massive pcp failure, headed to the er

[TOM aka critter99]

Didn't your Discovery come with the thread in degas tool???  I had two of them and both came with the degas tool that threaded in the 10-32 hole in back to degas when switching from Co2 to HPA and vice versa did they cost cut that out of the box??

I thought they gave you one since you said "pump the rifle up for some test shots since i degassed it for the install" ... "after 4 or 5 pumps the pump pressure reads just over 2000psi"

I guess this is a lesson for all of us ....degas and double check everytime

Thank goodness ur OK at this point

[MustangMike]

i degass by shooting down to about 6 or 700 psi and then stick a small screw driver in the degassing/power adjuster hole  and pushing untill it dumps the air..


thing is if i would have tried i can push hard enough to degass with over 1200psi in the rifle.. id have known in a matter of seconds it was still under pressure..

im about to go pull my box down, maybe i missed it in the box i think you get the degasser if you buy the disco with out the pump..but if you get the pump and disco combo it comes with no degasser..

still my guage was sitting at 250psi everytime ive cracked the airtube open for the depinger.. the gauge when i start working early said 250psi.. last night it said 1900 after i got done shooting.. a fualty guage was the reason that i thought the airtube was empty

[TOM aka critter99]

looks like this...

and you know else scares me is all those rifles that put the gauge on the end of the air tube like my FX, AA S200 etc.  I always wondered why you would put the gauge where the customer will most likely be pointing a rifle barrel toward their face....seems sort of like a really dumb call on the engineers parts don't it???

 

[gamo2hammerli]

Wow....that's very scary.  Thank goodness you didn't get hurt even more.

[only1harry]

Wow, you were lucky those parts didn't hit you in the face or anywhere on the head.  Never trust that little gauge!  Take all precautions.

Was your Disco stock, or modified?  Just curious.  
Glad you are doing ok.  The vertigo is normal because of the shock to your ear drum.  Could have very slight inner ear damage.  I have inner ear damage and I am almost 1/2 deaf in 1 ear and 25% on the other.  It happened when I went to watch the Blue Angels air show (F-18's).  I decided I was going to be cheap and not pay to get into the airport because I knew the area well.  I parked my car on the side of the road on a hill overseeing the entire airport.  Well what do you know?  Six (6) F-18's all over a sudden appeared <100ft over my head with full after-burners causing me to temporarily lose >50% of my hearing.  All I heard was the supersonic boom and those jet engines without warning. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life, like thousands of decibels.  Nothing close to 1900psi being released.  They were flying at the speed of sound or faster and you just didn't have time to prepare or cover your ears.  For good measure and to make sure the damage was good & permanent I stayed to watch the show, when everyone that was parked there with me took off holding their ears and their kids crying "mommy my ears hurt".  10min. later after watching their acrobatics and superb flying and coordination, I lost them again.  I started walking to my car thinking they may show up again, when they did before I got to the car!  They were over my head again out of the "blue" (get it? hehe) without warning and full after-burners.  I covered my ears but it was too late and not enough.  I had bad vertigo and a headache for a few days after that, actually about 1 week.  My hearing recovered mostly but kept deteriorating slowly over the next few months and years because I had regular hearing tests to monitor it.  That was >10yrs ago and my hearing is still getting worse.  Doc says I will be wearing a hearing aid in a few years.  I still have a little vertigo and many times feel like I am not walking straight.  Have never really felt "normal" since that day.  

I don't mean to scare you because I think your case is a lot MILDER than mine.  It felt like my body was going to explode when those F-18's flew by so very close.  And that was times six - 6 aircraft.  I think you are thinking of the severity of the accident and what could have happened, that is making your heart race and want to throw up.  There is not much at all they can do about any hearing loss but you will get your hearing back, and the ringing will go away very soon, so don't worry about that.  I am pretty sure you do not have any permanent damage.  I say this because when I was 18-19, my stupid cousin discharged my Marlin 30-30 in the basement of my parents' house (without my permission and shot a big log we kept down there as a chair) and both our ears were ringing. Our hearing was "muffled" for a couple of days but it all went away and we had our hearing checked and everything was normal.  The sound shock waves caused mirrors to fall off the walls in the room.  That's how bad it was.  Firing a high-powered rifle in a closed room is just as bad I think as what you went through, except for the air in the eyes.

Anyway, good luck and I don't blame you for not wanting to fill up the Disco any time soon.  That was a dramatic experience you went through and it will take some time to recover from it psychologically.  

