identify the 6.8 liter tanks as being the target max size for the CS4 and for me the duty cycle is the more important number. You can fill anything you want as long as you don’t bake the pump.
With the CS3 for example, the 20 minute duty cycle is what limits a convenient tank size. If I needed to fill my Omni 100 cu in (1.64 liter) tank from empty – I would let it run for 20 minutes and then I would stop the pump but let the fan run until it cooled down to room temp. I’d then close the cylinder valve, bleed the air out of the line, start the air pump again and as it came up to speed I would open the cylinder’s valve again. It took a while but it worked just fine. I tried to always be mindful of the duty cycle and give the unit a chance too cool down before I either shut it off or resume – I’m sure that’s one reason I’ve had zero problems with the CS3 since I bought it.
The CS4 was well packed. Amazon’s delivery group sometimes smashes delicate packaging so I was glad to see the unit was well protected in a plastic bag with styrofoam holding and protecting everything inside of the box.
They are using the same 12 volt 46.2 amp power supply. This allows you to either power the pump with a car/truck battery or use this power supply to charge at home. You can see the removable air hose under it still sitting in the styrofoam.
This is really nice. With the GX CS3, the air hose is bolted to the unit and gets in the way at times. With the GX CS4, there is a standard Foster quick connect. Notice the thought put into the hardline portion on the left side of those – this is the end that plugs into the pump and the metal line bends at an angle thus avoiding collapsing or weakening a flexible airline. It’s a well thought out change.
Starting from the top back – the silver cylinder is the grease pot that you use every 4-6 hours to introduce grease into the cylinder. The brass fitting is the safety burst disc. A burst disc plays an important safety role – it will blow out before an extreme pressure situation could cause a catastrophic failure of the pump. The clear circle has the pressure gauge and the two limit switches you can set. On the left is the power wire spool. The silver nozzle sticking out is the male foster fitting that the quick connect air hose goes to. On front side (colored black) – top right are the on/off switches for the pump itself. The red master switch turns the unit on and both the fan and coolant pump begin working. The black knob is the pressure release / bleed valve. Behind the circular slots sits the CS4’s radiator that has a fan cooling it – the antifreeze/distilled water flows through it to cool off.
The pressure gauge and limit switches surprised me. I went to rotate the switches by turning the silver knob and immediately felt a weird springy resistance. On the CS3 I always checked the pressure because if you bumped the knob the pressure limit changed. Well, now move the top silver “finger” around and push down to turn either limit switch. It’s less prone to being bumped and you have two limits – not just one. It’s not absolutely goof proof but I think it is a good next step from a safety perspective.
With high pressure systems, play it safe. My tank gauge vs. the pump’s gauge don’t match so I go with the higher of the two pressures. It’s called “conservativism” – go with the most conservative or safe number given the situation – don’t base your fill on the low-reading gauge, go with the one that says there is more air pressure just to be safe. In my shop’s air system I probably have a dozen pressure gauges and they all read slightly differently – I guess it is just the nature of the beast unless you want to spend a mint on calibrated accurate gauges.
On the back of the unit are vertical slots and when you look in you can see the cooling fins of the first stage cylinder liner.
The larger CS4 is on the left and the CS3 is on the right. The CS4 is intended for filling up to 6.8L bottles and the CS3 is targeted for smaller bottles and/or airguns. Note: GX makes two versions of the CS3 now – one with the external 12 volt power supply like I have as well as one that just plugs directly into the wall and does not have a 12 volt supply.
CS3 on the left vs the CS4 on the right.
One last comparison photo – the CS3 is on the left, the CS4 is on the right and the dogs’ water bowl is in the back 🙂 See how the air hose just dangles on the CS3? Being able to remove it completely from the CS4 really cleans things up plus opens the door for future hoses should you need them.
Here are the GX compressors from the CS4 down to the CS1
FastToBuy 30Mpa Oil Water Filter – Not a GX product but I recommend this filter and you need one between the compressor and your tank or PCP airgun. You will need an extra hose from it to your tank or airgun plus the proper fittings.
1/28/24 Update: Had to fix Amazon links so they work in the list above the summary. I’m still using my CS4. No problems.
6/12/23 Update: Fixed the wording about being conservative. Thanks KG!
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
Time for a safety briefing and, yes, I am the cause of the briefing. This is not a blame game post – what happened to me will likely happen to me again and may happen to you as well. The important thing is to learn from it because I got real, real lucky.
