Ben
24-09-2007, 11:49 AM
I thought i would post this up here, this is taken from the spec ops forums, and i know some of this is old, and some of you already know not to do any of this, but its a good refresher, and a good thread for all the new players out there on "HOW NOT TO KILL YOUR MATE" kind of idea.
People often say the only danger in paintball is taking your mask off. I disagree, that could lead to only getting your eye shot out. The most dangerous thing assosiated with paintball is the high pressure tanks we use and often ignore. These can kill somebody, and have, at a proper paintball field. The majority of this post is from one I made at paintball.com.
I would highly recomend you read the whole bloody thread but,
In short
Co2: dont ever ever ever take, for lack of proper terminology, the regulator (thing that goes into the ASA, is often a bronze color) off the tank. Have it checked, perferably once a year, by bringing it to a proshop and getting it torch tested (THey use a hex wrench to tighten it really good). Don't install your own anti-syhpon tube, etc. When you unscrew the tank do not unscrew it by holding the tank, hold the ASA connection piece. A fatality has occured at a paintball field.
EDIT (thanks to maldon): I forgot, a saftey bypass hole was instituted into the construction of Co2 tanks after this incident. If the ASA connector begins to unscrew they will vent all the gas immedietly. Bassically there is a fail safe to this problem now, but don't count on it. It's like jumping out of an airplane with only a reserve chute. Also given the plethora of cheap Co2 tank manufactures it isn't worth risking.
HPA: DO NOT put any cleaners, lubricant, or oil, including paintball oil, into the air nipple (thing that plugs into the air station that fills your tank). This practice has resulted in MULTIPLE flash fires that either blow up the tank or cause a potentially deadly fire. No fatalities yet reported but serious injuries have occured.
Co2 story and warning
A long time ago (early 2000ish) a kid with one year of paintball experience or so decided he was going to install his own anti-syphon tube. He took off the ASA connection piece on the Co2 tank and installed the tube successfully. Upon testing it the tank worked fine. He went to his local paintball field and played a full day of paintball and even got the tank filled once without incident. At the end of the day he was unscrewing the tank from his gun in the normal fashion seen at fields. He was unscrewing it by twisting the tank. Unbeknownest to him he was actually unscrewing the tank from the ASA connection piece. He had not locktighted the threads or screwd it back in enough. THe tank flew off of the gun and struck his friends (or his, I don't recall) mom in the head. She died INSTANTLY.
He could have avoided this is a number of ways. First he could have had an airsmith install the anti-syphon tube. Secound he could have had the tank torch tested after installing the tube. Third he could have used RED locktight on the threads insuring the tank would never unscrew from the ASA connector piece again. Fourth he could have unscrewd the tank by the ASA connection piece. Fith, and the most simple way of doing it, he could have WATCHED WHAT HE WAS DOING.
HPA story and warning
From www.stockclasspaintball.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Pay Attention To This Thread.
________________________________________
I AM POSTING THIS AS IT IS NOW GETTING VERY SCARY TO BE A FILL STATION OPERATOR. READ AND I WILL EXPLAIN AFTER THE QUOTE.
A statement form Mr. Trevor Kent form H-Pac concerning an incident at the the Millennium event in Madrid, today the 2nd June 2006.
At approximately 3pm there was an incident where a cylinder being filled exploded. After a thorough investigation and examination of the cylinder / regulator and also evidence found on the fill station, it was decided that a player had sprayed a general purpose lubricant (3 in 1 oil, found close by) into the fill nipple and then commenced to fill the cylinder.
This obviously ignited inside the cylinder under pressure which caused the reg to melt and the cylinder to fly into the staging area causing some injuries believed to be minor.
The reason for this accident was because the player used an incorrect method for repairing a fault with the fill nipple/ reg and thus endangered their own and other people's safety.
H-Pac would like to make it absolutely clear that the entire fault for this incident lay with the improper filling and maintenance of this cylinder.
The player in question has not come forward and remains anonymous for reasons which seem obvious.
Compressed air is dangerous if misused and if you have any problems, you should immediately consult the manufacturer.
Never attempt to repair these cylinder reg units by yourself; you should always consult the correct technicians or manufactures.
Trevor Kent
H-Pac
now, after you have read this you all need a refresher course with oil and chemicals in or
around your air system. DO NOT ! I SAY AGAIN DO NOT!!! ADD DROPS OF OIL OR USE ANY
OIL TO SERVICE YOUR AIR SYSTEMS TO KEEP THE FILL NIPPLE FROM LEAKING. I will report
that 3 times now the fill operator at my old field has had 3 flash explosions. The last one
occurred with an [Automag owners group] member’s tank. I will not release his name as I will explain a little more
in a second. The last flash back actually burnt my partner’s arms and the flash was doused
with water to put out the flames. That’s correct, the flames. The resulting flash back actually
melted the redz tank cover right to the tank and john’s arms were burnt and the hair was
completely removed from his gorilla like arms. This is bull§§§§ and it doesn’t need to happen. A
while ago I posted a mini tech scenario about what happens when you add oil or grease that
is not explosion proof. After I posted this an industry insurance provider asked me not to
make a "big" deal" about it. Well guess what? I don’t want to die or anyone else to because
of lack of knowledge about this situation.