[MustangMike]

ya i know what the degasser is and there wasn't one in the box... ringing in my ear is letting up some


got the disco half way stripped down but the stupid little breech screw is stripped out..  i even put a clamp on the breech to sandwhich it down for removing that screw..


found the cause of the gauge problem.. a piece of shredded oring was plugging the gauge port hole.. wonder what I'm going to find in the valve once i get the breech off..


any one got any ideas on getting the breech screw out ? figured id do this tonight to keep me busy and focused on something easy so if i have any problems physically i will notice them more doing something like this i think lol..

[MustangMike]

Wow, you were lucky those parts didn't hit you in the face or anywhere on the head.  Never trust that little gauge!  Take all precautions.

Was your Disco stock, or modified?  Just curious.   
Glad you are doing ok.  The vertigo is normal because of the shock to your ear drum.  Could have very slight inner ear damage.  I have inner ear damage and I am almost 1/2 deaf in 1 ear and 25% on the other.  It happened when I went to watch the Blue Angels air show (F-18's).  I decided I was going to be cheap and not pay to get into the airport because I knew the area well.  I parked my car on the side of the road on a hill overseeing the entire airport.  Well what do you know?  Six (6) F-18's all over a sudden appeared <100ft over my head with full after-burners causing me to temporarily lose >50% of my hearing.  All I heard was the supersonic boom and those jet engines without warning. It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life, like thousands of decibels.  Nothing close to 1900psi being released.  They were flying at the speed of sound or faster and you just didn't have time to prepare or cover your ears.  For good measure and to make sure the damage was good & permanent I stayed to watch the show, when everyone that was parked there with me took off holding their ears and their kids crying "mommy my ears hurt".  10min. later after watching their acrobatics and superb flying and coordination, I lost them again.  I started walking to my car thinking they may show up again, when they did before I got to the car!  They were over my head again out of the "blue" (get it? hehe) without warning and full after-burners.  I covered my ears but it was too late and not enough.  I had bad vertigo and a headache for a few days after that, actually about 1 week.  My hearing recovered mostly but kept deteriorating slowly over the next few months and years because I had regular hearing tests to monitor it.  That was >10yrs ago and my hearing is still getting worse.  Doc says I will be wearing a hearing aid in a few years.  I still have a little vertigo and many times feel like I am not walking straight.  Have never really felt "normal" since that day. 

I don't mean to scare you because I think your case is a lot MILDER than mine.  It felt like my body was going to explode when those F-18's flew by so very close.  And that was times six - 6 aircraft.  I think you are thinking of the severity of the accident and what could have happened, that is making your heart race and want to throw up.  There is not much at all they can do about any hearing loss but you will get your hearing back, and the ringing will go away very soon, so don't worry about that.  I am pretty sure you do not have any permanent damage.  I say this because when I was 18-19, my stupid cousin discharged my Marlin 30-30 in the basement of my parents' house (without my permission and shot a big log we kept down there as a chair) and both our ears were ringing. Our hearing was "muffled" for a couple of days but it all went away and we had our hearing checked and everything was normal.  The sound shock waves caused mirrors to fall off the walls in the room.  That's how bad it was.  Firing a high-powered rifle in a closed room is just as bad I think as what you went through, except for the air in the eyes.

Anyway, good luck and I don't blame you for not wanting to fill up the Disco any time soon.  That was a dramatic experience you went through and it will take some time to recover from it psychologically. 

i think ur hitting the nail on the head man, a day or 2 and i should be good.. the dizzy and light headed feeling has start letting up, got a minor head ache but since i get migrains behind my right eye once or twice a week a normal head ache is no sweat dont even need a excedrin.lol... thats crazy about the f18's,  but by sharing that story i think you saved the hearing of at least one person at a future air show.. if that was my cousin id have shot him in the rear end for that one..
 i keep telling and reminding myself how well and safe the disco was before this and that this is in fact my fault not the rifles fault, keep thinking all the times i filled her up  to 2000psi with no problems.. actually this would be the first issue with my disco.. i dont feel scared of the gun, but i will prolly spend 10 minutes in the future every time i need to work on the internals triple and quad checking that its degassed..

tomorrow im ordering a new foster fitting since ya the one in the attic is prolly lost under insulation lol.. as well as i need to find a new guage.. that when at 0 psi it says zero and its made by a company that builds high quality gauges...


thanks for the kind words guys, this is by far on of my top scary &^^& to happen to me. im going to the ear doc tomorrow for a hearing test and then again a week later. but i think what saved me from taking something to the head was that i had the barrel between me and the airtube.. that also might might have just moved the air just enough to save me from getting hit worse in my eye.. either way the disco is being tore down to id the problem..

[TOM aka critter99]

thats not worthy they cost cut it out.....