I was topping off my new Hatsan Jet II with high pressure air from my Omega tank for maybe the dozenth time or more and thought I was being careful. I am respectful of high pressure air because I am a NAUI certified SCUBA diver and sometimes weld right with Gas, MIG and TIG torches. I have heard plenty of stories over the past 40 years (yeah, I am that old) about tanks, fittings and what not. Guess I got sloppy this time.
I connected the DonnyFL female foster fitting to the male foster fitting on the Jet II and gave a gentle tug to make sure it was seated. You always want to do this by the way. I really didn’t think a lot about it because I have refilled from a tank so many times. Bad routines can lead to bad outcomes and it did here.
I was holding the Jet II off at an angle where I could see the manometer (what they call the pressure gauge in the high pressure / pre-charged-pneumatic (PCP) airgun world. I’d guess the angle was about 30-45 degrees and may 18 inches away – these are all best guesses in hind sight.
I cracked open the valve and was doing a slow controlled fill. Somewhere just over 225 bar (3,263) PSI, the hose’s female fitting explosively slipped off the male fitting on the airgun and rocketed off. It happened so fast that I realized my face was numb, I had taken a direct hit in the polycarbonate right lens of my glasses and had heard something like a gun shot. I turned off the air and went to the bathroom to look in the mirror expecting to see blood. I was geniunely surprised there wasn’t any so then I started looking.
My right lens had a gouge where the fitting hit it and saved my eye. I had a small light bruise on my eyebrow but it really wasn’t bad. Luckily, I had spare glasses and grabbed them to be able to see.
This is the lens after my optometrist bent things back correctly and cleaned then lens. The gouges are there to stay. I told her what happened and she told me I was very lucky to be wearing polycarbonate lenses because they can handle an amazing amount force.
What happened?
My next thought was “what the hell just happened?” The O-ring from inside the DonnyFL female quick connect foster fitting was still on the Jet II’s male foster fitting. Nothing had broken – no tears, missing metal or rounded edges.
I was the victim of stacked tolerances. This means that any given specification has a +/- allowance that the machinist can go over or under by and still be ok. The stacked tolerance problem is when you have those tolerances of parts combine to then be outside of specification. Please notice that I am not blaming any of the vendors.
The DonnyFL female quick connect foster adapter, which works fine on my Air Venturi fittings and FX Impact Compact Mk II had slightly different dimensions than the Hatsan male fitting. I had noticed since I first bought the Jet II that I needed to firmly seat the DonnyFL female fitting as it didn’t go on easy. With 20/20 hindsight, I should have realied that was a bad sign and switched to the supplied Hatsan female quick connect fitting. I didn’t make the change befoe because I thought the DonnyFL and was good to go since it worked on everything else. Turns out that was a wrong assumption.
I really don’t know why more harm wasn’t done. Maybe the fitting flew straight out, the end of the hose was reached and it whipped back with less energy. Maybe because my glasses flattened around my eye socket it partially absorbed and then distributed the force. I can tell you I feel real lucky that worse didn’t happen.
What did I do as a result?
All of my air fittings are made by Air Venturi – I buy different configurations of them and keep them in stock so that when I have a fitment problem I can change to an Air Venturi fitting.
In this case, I wasn’t about to take the Hatsan apart so I took the Hastan supplied female fitting and put an Air Venturi male quick connect on the end to get a solid connection both to the airgun and to the DonnyFL quick connect. The fittings go together very smoothly and I’ve not had problem after almost a dozen top offs.
The DonnyFL female foster fitting is above. The Hatsan female foster fitting with the Air Venturi male plug installed is at the bottom.
This combination seems to work really well. The DonnyFL works great with Air Venturi fittings and the Hatsan female foster works great with the Jet II’s make foster fitting.
Summary of Lessons Learned
The problem of stacked tolerances will always be around and thus one brand of fitting may not work well with another. So here are the lessons learned.
Be mindful that when you have to push a foster fitting on harder than normal then that likely indicates the fitment is wrong and you must look at your options.
Use the airgun supplied adapter (if they give you one) and then put a brand of fittings on it that allow you to safely mate the parts together if there is a fitment issue.
I will use the pressure gauge on the tank and not the airgun going forward even though I thought I was at a safe angle.
Do not get anywhere near the fitting during refills – especially with your head or face.
