Airsoft gas test, green, propane, mapp.
Reading various blogs, forums and articles I found it hard to find reliable information on some of the different gasses avaialble for airsoft gas guns. As I use a number of GBB rifles and pistols I decided to test out some of the gasses I have been using. These include 2 different brands of Propane, two different brands of MAPP (propylene/LPG, yes that’s right LPG) and an off the shelf “Green Gas” I used my WE M4 and my custom WE L22A2 for the tests firing 3 bb’s from each gun and chronoing them. To try to keep the test even I used a separate mag for each gas and the mags were filled a couple of hours ahead of the test. It was fairly warm in the workshop when I did the tests, about 22c which explains the high results for guns set up for the UK. Previously I had set the NPAS valves on the guns for 340fps when the ambient temperature was around 10c. It really is amazing how much more gas pressure you get with all of these gasses when it’s warmer.
The gasses tested were: Ultraforce Top Gas Propane: Typically around £10 for 300 grammes (£0.021/g). Rothenburger Propane: From many DIY stores, around £12 for 400 grammes (£0.03/g). Rothenburger MAPP/PRO: From many DIY stores, around £16 for 400 grammes (£0.04/g) Today’s Tools MAP-Plus: Online, from about £13 for 453 grammes (£0.028/g) ProTech Green Gas: I got this off ebay, 3 x 1000ml cans for £30, so about £7.50 a can. Each can has approx 300 grammes of gas (£0.025/g)
Before I get on to the chrono results a couple of observations:
Both of the MAPP gas gasses were less smelly than propane, but still hand a distinct odour that many may find unpleasant.
The coleman propane odour was stronger than the Rothenburger propane. Same smell, just more of it from the Coleman gas.
On to the results: 3 0.2g bb’s fired from each gun with 3 seconds between each shot.
ULTRAFORCE TopGAS:
M4 370 362 349fps
L22 407 346 374fps
Rothenburger propane:
M4 361 371 371
L22 411 406 404
Rothenburger MAPP-Pro
M4 410 396 379
L22 428 383 334
Today’s tool MAP-Plus
M4 367 358 356
L22 410 406 404
Protech green gas
M4 350 352 340
L22 395 391 389
Co2 (WE Co2 M4 Gas Magazine).
M4 405 392 396
L22 399 397 398
There is little surprise that there is very little difference between the two propanes. The propane gave about 8% more power than the Ultraforce Top Gas, I could actually feel more recoil. The Rothenburger propane appears to have less cool down fps reduction. I don’t know why this would be.
The Today’s Tools Mapp-plus was no different to the propane. I tried to use this particular gas in the winter and didn’t get good results with a lot of cool down and never got the guns to work in the cold with this brand of MAPP.
The Rothenburger MAPP-Pro gave the highest fps (so I must assume has the highest gas pressure) but also exhibited the greatest amount of cool down. The magazine felt noticeably colder than the other mags after the test. When I used this gas in the winter it was good for infrequent semi auto fire, but got very cold, very quickly if you tried to fire too rapidly.
The Ultraforce Top Gas produced the lowest fps, but stayed pretty consistent. I’ve used this gas for a few skirmishes and it’s been OK when the weather has been above 10/12c. I wish I had some other green gasses to try.
In conclusion, for me at least I will probably use the Rothenburger Propane. The Coleman propane is a bit cheaper but it is very smelly. I can buy the Rothenburger Propane in my local Screwfix or Wicks for £12 a can. If I buy a pack of 6 from Screwfix then it’s only £10 a can making it just £0.025/g, almost as cheap as the smelly coleman propane and cheaper than most airsoft green gassed. If you can live with the smell then the best bang for your buck is the Coleman Propane. I would probably avoid the Today’s Tools Mapp-plus.
So what do I see in these results? Well I am surprised by how much lower the fps from the Ultraforce Top Gas gas is. I tried a different magazine in case there was an issue with the magazine but got almost identical results. I included the C02 Magazine just out of curiosity and one interesting observation is that the M4 and L22 are much closer in terms of fps when using the Co2 magazine.
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