I hate those .050 allen wrench screws......I have seen over on the Crosman Green Forum various ways to attack a stripped one

http://www.network54.com/Forum/275684/

search on "stripped breech screw"



 

[jonnnyboy]

Wow, Mike I am glad you are not hurt any worse than you have reported.  High Pressure air is a dangerous combination and as you can attest all it takes is just a momentary decision to change from safety to danger.  I think you have identified the mistake you made and I appreciate your taking the time to share with the GTA family not only what did happen but what COULD have happened.  It could have been much worse but thank God, it wasn't.

I hope and pray your hearing will return fully and that you will continue to feel comfortable shooting your airguns.  Again, I'm glad you're okay brother.

joe

[MustangMike]

Wow, you were lucky those parts didn't hit you in the face or anywhere on the head.  Never trust that little gauge!  Take all precautions.

Was your Disco stock, or modified?  Just curious.   
 

id say it was mildly modded

long probe bolt
mrod trigger
challenger hammer
challenger striker
challenger trigger guard
depinged ( tube is now somewhere in the attic..lol)

its all drop in bolt on stuff, no custom work, yet...

Wow, Mike I am glad you are not hurt any worse than you have reported.  High Pressure air is a dangerous combination and as you can attest all it takes is just a momentary decision to change from safety to danger.  I think you have identified the mistake you made and I appreciate your taking the time to share with the GTA family not only what did happen but what COULD have happened.  It could have been much worse but thank God, it wasn't.

I hope and pray your hearing will return fully and that you will continue to feel comfortable shooting your airguns.  Again, I'm glad you're okay brother.

joe

thanks man, the way i see it. pulling a stupid move and hurting ur self and then sharing what you did wrong and what happened to you is a way of preventing that from happening..

im willing to bet some one is gonna read this and then in a month need to crack open the airtube and throughly make sure its degassed just from reading this


head ache is still there, ringing in my ear is down to about 50% of what it was and while i have some hearing starting to come back.. the redness in my eye is gone cept for 2 or 3 spots where it looks like a little red dot.. no swelling.. i got away from this very lucky and funny thing is i was having by the worset day ive ever had in a very very very long time.. i should have just left the disco alone untill tomorrow and then maybe my mind would have been focused on the disco and not thinking about other stuff..

[amb5500c]

Good attitude there brother.
Richard

[MustangMike]

Good attitude there brother.
Richard

sometimes you just gotta pull ur man panties up and keep on truckin

[newguyontheblock (Nathan)]

sometimes you just gotta pull ur man panties up and keep on truckin

dont forget to clean them out first!!

good thing your ok!

[MustangMike]

sometimes you just gotta pull ur man panties up and keep on truckin

dont forget to clean them out first!!

good thing your ok!

I'm shocked I didn't dirty myself up when the fill adapter popped off the airtube. Best thing to come from this event is a much healthier respect for hpa.

Very very glad I wasn't living in a apartment and had this happen.. idk if the fill adapter have packed enough punch to go through the floor of an apartment but if it did it could have hurt some one...

[Talon22]

Glad to hear thay you are ok. I know that i will be more cautious... now. Hope you recover 100%.

[dk1677]

Boy you young guys protect your hearing, you will miss it , I know , 60's rock band and shotgunning with no ear protection when I was young. Might save your kids laughing at you getting what you hear wrong when your old    I would like to thank the guy that came up with closed captions

[shadow]

Glad your ok bro it could have been much worse, PCP's can become scary real fast. Ed

[Dead nuts dog]

Geez!! That's scary, I hope your ok

[TimmyMac1]

Mechanical devices can and do fail so if you trust them you will continue to pay a price. Use this as a reality check that says "if it is mechanical it is suspect. If it can fail it will and if you look at the worst case scenario in all things pressurized you will be far better off".
The sad thing is we should all be able to learn from your mistake but it is not like that. You got the pain and that is a great memory stimulator. Use it to make you a safer shooter in all aspects.
They are always overcharged, loaded, failed safety/trigger/valve etc etc.

I've worked with pressure all my life. When I was 8 years old my grampa shot a 10oz Crosman tank through a cinder block wall with only a 3 foot run through a close fitting pipe at the wall. All my cousins and I were impressed.

I've you don't respect pressure there will be a penalty down the road. You got lucky and if you learn by it you got smartened up. You need to avoid getting complacent with PCP, not avoid using it.

Double, triple or quadruple check but don't assume anything except WORST CASE SCENARIO!
Then you are part of the solution rather than part of the fault.

[SAADE]

John said "After breaking the fill valve loose (32nd  or so of a turn) and then all you needed was light finger pressure to remove it? If you need more force there is air inside (this applys to all airguns)."

Ditto that to co2 guns also. The retainer plug on my AR2078 is nearly impossible to unscrew with even a small amount of co2 left in the pressure tube. Insert the de-gasser tool and voila, she comes of with no resistance except the o-ring.