Paintball

[Painthappy]

I just got a new tank and 3000 psi reg for my 13 ci tank.

Can't wait to give this a try!

But I need to install the regulator onto the tank. I know they just screw in, and most likely I just add Locktite to it.

BUT

With everything that has happened with HPA tanks, and what not... AND I'm paranoid as is every time I fill them, I want to get it right.

So, if someone could please give me the official way on how to install an HPA Tank Regulator, I would be very grateful

[pizzaluvr]

There's no "Official" way. Some like Blue Loc-Tite, but some recommend hand-tight. Some tank manufacturers recommend hand tight actually.

[Schmitti]

I'd suggest constructing some sort of rube goldberg device to do it for you. At least the effort would be fun to watch.

If you are traveling with it I guess the consensuss (sp?) was hadn tighten. This is for a screw in reg correct?

You could always do the old dry loctite trick. Add a drop of loctite to the threads near the top of the threads closest to the reg (where it would be inside the neck of the tank) and let it dry, then carefully screw the tank on.

That way you don't have to go through the brute force process to get the reg off in the future, but it still won't come off easily.

E

[jhyan]

I never loc-tite my tanks... but I also never let anyone other than me and my wife use them, so I know no one is going to try to unscrew them from an asa without any air in the tank.

Having air pressure in the tank helps keep the reg from unscrewing from the bottle. Having loc-tite on the threads stops me from taking the reg off when needed... ie flying, shipping, etc.

[Painthappy]

Well, I decided not to locktite it and just really put it on there with my hulk like strength. Should have hit the 30 to 40 foot pounds they wanted it to be at.

[brycelarson]

for reference - scuba tanks are not fixed with anything other than the friction in the threads. no compressed air tank should be stored w/o some pressure - and that pressure will hold the threads just fine.

[Cunha]

They are supposed to be torqued to a specific amt. No thread locker.

So basically screw it on as tight as possible with every drop of strength, and it should be good enough.

Unfortunately that is the best I can say. Some places actually have the correct tools to torque things properly. I know crossfire will do it for ya. Who knows where else. "Pro" shops seldom have the right equipment these days. It is tough to know where to turn.

[Frink]

If you try to unscrew a HPA reg from a bottle while it has pressure in it, it will start venting way before it completely unthreads.

You will definitely notice the venting. Scared the crap out of me and there was only ~ 100 psi in the tank

[Schmitti]

I think the tank would only vent if it has the groove cut along the threaded portion. That was a big safety deal... get the tank to vent before it was completely unthreaded and flying through the air.

E

[Cunha]

If you start to unscrew the tank with thread locker plugging the vent holes, it will really scare the crap out of you when it steals your life by blasting through your chest cavity :P

Really, tank regs are not supposed to have thread locker on them, i learned it the first day I played paintball. My first field owner was super experienced and the first thing he did was tighten my co2 pin valve as tight as he could while he grumbled about how these guys dont even put the pin valves on all the way anymore.

This was in 2000. So things have been in this state of low safety for a long time.

I think that your personal best possible strap-wrench-with-all-of-your-might tight will be better than what you get from most tank / tank reg combos, who dont give the things a lot of love in the first place.