Should I leave cylinder intact after practice?

[pavanputhra]

I have a Steyr Evo 10E. After live fire practice should I leave the cylinder on the gun tight? Or should I loosen the cylinder and keep it for safety?

I practice weekly twice live fire. Rest of days dry fire.

[SuperIIFT]

I practice 3/4 times a week
the only time the cylinders are off the gun is when they are bring filled
Other wise they are on the gun as when you are shooting
Dennis

[Rover]

What he said.

[Gwhite]

I believe the general wisdom is to store the pistol with the cylinder off to avoid long term stress on the regulator parts. If you are shooting it regularly, breaks between sessions doesn't qualify as "storage" in my book.

One thing a lot of people don't understand is that you do NOT want to "tighten" the cylinder on the pistol. The seal isn't affected by how tightly you screw the cylinder on, and as the pressure drops, the pieces can contract a bit and you can have trouble removing the cylinder. It only has to be snug enough that it isn't wobbling around.

[spektr]

If you have 2 cylinders, use them both. I didnt and the cylinder valve leaked a bit. I had to exercise it and use just a tiny bit of silicone oil to get it to work and seal again.....

[j-team]

I believe the general wisdom is to store the pistol with the cylinder off to avoid long term stress on the regulator parts. .

Agree 100%. The regulator has a spring (stack of washers) and like all springs will last longer if stored under less compression.

[deadeyedick]

I machine a spacer from nylon rod and place it between the cylinder and frame when not in use. Then the cylinder can be tightened on the gun to prevent thread movement as well as not allowing air pressure to be applied to the regulator.

[joel]

I believe the general wisdom is to store the pistol with the cylinder off to avoid long term stress on the regulator parts. If you are shooting it regularly, breaks between sessions doesn't qualify as "storage" in my book.

That doesn't make any sense because the cylinder is still on the pistol whether you are shooting it or not. If it does "no harm" to leave the cylinders on, then leave them on all the time. It shouldn't matter whether you practice during the week. If it is "harmful" to leave the cylinder on, then you should remove it after shooting every time. When I was shooting AP, I would always remove the cylinder after every session. Where's the harm in that?

As Gwhite also said, snug is all it takes. Do not tighten them down.

My 2 cents,

Joel

[Gwhite]

At some point, the wear on the threads from constantly screwing & unscrewing the cylinders will do more damage than leaving the cylinder in place, just to a different part of the pistol. You have to change them out periodically to refill them, which allows the springs a brief period to relax.

The official position of our host is to always remove the cylinder "when you are not using the gun" (http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php ... &#p113350)). He also cautions that you should always completely remove the cylinder when you want to shoot again so that you don't pinch the O-ring. That sounds like you should remove the cylinder after every shooting session.

My Morini 162EI has survived 15 years of apparent abuse without a hiccup, so I'm not going to worry about it too much... If I'm not going to shoot for a while, I'll take off the cylinder.

[joel]

Yes, of course, use what's working. As for wearing out threads, I find that highly unlikely. In any case, I would use a small dab of grease on the threads every now and again. Those are some large threads that I've never seen wear.

It's like gun cleaning; ask 10 people and you'll get 11 different opinions.

Cheers,

Joel

[Coolmeester]

I machine a spacer from nylon rod and place it between the cylinder and frame when not in use. Then the cylinder can be tightened on the gun to prevent thread movement as well as not allowing air pressure to be applied to the regulator.

I use a little spacer plate, too. Don't know if it gives the regulator more lifetime but I'm pretty sure it does not harm it either.

[Gwhite]

Yes, of course, use what's working. As for wearing out threads, I find that highly unlikely. In any case, I would use a small dab of grease on the threads every now and again. Those are some large threads that I've never seen wear.

It's like gun cleaning; ask 10 people and you'll get 11 different opinions.

Cheers,

Joel

The college team I help coach has 16 Hammerli 480K's that are converted to AP40 style cylinders. They use an absurdly fine thread, and supply them with aluminum fill adapters. They are easy to cross-thread and almost guaranteed to gall without frequent lubrication. It's a really bad design.

After having a student destroy a cylinder & fill adapter, we've switched to using 3rd party brass fill adapters. So far, so good....

[David M]

Some early model Morini Airpistols have fixed tanks (most over 20yrs old) and
have not shown any regulator faults other than old and cracked O rings (normal
wear and tear).
So leaving the tank on or take it off......personal choice.
Use of a non petroleum lube is a must.

[Elmas]

I machine a spacer from nylon rod and place it between the cylinder and frame when not in use. Then the cylinder can be tightened on the gun to prevent thread movement as well as not allowing air pressure to be applied to the regulator.

I use a little spacer plate, too. Don't know if it gives the regulator more lifetime but I'm pretty sure it does not harm it either.

TESRO Air Pistols come with a red plastic spacer , presumably to relieve pressure off the Regulator Springs and make the regulator last longer. AP's have a very long life and are designed to be maintenance free... So , use a spacer if you are off the range for a week or more . That sounds middle of the road reasonable.
Some makes do not come with a spacer the EVO10 does not . So ? They think their regulators are immune to prolonged pressure ?