bikerphil wrote:
Thanks again, that was the answer i was hoping not to get lol. It does work very well but refilling becomes hard and i still have nearly 1.5lb in a 2.5lb bottle after each run so i don't want to waste all that.
I'm not keen on adding more bottles or more anything to the bike as it's just more weight on an otherwise very light machine.
The bike can be light, but if it's not making the power then it might as well weigh 5,000 kg.
what i've been contemplating is actually emptying as much as possible after a run from the 2.5lb cylinder back into the big 10lb one, this should be fairly easy as it's pressure is now higher anyway. Then, when it's nearly all transferred just waste the last bit to get it completely empty, and then start again. It will end up with the big cylinder having quite a high pressure but that gets emptied eventually anyway so i can relieve the pressure when it's spent before having it refilled?
Sounds like more work in the long run to me, but it's not uncommon to empty small bottles into the big ones.
Would there be any drawbacks from doing this?
The extra effort involved and higher chance of error. In my experience, the more times people touch things the more likely something will go wrong and cost you the race.
also, i presume it will end up with water in the bottles from using air?
Oh yes that is a high possibility and almost guaranteed.
and would the air and water add much to the weight?
It's not the weight, but the potential of water being drawn into the system and creating inconsistencies during the run.
The only thing I can say is try your method, and if it works for you then that should be enough. To me, I'd simply run a larger or multiple bottles and if need be, increase the power to compensate for the weight difference.