Bottle Blows Up

[Jeff Abbott - Dye]

Anyone want to buy a second hand stako?

There must be loads of Stakos being used, I've used one since last year and have played most weekends. So it is not certain that all Stakos are time bombs.

But I agree that it does need looking into, it may not have been the bottle itself that was to blame but it might be weaker or more susceptible to this kind of thing regarding heating up and temperatures.

Are you still going to use your Stako?

Just interested

keka

 

[FirebirD]

2 out of 4 explosions happened while the tank was mounted to an Ego

Then its egos! Ban Them I say

 

[pid]

Thats all well and good but the fact remains that these tanks have exploded and ONLY these tanks.

I don't care whether its the cycle of the moon or global warming that is causing it.

They are not safe when used for paintball.

Surely people can see that...?

keka

Didn't i read somewhere about a bad batch of luxfers? i'm sure i did. So it isn't just stako's is it.

 

[Echowitch]

Agreed but don't you think it would be safer and more prudent fo rsite operators and event organisers to take action to limit the risk and their liability?

By all means we need to look at this in the long term but until we reach that point we have to take every reasonable step to minimise the risk of similar "accidents".

All I am saying, is that until we find out what is going on, we should not fill or use the product in question?

If there was a fault discovered on an aircraft after 3 had crashed, do you think they would still allow the planes to fly until they discovered the cause?
I am just astonished at some of the posts here, saying calm down, have some tea, lets just hang around until we figure something out...

We are all responsible for our own safety but more importantly, we are just as responsible for the safety of others.....or so I thought...

After the first explosion, the tanks were tested and everyone said they were ok. Then there was a second and now a third but there are still people prepared to take the risk of using one and there are organisers out there still prepared to take the risk of letting people use one on their site.

It's madness.

keka

/sigh of course it never occured to you that some of us take the sensible route of immediate action, and wait for the official response before panic'ing wildly, which is what I've suggested, and Freekz have already done. My calm down "have a cup of tea" comment is to advise people to stop running round like headless chickens as some are doing going "OMFG BLAME BLAME PANIC PANIC !!!!" You just come across like Corporal Jones in "Dad's Army" (The ironic DON'T PANIC DON'T PANIC shouting he'd do whilst panicking.)

Immediate precautions have been taken, (Stako's are banned are Freekz until further notice, and the rest of the equipment is being checked, whilst this coming weekend is cancelled at Freekz) Nige is generally ok, and we are all waiting for the official investigation.

The way some people are talking it will be lit torches and pitchforks bashing on the gates of Castle Stako, all ready to drag out the "monsters" of Stako and string them up for what could be something that is possibly not their fault.

Wait for the official report on the cause first before you start committing acts of libel !!

 

[Tricky]

Whether everyone on here agrees or disagrees it will make no difference because no one is listening, the people involved in investigating know what needs to be done and I'm sure will be doing it. It is down to tournament organisers to ban them if they see fit and players to not use them if they see fit, why bother getting all pissy with each other on here.

Personally I have never liked stakos (personal choice) but I don't know if they are responsible or not so I'll keep my mouth shut. All I can say is similar to Keka, in that if one particular brand of car suffered 3 "freak" accidents, it would be withdrawn while it was investigated.

 

[FirebirD]

And they did a re-call of all faulty stakos etc to send out new ones, who knows if the ones sold are from the old batch? From a stockist finding them on their shelves but still selling it, thinking its a new batch or something?

 

[ItchyTFN]

No disrespect intended to you Daniel, but you (and many people on here) honestly dont/are unwilling to understand the scale of this.. The reason i feel so strongly about this is because i know if the right precautions are not taken now by every site owner, tournament organiser and paintball player, the worst is very likely to happen.
People could die, and the sport will be banned. That in my eyes, could never be worth the risk of using a stako.

I feel so strongly about this beacuse i was there in close proximity of all 3 of the Stako explosions. 2 of the people and site/organisers i know personally very well, and none of those people would ever cut any corners when it comes to HPA safety. Myself and my friends have nearly died because of this occuring.. I love this sport, but i dont want to die for it from something that can be avoided.

