Testing the Salvimar Pneumatics

[Gazz]

Guys I put this little video together to show some people how these airguns perform. Unfortunately i was hoping to have some decent fish capture footage but conditions have persisted in being very ordinary over the last few months. I have caught some nice fish with these guns but have had camera issues. The Fish caught are bait fish used to bring in larger predators.

Let me know what you think.

 

[popgun pete]

Small fish require an accurate shot, so better reflect on the gun's aiming capabilities, so don't worry about not showing big fish. Big fish demonstrate the destructive capabilities of the gun in knocking the stuffing out of them, or establishing a good hold, then of course it is up to the hunter to land them. Thanks for the video.

 

[poildeq]

Indeed popgun pete is absolutely correct thank you for the upload

 

[Jegwan]

Many thanks Gazz
The Vuoto Air looks like it shoots real fast and with low recoil like other dry barrel guns. It's not longer than an Euro size 75 and it shoots more than 6 meter. I think it's wow!
Jégwan

 

[istriker22]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kees]

Impressive shooting!
Two questions-
You said the 100 was 107 cm long- just wondering what the distance from speartip ( pre-loading, in barrel) to the back of the handgrip is- to see if I could load it without attachments. And secondly, when I look ( from Australia) there is no price for it on Scubastore, which I understand means I can't order direct. Is there a workaround for this?


Cheers,

Kees

 

[Gazz]

Impressive shooting!
Two questions-
You said the 100 was 107 cm long- just wondering what the distance from speartip ( pre-loading, in barrel) to the back of the handgrip is- to see if I could load it without attachments. And secondly, when I look ( from Australia) there is no price for it on Scubastore, which I understand means I can't order direct. Is there a workaround for this?
Cheers,
Kees

Hi Kees the spear is 110 long and the gun is 107 so total length is about 217, i am 6ft and can load easy with a normal loader (with about 10cm spare.

Scubastore have just changed there shipping policies for salvimar - see the comments from the website below:

"Due to the Salvimar new regulations relating to distribution, we are not allowed to ship some products of this brand to Australia"

Which means they wont ship anything salvimar to Australia even if these things aren't sold in Australia (like all of salvimars pneumatic lines!!). I pointed this out to them, if you are after a vuoto i suggest you complain as well, or try to find one from another site.

 

[Gazz]

Guys i edited the video and re-uploaded with some better footage including some long shots on better fish.

 

[pufferhal]

Very nice accurate gun !

I am thinking to buy my first dry barell gun , I use now bucanero 95 with doubble slings.
I was looking at omer and sporasub test , somehow like salvimare quality better. I use all their spears far far the best on the market!

 

[popgun pete]

Very nice accurate gun !

I am thinking to buy my first dry barell gun , I use now bucanero 95 with doubble slings.
I was looking at omer and sporasub test , somehow like salvimare quality better. I use all their spears far far the best on the market!

Still "Made in Italy", unlike some others where "Made mostly in Italy" has a slightly different meaning!

 

[popgun pete]

The Salvimar "Vintair/Vuoto-Air" guns are most likely selling for a competitive price as all the tooling costs for the moulds would have been paid off years ago when they were used for the Scubapro "Magnum". The only real change is the new rear cap that attaches with four screws to the back end of the gun as can be seen in this photo, so the plastic mouldings are virtually identical. The "Vintair" has an orange rear cap, the "Vuoto-Air" has a green one, which seem to be the only new moulded parts.

 

[Gazz]

Guys, I just though i would share some disappointing news, after 3 months the gasket failed, just as i was shooting at a tailor the size of my arm. I have contacted salvimar who said they would send me some new ones free.
I have a 4 year old extensively used tovarich kit that has never failed and 2 of tromics kits and have NEVER had a failure from these kits!

 

[popgun pete]

Did you check if the spear tail stop diameter on the shaft has developed a sharp edge? The seal/gasket/vacuum cuff may have been cut or abraded if it has a sharp edge or some other damage that has eliminated the rounded leading edge on the shoulder of the step.

OK, wrote the above before I saw the photo, so it looks like the rubber has fatigued.

 

[popgun pete]

Any chance of cutting the damaged seal in half so that we can see the state of the inner bore and any pattern of cracks in the sides of the nozzle section?