I hope this helps you out. It was a wakeup call for me.
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I wrote a series of posts about purchasing a .22 Hatsan Jet II right after I bought it in early January 2022. After shooting it for a month I have some feedback to share.
I’d guesstimate I have just over a 100 rounds through it. I’ve changed quite a few 7 round mags – that much I know for sure. The first thing I want to tell you is that the performance and reliability are surprising. It reinforces to me that Hatsan can turn out some great airguns.
The Shroud Is True
I was a little worried about how true the shroud would be relative to the center of the barrel’s bore. In my Gladius, it was not. With the Jet II, it is. The way you can tell is that pellets are landing all over the place because they hit the adapter or somewhere in the moderator and spin out of control. In other words, accuracy is horrible until you remove the moderator and/or the adapter. The DonnyFL 1/2-20 male to male adapter screwed right and then the Hugget Sniper to it and accuracy was great.
Accuracy
Speaking of accuracy – I was very happy. Once I dialed in the scope I had no problem shooting 1/2″ 7 round groups using 18.13 JSB Exact Jumbo Diabolo pellets at 12 yards from a bench. To be clear – just me resting my arm on the bench. I didn’t have a true rifle stand.
That is 7 rounds of .22 18.13gr JSB Exact Jumbo Heavy Diabolo pellets at s12 yards. Ignore the blatant flier – that was my fault, not the gun’s or the pellets. I was firing supported from a bench but the Jet II was not in a bench rest. I’ll do some accuracy testing one of these days.
Now, another form of accuracy is to tell you about squirrells. I have cleanly dispatched 8 over the last three weeks. Distances vary from 12-16 yards.
The Jet II really likes these pellets. I really like JSB in general for all of my pellet guns.
The Charging Handle
In my first review I voiced a concern about the polymer charging/cocking lever. So far, it has worked just fine – no signs of any loosening or bending.
The cocking handle is doing just fine.
Air Use
I purposefully bought the Jet II due to the larger air reservoir than the Jet I. I could shoot two mags with no noticeable change in trajectory in my 12 yard test range shooting 18.13 JSB Exact pellets.
My usual approach is to shoot a mag and then top of the Jet II from my air tank at the same time I reload the pellets in the magazine. I have a spare magazine ready to go so if I was in a rush for some reason I know I have a little bit of buffer just in case I need it – I’m using the gun for pests and not target shooting.
I had it filled pretty close to the 250 bar max. What you see is the amount of air left after 14 shots (two magazines). I have not tried shooting more than two mags after refilling.
Snipe Moderator
I’m using the Hugget Snipe moderator and it almost makes the Jet II backyard friendly. It’s far quieter with it of course – I just wish it was quieter yet and will experiment some more with different cans.
The Hugget Snipe does a very good job. I wish it was even more quiet but that’s not really a negative reflection on the Snipe.
With the Snipe, the overall length is approximately 30″. From an overall length perspective, it’s a great combination.
Summary
At this point I am still very happy with the Jet II for it’s intended pest control purposes. It’s definitely effective and amazing for the price when you stop and think about it.
Here’s the listing at Pyramyd Air and I always recommend you use their 10 for $10 test service:
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
In first post, I told you a little about the Jet I and II pistols and how I ordered a Jet II in .22 plus I shared some specifications and photos. In the last post I went over adding a moderator and in this post, I am going to show you how to add a scope. Because the Jet I and II are almost identical other than the twin air cylinders in the II, this post should help anyone wanting to add sound suppression to their Hatsan Jet pistol/carbine.
Okay, so you have two rail sections – one runs the length of the barrel and the second section is just behind the breach. Despite what you may read that the pistol is set for an 11mm dovetail, which is partly true, it is also set up for Picatinny rails. I noticed in my Hatsan Gladius that they did this interesting hybrid optics rail that supported both and they did it again with the Jet.
This means you have tons and tons of options. Now, I went with an inexpensive UTG 3-12×44 compact scope with a 30mm tube, adjustable objective, illuminated M-il-Dot reticle and rings. (This is their SCP3-UM312AOIEW scope). I don’t use UTG on firearms but I have no problem running them on airguns and have used a number of different models over the years. Honestly, you can run whatever you want as long as you can figure out how to mount it and clear the mag and the breach area. Click here to go to Amazon to see a number of different UTG scopes.
