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Buying an Air System - A cautionary Tale

~Solo~

~Solo~

Active Member
Sep 13, 2007
129
19
28
Kent
The Talkpaintball forum banned the resale of regs and bottles in their classified section sometime ago. From my recent experience I can understand why.

If you are buying a system from here make sure that you get good pictures beore hand and give the bottle a thourough inspection as soon as you receive it. If there is a problem contact the seller immediately although as you'll see in my experience the seller may well wash their hands on the situation.

I bought a 0.7l Throttle for £70 from this forum in September and on receipt noticed that there was some metal scarring around the gauge and fill nipple probably caused by a wrench. This hadn't been pointed out in the ad or highlighted in the pics but I gave the seller the benefit of the doubt as it was mainly cosmetic. I filled it for the first time about 3 weeks lated but noticed immediately that it gradually lost pressure. At home I noticed some resin around the gauge outlet so removed the gauge to inspect it. I found that an entire side of the threads was missing from the outlet and that the gauge had been bonded-in with an epoxy resin glue!

The seller denied all knowledge of the resin saying that he has also bought it 2nd hand from p8nt but admited being aware of the pressure loss. He suggested an airsmith look at it. So I sent the bottle to dye and upon inspection they fitted a new reg at a cost of £30 + postage both ways. I followed up by politely asking the seller to contibute to half of the reg cost as a gesture of good considering that they had taken £70 from me and witheld knowledge of the fault. The seller replied by changing his story to 'no knowledge of the leak' and 'I would have supplied a new reg if you had asked'!

Since then the seller has ceased communication despite still posting on this forum and continuing, what seems to be, a regular trade in air bottles.

I feel a stong urge to name and shame the seller but I suspect that it is not in the spirit of this forum to do so unless a Mod suggests otherwise. All I can suggest is that you buy carefully and hope that the seller cares as much about safety as about resale value. If you do receive a damaged airsystem, don't be tempted to use it because of what it cost you. Bite the bullet and get it fixed or buy a new one from a shop. Another similar story can be found here.
 
Snowwolf

Snowwolf

Rebellion
Oct 30, 2008
223
0
0
Northants
Name and shame. This isnt something that should be taken lightly. It could have caused serious injury to yourself and others, or worse.
 
Robbo

Robbo

Owner of this website
Jul 5, 2001
13,116
2,157
448
London
www.p8ntballer.com
Name him and I will ban him, in fact mate, it's your moral duty to name him lest he ends up killing somebody, and my site has in some sense been instrumental in that...I will not have that !!!
Please pm me with his name.
 
custard cavalier

custard cavalier

New Member
Sep 19, 2006
187
0
0
this is one of several stories about poor condition air systems being sold on here I have heard.

Perhaps some of it is down to people just not understanding what they are dealing with but ignorance is no excuse.


I understand that most people are selling items that have been looked after well and only repaired and serviced by trained people but
Perhaps from the forum's point of view and more importantly safety, it’s time to ban the sale of air systems and regs in the used section to protect everyone.
 
Stokecity_m

Stokecity_m

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2005
2,549
5
73
42
Stoke-on-Trent
www.gb-paintball.co.uk
To be fair it's not hard to work out who sold it him.

I sold a bottle a month or two ago - for me it was fully working and in mint condition, however when the buyer came to use it, the reg was leaking and so i paid to replace it as is only fair.

I don't feel there is a need to ban bottles being sold, People just need to cover themselves alittle more. Anyone found selling a defective bottle should be named and shamed, and then banned from the site.
 
vmaxnick

vmaxnick

Not in the face!
Apr 8, 2008
234
0
26
West Country
www.rhino-trikes.co.uk
It would be a great shame to ban the sale of bottles and regs from the site. I have bought all my air systems from here as have our whole team. I have had only one bottle with a fill nipple which leaked when filling, this had been CLEARLY stated by the seller!
Banning the sale of air systems here would force them onto flea bay with potentially disastrous consequences! http://www.p8ntballer-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=113595

Name and shame, best policy! and if you play with the person, let them know your disgust. Remember, it may not be you whose bottle explodes, but if you're stood next to the guy when it blows, it might as well be.

If anyone is complacent about all this, let me just point out that if a burst disc screw blew out at bottle or reg pressure it would carry enough velocity to go through your skull! If the reg broke off the bottle or let go through damaged threads, the bottle carries enough energy to take your head off!

When I was a kid, I worked for a medical store handling compressed medical gasses and as such, I received airsmith training which included practical demonstrations using bottles compressed to just 1000psi not 4500psi.
The demonstrations were pretty dramatic so I know that what I've said above is true.

Sorry for the lecture but I will say it again; please, please, please, if you have knowingly damaged your bottle or reg, take it on the chin and have it repaired or throw it away. If you sell it on to someone who is not aware of the fault it may well kill them, you will then be under suspicion of manslaughter!
If you have bought a bottle which you are suspicious of, don't hope for the best, have it checked out!

My own visual check list for a bottle is as follows; check the burst disc screws are sitting in straight and are free of swarfe. Often, a cross threaded screw will have slivers of metal (swarfe) around the end of the thread. Check that the reg is fully screwed into the bottle and that the O ring is not showing. Check that the reg is sitting squarely into the top of the bottle. examine the gauge for signs of damage external and examine the threads in the same way as for the burst disc screws. Obviously, you need to check the bottle, reg, burst discs, gauge and reg cap for signs of general wear and tear or abuse. If I was satisfied with all the above, then I would fill the bottle to about 1000psi then check for leaks and make sure your fill nipple shuts off ok before commencing to fill it to 4500psi.

Any doubt at all, get it checked out by a qualified airsmith (not a mate who knows)

Sorry to all who think this is trying to teach Granny to suck eggs but I know there are plenty of youngsters out there that don't have a clue!
 
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