Now back to what happened with the last flash back. The customer had a leaky fill nipple;
the person who serviced the tank did put oil into the fill nipple. After the tank was filled the
pressure release when removing the fill nipple flashed the oil that had migrated to the area
around the fitting. This flash back turned the regulator black with soot and the cover melted
to the air tank. Here’s where it gets way way way worse. the customer then took the tank
back, cleaned the soot off the reg and remainder of the cover and cleaned the fill nipple
with an spray cleaner used to clean automobile carbs.i have now advised my partner to
change the whole way we now fill hp tanks and goes as follows. When a player comes in for
a fill there are no more "top offs" every tank is now drained and a c/a adapter is screwed
onto the bottle to drain the tank. Then a "purge" is done then a fill will be continued. We are
actually looking into a "blast box" or a ballistic blanket like they use on drag cars to keep the
pressure plate/fly wheel from exploding into the driver’s compartment to put the tank in during the fill. Guys please pay
attention to this warning. You most likely won’t be the one that the explosion happens to,
it’s the poor sob that is filling your tank. I am awaiting a real tank explosion video to post on line
so you can see how serious this situation really is.
WARPIG, 2002.
Don't Blow Yourself Up
August 2002
www.wapig.com for full article
Here are some quotes that are pretty relivant IMHO.
"Oil and compressed air do not, and should not be mixed. Many people have taken to the practice of dropping paint gun oil into the fill nipple of their compressed air system, especially in the hopes of sealing a leaky fill nipple."
"There are many oils which are perfectly safe at room temperature and air pressure. However, when the oxygen content around them increases - as with air compressed into a paint gun’s HPA tank, the flash point can lower to below the temperature of the fill air and cause the oil to ignite. This is the principle at work in the cylinders of a diesel engine."
"Paintball safety lies in the hands of the players. Do not put oil or any other lubricants into your compressed air system's tank or fill nipple. No lubricants should be used on the regulator unless they are explicitly recommended by the manufacturer."
last words
Since I made this post abouta year ago further incidents have occured. Pictures of such have been posted most notably on PBN. Understand that the air tank your using, espicially the 4500 psi ones, can go through your bloody shoulder. I've seen the aftermath of a scuba tank (3000psi) poping it's cap. It went through a number of concreate walls and bassically took out a building. there is JUST AS MUCH PRESSURE in your paintball tank but less mass. So it will go through only a couple walls before stopping
People often say the only danger in paintball is taking your mask off. I disagree, that could lead to only getting your eye shot out. The most dangerous thing assosiated with paintball is the high pressure tanks we use and often ignore. These can kill somebody, and have, at a proper paintball field. The majority of this post is from one I made at paintball.com.
I would highly recomend you read the whole bloody thread but,
In short
Co2: dont ever ever ever take, for lack of proper terminology, the regulator (thing that goes into the ASA, is often a bronze color) off the tank. Have it checked, perferably once a year, by bringing it to a proshop and getting it torch tested (THey use a hex wrench to tighten it really good). Don't install your own anti-syhpon tube, etc. When you unscrew the tank do not unscrew it by holding the tank, hold the ASA connection piece. A fatality has occured at a paintball field.
EDIT (thanks to maldon): I forgot, a saftey bypass hole was instituted into the construction of Co2 tanks after this incident. If the ASA connector begins to unscrew they will vent all the gas immedietly. Bassically there is a fail safe to this problem now, but don't count on it. It's like jumping out of an airplane with only a reserve chute. Also given the plethora of cheap Co2 tank manufactures it isn't worth risking.
HPA: DO NOT put any cleaners, lubricant, or oil, including paintball oil, into the air nipple (thing that plugs into the air station that fills your tank). This practice has resulted in MULTIPLE flash fires that either blow up the tank or cause a potentially deadly fire. No fatalities yet reported but serious injuries have occured.
Co2 story and warning
A long time ago (early 2000ish) a kid with one year of paintball experience or so decided he was going to install his own anti-syphon tube. He took off the ASA connection piece on the Co2 tank and installed the tube successfully. Upon testing it the tank worked fine. He went to his local paintball field and played a full day of paintball and even got the tank filled once without incident. At the end of the day he was unscrewing the tank from his gun in the normal fashion seen at fields. He was unscrewing it by twisting the tank. Unbeknownest to him he was actually unscrewing the tank from the ASA connection piece. He had not locktighted the threads or screwd it back in enough. THe tank flew off of the gun and struck his friends (or his, I don't recall) mom in the head. She died INSTANTLY.
He could have avoided this is a number of ways. First he could have had an airsmith install the anti-syphon tube. Secound he could have had the tank torch tested after installing the tube. Third he could have used RED locktight on the threads insuring the tank would never unscrew from the ASA connector piece again. Fourth he could have unscrewd the tank by the ASA connection piece. Fith, and the most simple way of doing it, he could have WATCHED WHAT HE WAS DOING.