Now this next part is a bit of a work in process. Right now I am running a medium height 2″ offset scope mount like you would find on an AR. I think it is from Primary Arms but am not 100% sure. What I wanted to do was to keep the mount purely on the barrel to avoid any alignment issues between that section and the rear section. Even as far back as I can move the scope, I still have to choke up on the gun a bit to get the proper eye relief on the scope. I may either move to a 3″ offset mount or just go ahead and try seeing what I can do with two separate rings and see how the alignment goes. Another option might be a scope with longer eye relief … we’ll see how things go.
Let’s take a look…
You have all of the rail space on the barrel.Plus a little bit more on the rear. I was worried about alignment over time and opted to just mount on the barrel but I am rethinking that and may try a pair of rings in the future,My first test optic was a 1-6×24 Vortex Strike Eagle. For airgun work there is just not enough magnification bit it did confirm the rail was configured to properly hold a Picatinny rail mount.The top dovetail is the small 11mm style. I don’t know if you can see the contour of the top and how it is beveled – that is for the larger Picatinny mounts. It’s unorthodox but if works. The end of the day this is a PCP (pre-charged pneumatic – meaning it has cylinders of compressed air) airgun and will have little to no recoil to deal with.This is a one piece 30mm mount with a 2″ offset. My best guess is that I bought it from Primary Arms but I really am not sure because it was sitting lose on a shelf with no packaging. It’s about a medium height.The mount just barely clears the magazine. The magazine sticks up about 0.392″ from the bottom of the rail just so you know and it is the highest thing you need to clear. The magazine slides in straight from the side and is held in place by friction fit so you don’t need to worry about lifting the mag out – it just needs to be able to slide in under the mount or the scope tube itself.
Boresighting the scope
Now this was a bit of an adventure. I like to use a laser boresighter but I couldn’t find any of the collets for stabilizing the stem so I wound up inserting and stabilizing it with one hand while adjusting the scope knobs. In the end, I was about 6″ down and 3″ right of the bullseye at 10 yards but it did get me close enough to actually shoot and dial in the scope.
So let’s wrap up this post
Instead of dealing with the 11mm dovetail, I am happily using the Picatinny rail. The combination of one piece 2″ offset mount and UTG compact scope are working for now. I just wish I could get the scope a tad further back or get a scope with longer eye relief. I may get a 3″ offset mount and give it a try as I really would like to mount the scope to the barrel’s rail.
So far so good. I hope this gives you some ideas.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
It comes with a threaded shroud that stabilizes and protects the barrel plus provides a 1/2″-20 threaded end. It does not come with any sound suppression out of the box. For those of you are familiar with sound suppression in airguns, they go by a number of names – moderators, air strippers, suppressors and sometimes silencers. Personally, I use the term moderator to make it very different from firearms and avoid confusion.
Next, airgun moderators are not regulated like firearm suppressors are plus the designers take great care for them to not work on firearms – the threading is different and the internals are made from plastics or fibers that will melt or blow apart if put on a firearm. The moderator market is competitive and different vendors have different designs with varying degrees of effectiveness,
In short, airgun suppressors are made for use only on airguns and they do serve real purposes – they make the gun backyard friendly to avoid worrying neighbors, they reduce the sound signature to not scare away whatever pest or game you are trying to shoot plus if you have a big bore airgun the reduced sound levels protect your ears.
Now, when t comes to a .22, there isn’t a very loud retort when the airgun fires but you definitely can hear it. By using a moderator, the airgun becomes very quiet. It’s not perfectly silent – that’s largely a myth just like firearms – but it sure does quiet them down.
Last comment – many airguns come with moderators built in such as the Hatsan Quiet Energy line plus many of the more expensive PCP airguns either come with a moderator built into the shroud or have a threaded barrel to allow one to be screwed on.