 

[Gazz]

Hi Pete,

The spear tang is rounded and perfectly smooth,
I will cut the gasket in half tomorrow and post pics.

 

[Gazz]

The inside looks perfect. See Pic.

 

[popgun pete]

Thanks for the great photo of the sectioned gasket. The attached diagram shows what I think is happening. Unlike some vacuum muzzle set-ups the gasket/vacuum cuff here has to cope with the shaft tail stop diameter passing through it at very high velocity. I think that the shaft step tends to catch on the sealing lip and momentarily stretches out the body of the cuff. After a certain period the rubber fails as repeated cycles fatigue it and it tears in a pattern which allows the cuff body to lengthen some more, unfortunately ruining it in the process (there appear to be "hinge points" where the rubber thickness changes the most). A light oiling of the cuff many help the spear get out with less friction, but it will fail eventually as ultimately these muzzle vacuum seals are consumables. I oil the muzzle vacuum cuff on the "Taimen" as part of the post-dive service of the gun and a similar procedure may help with the "Vuoto-Air" speargun. Use the same light oil as is used inside the gun (SAE 10 grade).

 

[Gazz]

Hi Pete, my thoughts exactly the gasket has to stretch when the tail comes through it, and how much does it stretch? Probably a lot.
I think if this gasket was designed in a softer more durable silicone it would last longer.

The issue here is the gasket is a consumable and replacements are not readily available.

I think the Tomba Kits are a better solution considering.

 

[popgun pete]

Well another factor is the step at the shaft tail stop is not a taper as it is on say the "Taimen" spear tails, so the sealing lip takes more of a hit with a square cut step on the shaft tail. Silicone rubber has a lower tear strength than ordinary rubber, so not really an option. The carbon black in the compounded rubber is what imparts the strength to rubber. Polyurethane may offer a better material choice, but not as cheap to make as a carbon polymer based compound rubber and probably not resistant enough to scratching. Now when I bought my "Taimen" I ordered ten spare vacuum cuffs, but was told that number was excessive, so it was reduced to five. With the one already installed in the gun and the one in the new 2-part hub I now have six vacuum cuffs and that ought to be plenty for the foreseeable future, but if I had purchased a "Vuoto-Air" then I would want ten or a dozen spare vacuum seals for it. I don't see any major problem with the "Salvimar" vacuum muzzle design, however the seal wall thickness could maybe be better graduated to spread the stretch over the length of the nozzle section rather than at a couple of hinge points.

Also I think the shaft needs to fly out through the dead centre of the muzzle seal which needs the shaft to be well aligned to the inner barrel axis and the seal itself, otherwise the sealing lip will be more loaded on one side than the other when the shaft step passes through it. If that happens then the muzzle seal gets yanked slightly to one side and that also would help to eventually bust it.

 

[popgun pete]

Here is a tip on how to centralize your vacuum muzzle seal or cuff if it is of the "hat type" sealing washer, i.e. a rubber nozzle section standing on a flange base that clamps into the muzzle housing. Depressurize your gun and insert the spear completely into the gun until it latches, then unscrew the front section of the muzzle to free the vacuum cuff. Wiggle the shaft around to free the rubber cuff and stand the gun upright with the spear pointing to the sky, that takes any side to side weight off the rubber seal. Now screw the muzzle front section back into position with the shaft centralizing washer or stop ring simultaneously centering the shaft in the muzzle. This method will automatically centre the vacuum cuff in the muzzle housing as you tighten the front section of the muzzle down on the rear muzzle body. On the "Taimen" gun you had to do this shaft alignment centering of the vacuum cuff each time you replaced the vacuum cuff (before the gun was reassembled), but later "Taimen" guns have self-centering tapered seats for the vacuum cuff as the seat itself is a shallow taper, highest in the centre and lowest at the periphery (see attached diagram).

If other vacuum muzzle guns do not have self-centering seats then this is the way to make sure the rubber vacuum seal is dead on centre when the shaft stop diameter ploughs its way through the vacuum seal as it rapidly exits the gun. On a "Tomba" vacuum muzzle system you have no such concerns as the vacuum seal "O" ring automatically centers to the shaft courtesy of the tapered stop ring sitting directly behind it.