S200 cylinder strip.

[Fish]

Hi folks,
I'm not sure if this should be in the technical section or not. I am having trouble stripping my S200 cylinder so that I can fit an external reg and quick fill adaptor. I have the valve removal tool and a vice to hold the cylinder in, but try as I might this thing does not want to come apart. Have tried the usual heat/hot water but it won't budge. I don't want to damage the cylinder by over tightening it in the vice (have packed with an old bike inner tube to prevent marking it) and would be grateful for any further suggestions.

This is meant to be a diy job and I'm pretty good with these things normally. If anyone in the Wolverhampton/Telford area has stripped one of these before and can offer any assistance I would be extremely grateful. Open to any other suggestions/help as I don't want to have to make a trip to XTX as I want the satisfaction of completing the job myself.

Cheers guys.

[billywhizz]

when I stripped mine it was a real pig too do, what I found was in the end if you watch the video of xtx fitting them ,look at the size of the spanner he used!!, so what I did was too make sure the spanner I was using was the right size and fit, then holding it In place with one hand and gave the spanner a sharp tap with a big hammer too break the seal,that worked for me.if your handy then make up some wooden blocks too fit around the cylinder too grip it tightly ( 2 bits half moon shape the right depth so not too crush the cylinder). good luck .billy

[Raj]

Take a look here ... http://www.altaros.cz/en/cz/10-regulato ... /|demoTab3

Scroll down a bit and you will see my notes, pictures and instructions

Worst case, jump in your car and get down to Rugby ... We will do it between us. I have opened quite a few in the past.

[Fish]

Thanks chaps, I've already tried tapping it with a hammer but didn't want to hit too hard on case I damaged the cylinder. Raj I like the idea of the abrasive paper. I wrapped a pice of old inner tube around mine which did give a little play so your idea looks better. Will give it another go and hopefully avoid the trip to rugby. But thanks very much for the offer and I may take you up on it yet. I really do want to get this project finished before the nice weather sets in so I can get out with the rifle.

Will let you know how I get on.

[Fish]

Just tried again and all that's happening is the cylinder is spinning within the abrasive paper. I can't tighten the vice any more or I may compress the cylinder. I only seem to be succeeding in marking the black finish at the moment. Really frustrating. I decided to walk away before anger set in and I ended up minus a cylinder.

I'm usually good at diy and am confident that I can rebuild my crumbling house, but I fail at a simple task like this. Maybe I'm just getting old and lack strength.

[Roger5]

I've done two the way Raj does it, abrasive paper wrapped around cylinder worked fine for me, but they can be a bugger to undo. Rog

[Fish]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Raj's method should work, I think I just lack the confidence to tighten the vice up a bit more, either that or air arms used extra locktite on mine. I may well take Raj up on his offer of help rather than risk damaging the cylinder. Can't wait to get it all done as I really like this mk2 particularly with its adjustable target stock, the only problem I may have is that my daughter seems to have her eye on it.

[pelletcaster]

Stupid question I know but
- are you sure the cylinder is empty, all the pressure gone?

The brackets of your vice shouldn't be to close to the threads you're going to open.
You may warm up the tube near the threads with a heat gun so the end part bearing the threads will heat up consequently with little delay.
Then rush cool the (inner) brass part with some ice for some seconds.
Thus the tube DIA will be be increased, the brass part will shrink momentarily.
Then - without loosing too much time - try to open with your tool and a hearty tap.

BTW - I marked my tube too.
Put some carbon foil on it - looks great now.

Good luck.
Keep informing about your progress pls.

[Raj]

Sorry to hear i is not budging. 100% air dump is a must, Use the marble trick Also, I can not understate the importance of a proper 'manly' vice. Mine weighs about 35 Kg and dates back to pre-war days ... left behind by the previous owner of my house
Holding the tube at the opposite end so that you are clamping on to tube with a brass end plug inside it will give you maximum leverage and allow you to put maximum clamp force.
Personally, I have never come across any loctite on these threads before. All the stickiness is down to years of remaining tightly screwed under pressure IMHO.
Big vice + big stihlson should crack it.

[Fish]

Afternoon guys, The cylinder is definitely empty and whilst not as manly as your vice Raj (apparently size does matter) mine is pretty substantial/heavy. I'm pretty sure all the air is out but am going to have another attempt today. Might even get my good lady to have a go as she always manages to open the stubborn jam jars (after I've loosened them a bit of course).