These holes that look like ports in the shroud are just for looks – the same way that having the serrations in a shroud are for looks. The shroud stabilizes and protects the barrel plus has threading for adding a moderator but that’s it. There is no integral moderator. You’ll need to add that but that’s ok and I’ll tell you why and how in another post.Inside the muzzle end of the shroud are 1/2-20 threads for adding a moderator. So, if you get a 1/2-20 male to male fitting, you can add your favorite brand of moderator. I’ll cover more about this later.This is the DonnyFL A21 adapter with the tread protector screwed on. Note, there are other male-to-male 1/2-20 adapters out there. I went with DonnyFL as they are a good business work with and their machining is always top notch.This is the DonnyFL A21 adapter and it simply screws into the end of the shroud. I am happy to report that the barrel does appear to be properly centered. I was not so luck with my Gladius and could not mount an external adapter. For my Jet II though, it lines up great. Note, it comes with a threaded muzzle protector / thread protector that screws off. It’s very nicely made and finished by the way.One nice feature is that both ends of the adapter have holes in them so you can insert something round, like my punch here, and snug down the adapter. Bear in mind that the threaded adapter is screwing into polymer. You just want to snug it down or else you are liable to strip out the shroud’s polymer threads. You do want to do this because when you screw the moderator on or off, you want the adapter to stay put and it will. Just don’t go crazy with the torque is my warning.This is a Snipe made by Huggett Precision Products in the UK. It is threaded for 1/2 UNF which means Unified Fine which is also is written as 1/2-20 meaning 20 threads per inch. The business end This is the 1/2-20 threaded base. The moderator is lightly screwed onto the DonnyFL adapter. Again, it all lines up and shoots great.
So let’s wrap up this post
Okay – the combination of Hatsan Jet II, DonnyFL A21 adapter and Huggett Snipe moderator work really well. I bet you’re wondering about the scope and that will be the next post.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
I first saw a photo of the forthcoming Hatsan Jet I and II airguns in November of 2022 and was very interested in them. As more info started coming out, I really focused on the Jet II as it has twin air tanks. You see, I like short airguns for handling pests so I needed something to authoritatively deal with ground squirrels, tree squirrels and the occasional rabbit.
I have an amazing FX Impact Compact Mk II in .25 but wanted something even smaller but with less over penetration. I used to include having less of a report but switched from a DonnyFL Emperor to one of the new EdGun Behemoth moderators with an additional module and wow is that thing quiet now but that is a story for another day.
So, back to the point – I wanted something even smaller than the Impact Compact with less energy but didn’t want to spend a fortune either – sure, I’d love a Leishy II, Layla or something similar but don’t have that kind of money. As the just-before-Christmas release date drew near, the pricing came out and the suggested pricing was very affordable at $289.99 for the Jet I and $339.99 for the Jet II plus vendors were planning to come in lower. Ok, I had some thinking to do and very quickly decided to order the Jet II in .22 from Pyramyd Air and added their 10 for 10 test to try and guard against getting a defective unit.,
Specifications
It’s a side lever operated repeater
Available in .177, .22 and .25 – I opted for the .22 model
Magazine capacity: .177 is 8 rounds, .22 is 7 rounds and .25 is 6 rounds – these are small magazines for a small airgun
Barrel length: 7.9″
Each air cylinder holds 40cc so the Jet II holds 80cc of air
Pressure is 250 bar (3,626 psi)
There is a built in pressure gauge
Power is not regulated (the more expensive airguns tend to have regulators that step the pressure down from the tank to a lower more o consistent level that is then sent to the pellet upon firing. Higher end air guns may even have two regulators. For the price point, the Jets do not have a regulator and you’ll be just fine though I will tell you this is why I bought the Jet II – I wanted a larger air volume and a slower corresponding drop in pressure compared to the Jet I.
The barrel has a shroud to protect and stabilize it but nothing more. There is no integral moderator/suppression in the shroud.
Hatsan reports the barrel is rifle and made in Germany but they don’t mention the manufacturer – not sure if it is made Walthar or just who and will update this if I find out
Split length 11mm dovetail and Picatinny rail – it runs over the entire barrel and for a short amount behind the breach. Note: This combination rail design was also on my Gladius and hasn’t been reported in the press for some reason. You do not need to be limited to just 11mm.
Has three flip up sights – one front and then two at the rear depending on whether you are shooting it as a pistol or a carbine
The stock can be easily installed or removed with a push button
It is adjustable for length with a rubber recoil pad and a vertically adjustable cheek piece
Overall length of just the pistol: 15″
Overall length with the stock collapsed is about 23-3/16″ and fully extended it is just over 24-3/4″.
If I use the back of the rear sight as a starting point, length of pull collapsed is about 9-5/8″ and fully extended it is about 11-9/16″.
