Paintball

[Walking_Target]

i actually keep a very short wrench in my gearbag to unscrew any tank that is proving to be difficult in comming out of the ASA...

much better than forcing it.

[idkfa]

With modern tanks (those designed with the vents), I cannot see why loctite would be used at all. You can either:

- Not loctite the threads, the tank may unscrew, you could vent the tank.
- Loctite the threads, you may or may not clog the vent, you may or may not create a rocket.

It seems even IF the tank can unscrew when you properly torque it using no loctite, the end consequences are much worse if you actually do use loctite. Not speaking of older tanks though...

[Azzy]

Its going to take more than just casual "bumping" force to unscrew a tank with 800+PSI on the threads.

I have seen a tank go flying once, it was one of mine with a sherader valve. Leaky valve, left the tank to leak empty, and came back to it after a little bit. It had stopped, i thought it had leaked all the pressure out. Even tapped the stem to see if there was any air left. Nothing. Started to pull the stem out... and fwoosh! Stem went into the ground, and the tank went into the hillside behind me. Only flew about 10 feet, but put istelf into about 3" of frozen ground. Madcat had a good view of the whole thing, and could probably recount that better.

Must of had some clog, but it didnt leak after I found the stem and got it back together.

[HP_Lovecraft]

I would not use any valve that has a "venting channel".
The few that I have seen have been BADLY carved with a grinder and are clearly unsafe. They also render anti-siphons, and siphons useless.

According to Catalina, tank valves should not be threadlocked. Threadlocking at 20lbs is the same as not threadlocking at 45lbs. The only difference is that threadlocking can ruin the threads, and render the safety vent useless.

The irony is that threadlocking the valve makes it MORE likely to be a deadly rocket, as seen with the sad story 3 years ago of the lady that was killed by a threadlocked co2 tank. (The loctite had clogged the safety vent). They used NPS and discovered that

NPS was using loctite for the simple reason that it meant they didn't need to properly torque the valves. Often just handtightening!

IMO, you should follow manafacturer specs, and not threadlock. But properly torque to 45lbs, and avoid valves with "channels".

nick

[idkfa]

Yikes! I have seen a valve with a channel cut into it. And this was a new tank bought online!

Here is some more information, with Glenn Palmer apparently being interviewed:

WARPIG - World And Regional Paintball Information Guide

[MadCat]

Originally Posted by Azzy

Its going to take more than just casual "bumping" force to unscrew a tank with 800+PSI on the threads.

I have seen a tank go flying once, it was one of mine with a sherader valve. Leaky valve, left the tank to leak empty, and came back to it after a little bit. It had stopped, i thought it had leaked all the pressure out. Even tapped the stem to see if there was any air left. Nothing. Started to pull the stem out... and fwoosh! Stem went into the ground, and the tank went into the hillside behind me. Only flew about 10 feet, but put istelf into about 3" of frozen ground. Madcat had a good view of the whole thing, and could probably recount that better.

Must of had some clog, but it didnt leak after I found the stem and got it back together.

That's about how I remember it as well That's the only time that I've ever witnessed a C02 "rocket". I've never had a burst disk vent either (though I have heard lots of stories about those events).

The only funky thing that I've ever had happen was the one time where the pin valve on my 20oz was stuck "open" after I removed it from my gun. It basically vented 18oz of CO2 through the valve, but it wasn't enough thrust to launch it anywhere. It was a dry-ice covered tank for the rest of the day.

After the tank was empty, the valve seemed to work just fine (no debris) and its worked well since

[Walking_Target]

HP has it right.. it is in the 45ft/lb range, it's been awhile since i have had to work on a tank.

As for valves with vent channels.. that's a major no-no. the propper method is to have an aproximate 1/16" (aprox) hole near the top of the threading through both sides of the valve body.

this safety feature DOES NOT interfere with anti-siphon or siphon setups in CO2 tanks if they have been propperly installed.

moreover, these safety holes are exactly why i would never use loctite. it is not needed and it increases, rather than decreases the chance of an accident.

[HP_Lovecraft]

Originally Posted by MadCat

That's about how I remember it as well That's the only time that I've ever witnessed a C02 "rocket". I've never had a burst disk vent either (though I have heard lots of stories about those events).

I witnessed about 3-4 Co2 rockets in the late 80s. But this was back before vents were added to pinvalves.

In all cases, someone accidentally crossthreaded the co2 tank. One case that I remember very well, someone had crossthreaded the 7oz onto an SMG60, and could not remove it. SO he had a friend hold the gun, while he turned it as hard as he could.......... BANG! The 7oz blasts away, bounces off the house, hits a van, the flies away about 300 feet.

Someone in 1989 was hit in the face by a Co2 rocket, and thats when the industry started adding the vent. That worked perfectly throughout the 90s.

The unfortunate death 3 years ago resulted from a threadlocked Co2 tank that had been removed in order to install an anti-siphon, then reinstalled. The user did not realize the threadlock had clogged the valve, and did not torque the valve properly.

As for burst-discs, in the 80s, and 90s, most were rated for 1800psi. I've seen probobly hundreds blow. These days, they are now rated mostly for 3000psi. I've never seen one of those blow.

nick

[therealjt]

or if you want to avoid all of this, empty your tank and ship it to the field or a friend close to the field...thats what i have always done. just make sure it is empty. (they can be shipped with the reg on)
jt

[Chachi]

I've got no idea why it failed, but a teammate of mine in college had a HP burst disk blow on his 68/4500 (yes, it was filled to proper specs). we just heard this really loud bang, and then his HPA tank froze over because of the venting. Hooray, PV=nRT! I've never seen that happen since.