Having seen 2 of the air systems and regs post expolosion (1 of the bottles cut in half), i believe it is something to do with the plastic lining in stako tanks secreting oil, or weeping enough to cause the diesel effect that everyone has mentioned. This happenens between the plastic layer and the fibre wrap, with the eventual explosion exiting through the reg/threads/fill nipple which is the weakest point in the system.
In my eyes, someone needs to prove that this isnt the case before these are allowed back anywhere near a field.
Trevor/Tim (HPAC) - Can you have a look into this for everyones sake?
Even if this happens in 1 in 500 over time, that is not acceptable by any means..

I feel it is all of our duties to help to educate people into not taking the risk. Until it is proved something else caused these explosions, Stakos should be banned from every site in the UK.
Every player can make a difference by telling organisers that you will not play events unless Stakos are banned for there own safety. We can also help to educate people into general air safety (neither of which I believe caused these failures)
At least then we can be proud that we have done everything in our power to protect the safety of paintball players.

This is nothing to joke about.

I hope that helps to explain things a little better..

No offence Itchy but you are part of the problem that people saying "Don't Over-react" are referring to. You instantly blame Stako when it could be mere coincidence. You are inciting rumour and supposition. And to top it off having a jolly good rant as well.

CALM ........DOWN !!!! Seriously go have a green tea, or listen to some Enya, or something

I and others have not said that we are ignoring this. Merely that we are waiting to see what the experts have to say on the cause, then people can take action either personally or from a league/site point of view.

As some have already shown, (Mick and Mo of Freekz specifically,) they are taking sensible precautions, but not flying off of the handle. And Im not 100% stating that Stako are innocent, but they have been vindicated by the Millenium Board once already, and may be again in this case, but we need to wait and see what the experts investigation says.

 

[Nexus - Leigh]

No offence Itchy but you are part of the problem that people saying "Don't Over-react" are referring to. You instantly blame Stako when it could be mere coincidence. You are inciting rumour and supposition. And to top it off having a jolly good rant as well.

CALM ........DOWN !!!! Seriously go have a green tea, or listen to some Enya, or something

I and others have not said that we are ignoring this. Merely that we are waiting to see what the experts have to say on the cause, then people can take action either personally or from a league/site point of view.

So would you suggest that players continue to use the tanks until these results are made known ? So what happens if in the interim if another tank goes up and actually kills someone or a couple of people ? then the results are out and they say oh yeah perhaps it is the tanks are bad for some reason ?

Should this happen then I hope you have lots of your green tea and enya, because personally if it was my tank that blew up and killed people I would need lots to get me through it all.

How stupid would all paintballers be branded if someone did die and then the question was asked, "has this ever happened before?" oh yeah just the three times, but as no one was actually killed we carried on using them as we are waiting for some test results.......... bye bye paintball.

Honeslty, perhaps you guys should man up and use a slightly heavier tank that has no history of blowing up, reg or the bottle ? perhaps go to the gym and work on those arms a bit ?

enjoy your tea, I'm with Itchy TFN.

 

[Demonic]

All I can say is similar to Keka, in that if one particular brand of car suffered 3 "freak" accidents, it would be withdrawn while it was investigated.

The most recent incident excluded (as I am confident that the person affected is knowledgeable on how to use HPA) The Fact remains that one is required to have mandatory training before being allowed to use a car thus partially eliminating user fault or error.

Any Chump can buy a 5k bottle and turn it into a mini diesel engine using petroleum based oil and a compressor.

It is about time that customers who buy air bottles have to recieve training or prove they know what they are doing.

obviously this problem is easier said than done as majority of new players buy second hand, however who has ever seen an instruction or safety manual come with an air bottle from new????

 

[ItchyTFN]

The most recent incident excluded (as I am confident that the person affected is knowledgeable on how to use HPA) The Fact remains that one is required to have mandatory training before being allowed to use a car thus partially eliminating user fault or error.

Any Chump can buy a 5k bottle and turn it into a mini diesel engine using petroleum based oil and a compressor.

It is about time that customers who buy air bottles have to recieve training or prove they know what they are doing.

obviously this problem is easier said than done as majority of new players buy second hand, however who has ever seen an instruction or safety manual come with an air bottle from new????

FYI Phil, the 2nd incedent was at a Bullets / Nexus practise in Budapest, with a stako/reg owned from new.