That makes a lot of sense and very well explained. Thanks very much Tom!Either way you screw the cylinder onto the ASA
The cylinders regulator turns itself on & off when it’s pin is pressed against the appropriate point of the ASA
The whole cylinder does not lose pressure, it will close its pin and retain pressure. The only air that gets lost is the amount sat in the airline that gets purged
When the pin is pressed the regulator is ‘on’ and air comes out, when the pin is released it seals
With a basic ASA the pin is pressed against a fixed point, air is released as the cylinder is screwed into place.
When you unscrew you only lose a bit of air, but it can be difficult to unscrew as that point is under pressure
With an on/off ASA a second pin in theASA engages and disengages the cylinders regulator pin.
You flick it to off before screwing on, therefore no air is released
You flick it to on when you are ready and it feeds air to the gun
When you are finished, (or inbetween games) you flick the ASA to off and a small amount of air is purged
Theoretically the gun cannot shoot (but there may be enough air beyond the internal regulator for a couple of shots)
There is no pressure at the ASA and you can easily unscrew with no pressure
Also explains the need for barrel socks in between games as you're not actually removing the tank from the marker, just flicking the air off switch. That and the possibility of enough air being left in the marker itself for a shot or two, which of course is a shot or two too many when nobody is wearing goggles.