Experienced airsofters have been saving money for years thanks to the Airsoft Innovations propane adapter, after all why spend $10 on a small can of green gas (local CDN price) when you can get a 3 pack of Coleman propane for the same price. In an effort to make our lives even easier, the gang at AI has just released Oil Pump Kit. Now instead of dripping silicon oil into the propane tank’s valve, simply inject it into the propane tank itself!
Retailing for $25 CDN (or $35 CDN with an adapter) you get the pump, a bottle lightweight GBB oil, a bottle of medium weight grenade oil & two warning reversible warning tags (one side for GBBs, the other for grenades). The pump itself is made of a brass cylinder with a steel piston and hard plastic (I think it’s plastic) top.
Using the AI Oil Pump is very simple, let’s stick with oiling propane for GBBs first. Extend the pump fully then submerge the female end of the pump into oil (remember light weight for GBB/Rs, medium weight for Tornado grenades) and press the plunger down. This will push some air bubbles into your oil, keep doing so till there are no more bubbles then extend the pump, filling it with oil.
Moving to the tank, obviously first make sure your AI Propane adapter is tightly secured onto the tank then insert the male portion of the adapter into the female end of the oil pump. Once you’ve got a good connection, firmly hold the brass cylinder and press down on the nozzle (don’t start pumping yet!) That will open the valve of the propane tank and from there with press down on the plunger with your hand. When you release downward force, the pressure from the tank will push the plunger upwards and you want to repeat this pumping process ~20 times.
To make things easier, I usually wrap the bottom of the oil pump with some paper towel. When you remove the pump from the adapter, a tiny bit of the trapped gas (which is now oiled) will spray out and this catches it along with cleaning the bottom of the pump.
If you’re like me and have multiple Tornado grenades, you might also find it useful to prep a tank just for grenades. Follow the same process as described above though this time with the medium weight Tornado oil and you’ll need to push four plungers worth of oil into the tank.
I can’t stress enough, it’s very important to mark the tanks once they’ve oiled so please use the warning tags that AI included with the kit. Using grenade oil in a GBB will gunk up the internals which may cause malfunctions and require you to disassemble your GBB to clean it out thoroughly.
From a shooter’s perspective, the new Airsoft Innovations Oil Pump Kit is a no brainer at $25 and makes maintaining your gas weapons much easier. Now you don’t need to lug silicon oil out to the field anymore or worry about whether you’re oiling your guns or tornadoes enough. Simply prep your tanks beforehand and you’re set!
On a side note, because it has to be said the AI Oil Pump is only intended to put silicon oil into propane tanks. Don’t be stupid and put other substances into other tanks. I’ve had the luxury of playing with a beta design oil pump for the last 6 years and am glad to see AI finally release it to the public.
