Quote Originally Posted by GRAZY View Post
I have got some Proton x2 which are just air and they are sold as being able to hold 200 bar which i think is higher than the Brocock
the proton cartridges are unregulated. If you try to push 200 bar through your co2 pistol you will encounter, at best, hammer lock and at worst catastrophic internal failure of your guns components. Unregulated compressed air is VERY dangerous

I know they are unregulated as there has been a massive discussion about them on a canadian airgun website. They have also been tested by an american airgun blogger who has something to do with pyramyd air (if memory serves)

I have also personally emailed Luke Camilleri, MD of LJ Camell in merseyside, who has been making and trying to sell these cartridges since the 90's. I emailed my concerns, and asked him directly if these cartridges are regulated. As of even date I have received no reply

Nigel Allen of airgun shooter was loaned one of these cylinders to test by SMK, who are marketing them in the UK. Mr Allen asked SMK about whether or not these cartridges are regulated, expressing the same fears as to the potential dangers of unregulated air in CO2 pistols. He never receieved a reply but was asked by SMK to return the cartridge, claiming they no longer wanted him to test it.

I have no personal axe to grind with Mr Camilleri, or SMK for that matter, it would just be nice to get an answer once and for all

the brocock versions were regulated, but only yielded about maybe 10 shots per cartridge when charged - fine for testing for leaks but fairly useless for a plinking session as they were around 30quid each when new. Not very cost effective

CO2 at room temperature is self-regulating around 850 PSI. The cartridges available from (C)rap4UK (we have previous issues! they are a terrible retailer) are supposed to be filled with liquid CO2 from either a bulk fill station or by using the adapter they sell seperately. When transferring liquid CO2 your recipient container MUST be chilled or you will transfer only gas. I have a bulk fill station that I refill my custom XS78's from, plus a few RAM rifles that I have converted to shoot 4.5mm BB's. If using an old pub cylinder, or a soda stream canister, you must invert them so they transfer only liquid CO2. My bulk fill station utilises a dip-tube cylinder, which means it can stay the right way up as it fills from the bottom of the cylinder thereby only transferring liquid CO2. Liquid CO2 is also transferred and checked by weight, NOT volume. I have a paintball buddy bottle that I fill from my station then take to the range with me, it is a 20 oz bottle so I fill it with 17 oz of liquid CO2 - the 3 oz left is for expansion as I chill the bottle in the freezer for an hour before transfer, so when it comes back to room temp the CO2 has somewhere to go. The bottle has a safety device called a burst disk, which will do just that if overfilled - I know this because when I first started bulk filling I overfilled my buddy bottle to 20 oz exactly, so when it returned to room temperature the CO2 expanded slightly - the burst disk went and the bottle shot out from under my bed (where I had it stored) and chased me round the bedroom. Amusing now, but not then