Regulator Failure?

[Parksy]

What happens if a regulator fails?

I know we have tests on bottles so they are safe, but not on regs.

Just wondering what would happen if say my full 4500psi air system decided for some bizzare reason to dump all of its air? Do they have a safety mechanism like a burst disk to kick in during this eventuality? Or is all the air dumped into whatever it is hooked up to, ie an inline reg?

I know the fittings from Toma go a long way to stop fitting failure if a high output is fed into them, but what of the actual regs themselves?

Just wondering

Dave

 

[liamliddy]

Is this after reading the new rules on fatbobs? Soon you wont be able to buy anything on the forums.Sucks.

 

[le-pig]

most regs have bleed/blow holes so excess gas should leak from them

 

[PaintballBudgie]

Nothing to do with them wanting to sell more regs then?

 

[liamliddy]

Originally posted by PaintballBudgie
Nothing to do with them wanting to sell more regs then?

Sounds like it to me dude too

 

[Jack Daniels]

Nothing to do with them wanting to sell more regs then?

no mate ! its due to a few different factors.

1. one of my mates had a second hand regulator (max flo) recently explode at the air joint causing a head injury, concussion, and 30% hearing loss, he could have killed himself.
he has now arranged to have it "disposed of" NOT SOLD.


2. a recent sale of a preset system to a paintballer resulted in the afore mentioned paintballer taking his air tank to a random guy who fills different types of tanks. he proceeded to fill it from the VALVE END !, not the fill nipple (4500 psi into the reg, the wrong way !), he complained on the forums saying that now it wont work, (no surprise there then) hes blown the burst disk and possibly the reg as well.

These as well as the 4 deaths this year related to hp systems has resulted in warnings and a ban on sale of "second hand" regulators. due to the fact that they are not tested and the max flo that i saw that failed had hardley any thread left on it. it was that old !

I think that there are a lot of really old high pressure systems out there now and we could do with having either a retest period or at least a regular inspection by a company such as hpac etc. to ensure the safety of the sport.

i think that personally, i wouldnt like to be stood next to someone with a 10 year old air system filling up to 4500psi when the equipment could be faulty. my mate was lucky, he should get his hearing back within 9 months, the scar is covered by his hair, but it could have taken his bloody head off.

ps, on the bottom of the max flo, it read #0004, does that mean that it was the 4th one to ever be made ?, if so, how old does that make it ?? anyone ?

 

[PaintballBudgie]

granted, but you get what you pay for.

If you buy a signature series air system with Noah written on the side for a bargain price you have to wonder.

meanwhile if someone changes their set up and has a 6 month old low pressure reg which they want to sell or swap for a high pressure one why shouldn't they be allowed to?

I understand the dangers and the risks and encourage people to use the highest quality fittings. I only buy mine from Tom Allen. As opposed to banking the sale of 2nd hand regs why not tell people not to buy crap.

If you are going to ban the sale of 2nd hand regs why stop there, why not the whole air system. I have bought bottles from people who say they will sale through tests and find they fail. What have I been using for last 6 months?

 

[Jack Daniels]

maybe it would be a good idea to ban untested bottles !

you say that people have a 6 month old airsystem, buy why get rid of it ? also, you only have their word that its 6 months old.

also, it could be 6 months old but could have a major fault !, an elbow fitting that has been screwed in too tight, torn up all the threads and then removed and re-inserted could lead to a dangerous piece of equipment ! 6 months - 12 years, depends on how its been used.

 

[Parksy]

Originally posted by PaintballBudgie
Nothing to do with them wanting to sell more regs then?

Now Ian you ain't that cynical are you

There was talk of Fatbobs after this not selling HPA systems at all on there site.

I agree with both sides. Yes I think you should be able to sell your second hand air system, and yes I think there is air systems out there that should not be sold but destroyed. The prolem is where do you draw the line as to what can and can't be resold?

Like Father Jack mentioned you can find air systems a few years old like new, and air systems a few months old that are battered...

The reason I asked the question was really to see how other people thought.

Personally because of the pressures involved I feel they should be subject to testing in some way to check there safety.

The problem with anything in paintball though is if it isn't regulated by the governement no one else seems to try and enforce it even if it is in the best interest of safety and the future of paintball in this country.

I like Budgie use only Toms fittings, as does all of the team. My point is though that because the fittings you use are not regulated there is nothing to stop the whole team, or the guy at the fill rig next to you using sub standard ones. At the end of the day if one of these goes pop they go somewhere, and unfortunatly there not selcetive in where they go when they do...

I just think there is a lack of regulation in this country towards player safety in the country, and probably the majority of other countrys that allow paintball...

 

[PaintballBudgie]

Then why not get someone like H-Pac or the shops that sell new regulators to service them or give them a general safety certificate.

Personally I think this is a knee jerk reaction. Fatbobs may be happy to insist on "no 2nd hand regs" but it still sells that macro line which isn't up to the job. It's rated to 400psi or something, but many presets output is 850psi.

Why not ban the low pressure macro line and ban anyone not qualified from fitting high pressure macro line. The stuff Tom sells is perfectly safe as long as you fit it properly. If you don't push the macro line past the 2nd o'ring in the elbow even that could blow. Every time you want to change your drop you would have to send it back to the shop to get it done by a qualified tech.