1.4 pounds without the stock and 3.4 pounds with the stock
Now the next stats are reported by Hatsan and I want to take a moment and recognize them for conservative reporting. Whereas some vendors inflate their numbers (meaning they exaggerate), Hatsan tends to be truthful and if anything their airguns perform better than they report:
Max Velocity – Lead Free Pellets – 810 FPS – .177; 700 FPS – .22; 600 FPS – .25 (depends on the type of pellet and other factors)
Max Velocity – Lead Pellets – 788 FPS – .177; 700 FPS – .22; 600 FPS – .25(depends on the type of pellet and other factors)
Max Muzzle Energy – 9.7 FPE – .177; 15.6 FPE – .22; 16.5 FPE – .25 (depends on the type of pellet and other factors)
Notice the muzzle energy reported in Foot Pounds of Energy (FPE). I want to use this to eliminate squirrels and the .177 with 9.7 FPE is on the lighter side. There are guys who hunt squirrels with .177 but I tend to think they are pushing heavy pellets faster and delivering more FPE. My first choice would have been .177 but given the numbers I decided to go with a .22 and the 15.6 FPE.
On December 28th, the carbine arrived from Pyramyd Air and it did not disappoint.
The Jet II arrived in a flat box and inside was the pistol, the stock and in the box are two mags, a female quick connect fitting and some o-rings. Is this a pistol or a carbine? The answer is yes. I have found Hatsan’s designs to be novel and forward looking – this is no exception.This is looking straight on at manometer (the pressure gauge). It looks like Pyramyd Arms did their 10 for $10 test but didn’t bother refilling the tank. So the gauge is in the top cylinder. The bottom cylinder has a cap on and under it is the male quick connect fitting for filling the airgun.Inside the muzzle end of the shroud are 1/2-20 threads for adding a moderator. So, if you get a 1/2-20 male to male fitting, you can add your favorite brand of moderator. I’ll cover more about this later.The quick connect foster fitting is protected by a black plastic cover. Note the 250 bar limit printed on the cylinder.The cocking lever is polymer. I’d rather it were aluminum but let’s see how it holds up, Injection molded composites these days are amazing so this may do ok. Time will tell. Also, that optic rail also runs forward of the breach the whole length of the barrel and supports both 11mm and Picatinny. Most reviewers and listings have overlooked that. I will do a blog post showing a scope mounted with Picatinny rings directly.These holes that look like ports in the shroud are just for looks – the same way that having the serrations in a shroud are for looks. The shroud stabilizes and protects the barrel plus has threading for adding a moderator but that’s it. There is no integral moderator. You’ll need to add that but that’s ok and I’ll tell you why and how in another post.
Now, let’s look at the stock
Let’s next turn our attention to the attachable stock that is very slick and can be easily attached or removed.
The stock is really interesting. The male plugs go into the female receptacles in the pistol. The knob on the lower left adjusts the height of the cheekpiece and the the square button just forward of the middle lower part of the stock moves a detent and allows you to make the stock longer or shorter.The lower plug has a locking mechanism to keep it secured in the pistol.The top plug has an O-ring installed. What this does is provide resistance/springiness for a firm lock-up. When you push the stock into the pistol the O-ring compresses to create a solid feeling connection.This is looking at the female receptacles on the pistol that the stock’s plugs will go into.That square button allows enables the stock to telescope in or out.There are a total of six adjustments in the stock. Overall length with the stock collapsed is about 23-3/16″ and fully extended it is just over 24-3/4″. If I use the back of the rear sight as a starting point, length of pull collapsed is about 9-5/8″ and fully extended it is about 11-9/16″. There is a slight amount of play, or wiggle, in the lock up of the stock but it’s really not much and thus acceptableIt looks slick and goes to the shoulder very easily. The balance is good too. You can see the two magazines and bag of goodies that were in the accessory box.I wear XL-sized gloves and my hand fits the grip but just barely. Oddly it’s my middle finger’s middle knuckle that feels the tight fit. I wish there was just a tad more room before the start of the trigger guard but I can live with it. I do want to point out one thing I really like – the safety flips up from the bottom of the trigger guard. I really like designs that put the safety where it can be readily turned off without moving your head or your hand to find the safety leverl. Big kudos to Hatsan for that. My Gladius had one at the front of the trigger guard and I could very easily feel it’s status or turn it off without moving my head.
So let’s wrap this first blog post
I will do more posts about adding a moderator and the optic. I’ve already done some test firing at targets and really like the little “carbine” – I think that’s what I’ll call it. So, if you are looking for something new and compact, check out the Jet I or Jet II in the caliber of your choice.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
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