Filling the bottles -
I am worried about fire big time in the M-18. I use aviation gasoline and the tanks are either side of the motor! Spills or a broken hose can dump lots of flammables into the engine compartment and the high cylinder and exhaust temps in air cooled engines is right there to start a fire. They also backfire through the updraft carb which can cause a fire - this is what caused the two fires in the engine compartment up in Michigan.
You can fill the bottle without getting them tested - in the manual there are exact instructions on how much CO2 the bottle hold. If you have an accurate scale you can weight the bottle, put in the correct poundage of dry ice and then screw on the valve and install the tank in the rack and cliop down the wires. The bottles are good for about 3500psi and the dry ice will only produce a pressure of about 800-900 psi.
Probably is a good idea to get hte bottles checked though - I hate to have some jake leg pitch the WWII bottles out - I was able to buy two newer CO2 bottle of the correct dimensions to fit in the racks under the Hellcat floor.
Let me know if you find someone with a static display that is interested in parting with something that doesn't even show in the static display........the bottle, I don't need - I need the valves and plumbing right around the valves.
Incidentally, same system is in the Sherman - the bottle numbers in the G163 ORD9 are G104 numbers (Sherman)
DaniNM
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