HPA story and warning
From www.stockclasspaintball.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please Pay Attention To This Thread.
________________________________________
I AM POSTING THIS AS IT IS NOW GETTING VERY SCARY TO BE A FILL STATION OPERATOR. READ AND I WILL EXPLAIN AFTER THE QUOTE.
A statement form Mr. Trevor Kent form H-Pac concerning an incident at the the Millennium event in Madrid, today the 2nd June 2006.
At approximately 3pm there was an incident where a cylinder being filled exploded. After a thorough investigation and examination of the cylinder / regulator and also evidence found on the fill station, it was decided that a player had sprayed a general purpose lubricant (3 in 1 oil, found close by) into the fill nipple and then commenced to fill the cylinder.
This obviously ignited inside the cylinder under pressure which caused the reg to melt and the cylinder to fly into the staging area causing some injuries believed to be minor.
The reason for this accident was because the player used an incorrect method for repairing a fault with the fill nipple/ reg and thus endangered their own and other people's safety.
H-Pac would like to make it absolutely clear that the entire fault for this incident lay with the improper filling and maintenance of this cylinder.
The player in question has not come forward and remains anonymous for reasons which seem obvious.
Compressed air is dangerous if misused and if you have any problems, you should immediately consult the manufacturer.
Never attempt to repair these cylinder reg units by yourself; you should always consult the correct technicians or manufactures.
Trevor Kent
H-Pac
now, after you have read this you all need a refresher course with oil and chemicals in or
around your air system. DO NOT ! I SAY AGAIN DO NOT!!! ADD DROPS OF OIL OR USE ANY
OIL TO SERVICE YOUR AIR SYSTEMS TO KEEP THE FILL NIPPLE FROM LEAKING. I will report
that 3 times now the fill operator at my old field has had 3 flash explosions. The last one
occurred with an [Automag owners group] member’s tank. I will not release his name as I will explain a little more
in a second. The last flash back actually burnt my partner’s arms and the flash was doused
with water to put out the flames. That’s correct, the flames. The resulting flash back actually
melted the redz tank cover right to the tank and john’s arms were burnt and the hair was
completely removed from his gorilla like arms. This is bull§§§§ and it doesn’t need to happen. A
while ago I posted a mini tech scenario about what happens when you add oil or grease that
is not explosion proof. After I posted this an industry insurance provider asked me not to
make a "big" deal" about it. Well guess what? I don’t want to die or anyone else to because
of lack of knowledge about this situation.
Now back to what happened with the last flash back. The customer had a leaky fill nipple;
the person who serviced the tank did put oil into the fill nipple. After the tank was filled the
pressure release when removing the fill nipple flashed the oil that had migrated to the area
around the fitting. This flash back turned the regulator black with soot and the cover melted
to the air tank. Here’s where it gets way way way worse. the customer then took the tank
back, cleaned the soot off the reg and remainder of the cover and cleaned the fill nipple
with an spray cleaner used to clean automobile carbs.i have now advised my partner to
change the whole way we now fill hp tanks and goes as follows. When a player comes in for
a fill there are no more "top offs" every tank is now drained and a c/a adapter is screwed
onto the bottle to drain the tank. Then a "purge" is done then a fill will be continued. We are
actually looking into a "blast box" or a ballistic blanket like they use on drag cars to keep the
pressure plate/fly wheel from exploding into the driver’s compartment to put the tank in during the fill. Guys please pay
attention to this warning. You most likely won’t be the one that the explosion happens to,
it’s the poor sob that is filling your tank. I am awaiting a real tank explosion video to post on line
so you can see how serious this situation really is.
WARPIG, 2002.
Don't Blow Yourself Up
August 2002
www.wapig.com for full article
Here are some quotes that are pretty relivant IMHO.
"Oil and compressed air do not, and should not be mixed. Many people have taken to the practice of dropping paint gun oil into the fill nipple of their compressed air system, especially in the hopes of sealing a leaky fill nipple."
"There are many oils which are perfectly safe at room temperature and air pressure. However, when the oxygen content around them increases - as with air compressed into a paint gun’s HPA tank, the flash point can lower to below the temperature of the fill air and cause the oil to ignite. This is the principle at work in the cylinders of a diesel engine."
"Paintball safety lies in the hands of the players. Do not put oil or any other lubricants into your compressed air system's tank or fill nipple. No lubricants should be used on the regulator unless they are explicitly recommended by the manufacturer."
last words
Since I made this post abouta year ago further incidents have occured. Pictures of such have been posted most notably on PBN. Understand that the air tank your using, espicially the 4500 psi ones, can go through your bloody shoulder. I've seen the aftermath of a scuba tank (3000psi) poping it's cap. It went through a number of concreate walls and bassically took out a building. there is JUST AS MUCH PRESSURE in your paintball tank but less mass. So it will go through only a couple walls before stopping