Leave in or remove Co2 cartridge from Crossman 2240

[55chevy]

I just got my first Co2 gun a Crosman 2240. I'd like to know if it's OK to leave the Co2 cartridge in the pistol for a week or so and when it's time to take it out ( and cartridge is not empty) what's the best way, for example: loosen the cap and let the Co2 leak out slowly, dry fire till the cartridge is empty, or use up a bunch of pellets shooting till it's empty? Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[nervoustrig]

Keep it in unless you will be leaving the gun untouched for weeks. The risk in long term storage is the CO2 may leak out and the nose of the cartridge may stick to the seal on the end of the valve. Even so, a very thin film of oil on the tip every 2nd cartridge will reduce the risk of that happening to practically zero.

I have left guns charged for months over the winter and they still have CO2 in the spring. Just depends on whether the seals are in good condition. 

 

[55chevy]

Thanks Nervoustrig, any suggestion about the best way to remove a partially full Co2 cartridge? What has worked for you?

 

[nervoustrig]

I prefer to shoot it down, whether with pellets or by dry firing.

Unscrewing the cap while pressurized places a lot of load on the threads. It’s okay to do on occasion but it has the potential to erode the threads if you do it frequently.

 

[55chevy]

Thanks again Nervoustrig for your advice, one last newbie question, is it safe to assume that dry firing won't harm the gun, or is shooting pellets the better of the 2 options?

 

[nervoustrig]

Correct, dry firing won’t hurt it. There are some some gun designs that don’t tolerate being dry fired but the 2240 isn’t one of them. Those are generally PCP airguns and it’s more about being fired with low pressure (or no pressure) than it is the presence of absence of a pellet. I can’t name a CO2 gun that doesn’t tolerate dry firing...it would just be a bad design. 

 

[55chevy]

Nervoustrig ... thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience ... it's been very helpful !!

 

[toku58]

I normally wouldn't leave it in for extended time period because it will distort the o-ring. I normally just slowly unscrew the end cap and the Co2 just bleeds out. Too much of a pain to dry fire it. Co2 cartridge's are fairly inexpensive. Releasing the gas like that makes to pistol cold, but no harm to the gun.

 

[nervoustrig]

There is no O-ring to distort. The cartridge seals against the valve face. The tube is unpressurized.

However for guns that do have an O-ringed end cap, a polyurethane O-ring avoids the swelling issue.

 

[jkingrph]

On my first back earlier in the year I had one cartridge stick. It actually stuck on the piercing pin and was a bear to get out. I managed to wedge it so it would not spin, and drilled a small hole and made a small hook, and just could not get enough purchase on it that way and had to disassemble the gun I ended up holding the valve in a padded vise, vise grip pliers on the cartridge and knocked it off. No visible burrs or roughness on the pin. To be on the safe side I polished the pin to a mirror finish and always, always oil the tip of a cartridge before inserting and have had no more problems. I have built several guns on this 22xx action and always polish those pins before installing the valve now.

 

[55chevy]

Thank you all for the added advice and your time responding

 

[toku58]

There is no O-ring to distort. The cartridge seals against the valve face. The tube is unpressurized.

However for guns that do have an O-ringed end cap, a polyurethane O-ring avoids the swelling issue.

Ah? Yes there is! redish orange seal that sit on the end of the valve unit. (Flat o-ring) (It doesn't just sit against the brass valve face.)

I don't like leaving any seals compressed for long periods of time if I can avoid it, because it will eventually start to keep the footprint of the Co2 end cap.

 

[nervoustrig]

Maybe there is more than one kind. My valve had a hard plastic disc, not an O-ring. Made sense for longevity. That way the 800 pound gorilla tightening the end cap doesn’t ruin it so easily the way an elastomer O-ring would.

Looks like we were talking past each other a little due to differences in terminology...O-ring vs seal vs flat O-ring.

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

There is no O-ring to distort. The cartridge seals against the valve face. The tube is unpressurized.

However for guns that do have an O-ringed end cap, a polyurethane O-ring avoids the swelling issue.

Ah? Yes there is! redish orange seal that sit on the end of the valve unit. (Flat o-ring) (It doesn't just sit against the brass valve face.)

I don't like leaving any seals compressed for long periods of time if I can avoid it, because it will eventually start to keep the footprint of the Co2 end cap.

Agreed. 

 

[Moe M.]

Better late than never, remember that old saying that puts a blush on the faces of many men, and smiles on the faces of their spouses, "If all else fails, Read the instruction manual".

The manual for the 2240 clearly states, do not leave a charged Co2 cartridge in the gun, relieve any remaining pressure and take the empty cartridge out when finished shooting, leaving it in the gun could damage seals and also cause a moisture build up in the air tube.

