Air tank valve tightness

[truck]

I have this air tank. When I had it filled at a dive shop I asked the guy how tight to close the valve. He demonstrated using an empty SCUBA tank by closing the valve and then I opened it. We did it three times and each time the valve was just touching the seat, no pressure needed to open the valve.
Is this correct? He said if you tighten the valve it will damage the packing.
How tight are you making your valve? Just till it touches? Touches then just a nudge? Touches then 1/4 turn?
I had it filled several weeks ago and haven't fooled with it since so it may be empty now after he closed the valve.

[rsterne]

Touches then a good nudge?.... More than what it needs to not leak, but not cranked tight.... If it is hard to open, you probably overtightened it....

Bob

[Smoketown]

I equate it to a FIRM hand shake.

Not a dead fish type and not a bone crusher either.

I close it with my strong hand and I can still open it with my weak hand.

I could be wrong but, the last time I looked, the "packing" only comes into play when the valve is "off it's seat" so air doesn't leak around/past the valve stem.

In other words, when CLOSING the valve, all of the "strain" should be on the valve stem threads, valve body, and seat assembly and NOT on the "packing".

Cheers,
Smoketown

[PCPhack]

Then there are those Chinese bottles and valves with axial threading like that which are so tight when the bottles are under pressure, that it is scary to force them open. They are like that even if barely closed.

[truck]

I have a dead head foster plug coming Monday, then I'll be able to see if the tank still has a charge, full or otherwise then I'll nudge down the valve.

[Gertrude]

The guy at your Dive Shop is correct.

I have the exact same bottle that I use as my backpack hunting bottle. The valves on these particular bottles can be a little tricky to operate. You need to be VERY careful both on opening and on closing them.
 Once you get your deadhead, you can practice with it a little.

 I would recommend putting the deadhead on the hose and then leaving the bleeder valve OPEN.
(Forget about trying to test it by watching the gauge for movement (with the bleeder closed).

This is because of how tricky these valves can be when you are Opening them. They do not have a flow restriction device, so they go REALLY Fast, once you do get them cracked open.

So like I said, put the deadhead in, OPEN the bleeder valve, and the SLOWLY open the tank valve and listen for the hiss.
 Once you hear the slightest hiss, then slowly close the valve until the hiss stops.
 Do this a couple of times to get used to it.

 If you over tighten it, the situation gets even worse.

The reason I tell you all of this is because when you are filling a gun, you must be very careful opening the valve.
 It seems like you are turning it open with nothing happening,and then all of a sudden, WHOOSH !, it will go full bore fast, and you can EASILY and accidentally overfill your gun in a split second.
 It can happen so fast that it is a little scary.

[truck]

That's good information to have, thank you.

[Back_Roads]

 I gather that the Benjamin bottles do not have a regulated output pressure.

[truck]

No, mine doesn't. It would be nice to have a regulator on output pressure to lessen the likelihood of an over-pressure to the air reservoir. With due diligence I hope to avoid that.

[Back_Roads]

 LOL and I'm having the problem that mine is regulated , and now I have guns that will take higher PSI. 
 Be safe and keep asking questions, we're here to enable HELP.

[ShawninIL]

The one I have seems like it has the slo-flo valve, it is much more controllable that my TigerShark tank. I can crack open the valve on the small tank to where the needle barely moves, on my TigerShark I have to use the open,close,open,close method until the pressure equalizes.