When installing a fresh Co2 cartridge in the air tube do not over tighten, use finger pressure alone, always lube the tip of the cartridge, this helps to keep the seal that it rests on on the valve face pliable and helps prevent the empty cartridge from sticking in the tube, it also doesn't hurt to put a drop of pell gun oil on the end cap threads as well. 

To expend or relieve any remaining pressure in the used cartridge one can shoot until it's empty, dry fire the gun until all the air is expended, or simply loosen the tubes end cap slowly until the air can be heard escaping through the chamber and just let it empty out (do not attempt to remove the end cap until all the air has escaped.

Leaving an empty air cartridge in the gun over an extended period will eventually damage the seal on the valve face and cause rust to build up between the cartridge and the air tube wall from condensation. 

 

[55chevy]

Thanks Homer ... Thank you for the great advice ... it all makes sense. It's nice to know what the correct procedure is. Crosman wrote the book so they should know what's best. By the way, my manual is a new one and did not contain the level of information you stated above, I guess Crosman is now cutting costs by not producing a quality user manual anymore.

 

[Fischer]

Go back to the old 78 Smith and Wesson "G" or something patterned weighted and formed after the famous Smith and Wesson 41 .22 Long Rifle Match Pistol and then you have the best containment of CO2 cartridges ever made in history: embedded 12.5gram CO2 cartridges inside a handle Vault that allows the bottom pin on the pistol to puncture the CO2 Cartridge inside the metal vault already sealed by o rings to last easily weeks before diminishing the 12.5g Crossman Powerlets.

It is because any CO2 cartridge "air pistol" should at least 'match' the efficiency of the SW 1974ish CO2 pistol with two powers depending upon whether you wanted low or high.

I always used High Power and sent .22 SW and Crossman Pellets over 440 fps at the muzzle to have accuracy clear out to 50 yards on a calm day.

The thing is today the person who invents a quality air pistol that is CAPABLE of being punctured and left alone for a few months instead of a day or two would buy all this trying to "maintain" a loose CO2 cartridge in the plastic handle of some cheap made handgun for pellets.

I say go back to the 70s and recall a system containing entirely the punctured CO2 Cartridge to shoot almost 40 shots per refill of 12.5 gram CO2 Powerlets whether you puncture the cartridge from the start to last a year or month but certainly NOT a week or less!

 

[55chevy]

Hi Fischer, I checked out the 1970's 78G Smith & Wesson air pistol online, it looks very interesting and has good resale value. If I were a collector I'd be interested in one. But, as it is, collecting expensive air guns is not something I can afford. I am interested in getting the 2240, 1322, and 1377 pistols I recently purchased shooting well. I'm going to fix the triggers, put on steel breeches, and add some nicer optics to find out what the accuracy really is. The parts-n-pieces are slowly coming in, hard to get some parts these days. I've been having fun with these new air guns.

 

[Jimborg]

I had a Crosman pelgun 180 for decades and never took a co2 cartridge out untill it was empty. I'd leave a cartridge in there for months at a time and I never ever put a drop of pelgun oil on it. I never had any problems and it never leaked either. I bought that gun over 50 years ago and just didn't know any better, I guess I was really lucky.

 

[Fischer]

Hi Fischer, I checked out the 1970's 78G Smith & Wesson air pistol online, it looks very interesting and has good resale value. If I were a collector I'd be interested in one. But, as it is, collecting expensive air guns is not something I can afford. I am interested in getting the 2240, 1322, and 1377 pistols I recently purchased shooting well. I'm going to fix the triggers, put on steel breeches, and add some nicer optics to find out what the accuracy really is. The parts-n-pieces are slowly coming in, hard to get some parts these days. I've been having fun with these new air guns.

That's the handgun SW made then and it was REALLY good! 

Today I avoid CO2 cartridges for power; and have since the SW CO2 .22 Pistol I had in the mid 70s went aside for CO2 pistols having removable spring clipped grips to take out or reload and entire 12.5 gram CO2 cartridge EXPOSED with the VALVE in the grip above to PUNCTURE and KEEP the COMPRESSED AIR in the CO2 cartridge by using the powerlet ONLY and NOT a VAULT of surrounding air proof and pressurized metal to hold the complete Cartridge inside after punctured and release it only by hissing air out of the vault screw.



Why is it NOBODY today can at least DO this for WHATEVER price to save heartache and wasted money on refilling a complete CO2 powerlet?

Okay. So today NEVER leave a CO2 cartridge partially filled in ANY pistol or rifle using it unless there is a steel vault holding all air and all container (powerlet) together sealed AFTER the puncture.