For more help buying the best diving cylinder (Tank / Bottle) for you, please see our Buying a Scuba Cylinder guide.
The company is the world’s best rotating cylinder supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
Remember, the standard 207 bar aluminium 11.1 litre (80 cubic foot) capacity cylinder with a K valve is not a "one-size-fits-all" tank. Making the right cylinder choice can significantly improve your diving enjoyment. Please use this list as a guide when reviewing scuba diving cylinders and you should be able to find the right cylinder/tank to last you for years of diving.
For both steel and aluminium cylinders you should choose a convertible valve having a DIN outlet with K (yoke) insert, often described as a 'DIN/K' valve. (That's why we provide this as our standard offering.).
If your budget is tight, then aluminium cylinders initially costs significantly less. If going with an aluminium cylinder, avoid paints, and choose the brushed finish.
When purchasing scuba cylinders, the long-term advantages of steel's excellent buoyancy characteristics and long life make it the best choice for most divers, but especially those in cold and temperate waters. Choose a 232 bar steel tank size that meets your needs when it is under filled, putting an end to short fill concerns. For most divers this will be a 12.2 litre (100 cubic foot) cylinder, but some may prefer the smaller 10.5 litre (85 cubic foot) cylinder.
Typically aluminium cylinders are certified for use at a working pressure of 200 to 210 bar. But some newer ones are available rated to nearly 230 bar. Again, these cylinders are more expensive and heavier.
One downside of the aluminium scuba diving cylinders is that most go from being negatively buoyant to positively buoyant as they empty during the dive, so most divers wear a few extra kilograms (or pounds) of weight to compensate for this. There are a few models of aluminium cylinders that are built specifically to eliminate this problem, but like everything else, the more features it has, the more expensive it is.
Aluminium cylinders being made of a softer, lighter material have thicker walls, making them larger and heavier than steel cylinders of the same capacity. Aluminium cylinders are relatively inexpensive and thus a good choice for most recreational scuba divers.
The most common size used for diving is the aluminium 80 cubic foot (11.1 litre), but they can be smaller or larger depending on what they're meant to be used for.
Aluminium scuba cylinders came into use in the 1970s and are the most common scuba cylinders you'll find in tropical waters for recreational diving. Many dive shop, boat and resort operations use them worldwide.
Steel cylinders are more negatively buoyant than equivalent aluminium cylinders and only become less negatively buoyant as they are emptied. Thus they are popular in cold/temperate water areas where thick wetsuits and drysuits are used, because a steel cylinder means you can carry less weight on your weight belt.
Most technical divers use steel scuba cylinders, but they can be a good cylinder for regular recreational scuba diving too. The most common size is a 232 bar, standard 12.2 litre steel cylinder, but many women and those who use less air often prefer a lighter and smaller 10.5 litre cylinder.
Also If you want to use higher pressures (e.g. 300 bar), you will need to use a DIN valve which may make it hard to get refills depending on where you're diving.
Because steel is stronger it can be handle higher pressures with a thinner wall thickness, making a steel cylinder smaller and lighter than an aluminium one of similar capacity.
A steel diving cylinder is a lot tougher than an aluminium one, making it less likely to pit or dent. If properly cared for it will last longer than an aluminium cylinder. However, steel rusts with exposure to moisture and thus needs more careful care.
Steel scuba cylinders have been around since the start of scuba diving, while aluminium diving cylinders came into use in the 1970s. Steel scuba cylinders are typically more expensive than the same capacity aluminium cylinders.
There are a few different kinds of cylinders, each with their own pros and cons. Plus, not all diving cylinders can be used for all types of diving. The video below may help you to chose which dive cylinder is best for your needs.
Like all scuba gear, choosing a scuba diving cylinder/tank/bottle takes more thought and planning than just walking into a dive shop and grabbing the first thing you see.
Without scuba cylinders you can never be like that same turtle 'flying' gracefully through the water, experiencing a world that almost defies explanation.
Scuba diving cylinders (USA: tanks, UK: bottles) are awkward and heavy, and if you fall down with one on you'll be lying on your back flailing your arms and legs in the air like a turtle flipped on it's shell.
The Faber steel cylinders have ISO 9809-1 markings. The Catalina aluminium cylinders have DOT-3AL2957 markings. All of these cyliners comply with Australian Standrads and are suitable for use in Australia. They may, or may not, meet the standards applicable in other coutries.
As per the Australian Standards, the cylinders and valves we sell are for Imperial 0.750-14 NPSM (3/4 NPS) neck threads, NOT Metric M25 neck threads, and the valves have overpressure relief devices (burst discs). (Cylinders with Metric M25 neck threads do not comply with Australian Standards.)
In Australia, scuba Tanks must be tested every year (12 months). We always ship cylinders with a current hydro test date. Due to manufacturing and import cycles, the popular sizes of cylinders typically have a factory hydro date less than 12 months old. However less popular sizes of cylinders may have a factory hydro date up to 24 months old as these are manufactured and imported less frequently.
All cylinders from The Scuba Doctor are suitable for nitrox service (i.e. up to 40% oxygen), visually inspected and shipped with a current hydrostatic date (except where indicated).
No cylinder is perfect for every diver, or every diving situation. The Scuba Doctor offers the most complete selection of cylinders in the industry, allowing you to choose what is best for your unique needs.
The Scuba Doctor dive shop brings you scuba cylinders from the leading cylinder manufacturers in the world — Faber and Catalina — so you can not only get it done, but can get it done right.
Using the correct scuba diving cylinder is just as important to a diver's success and safety as how they configure their gear. A diver may go to an enormous effort to insure every hose, reel and accessory is exactly right only to 'drop the ball' by making the wrong cylinder choice.
So you're ready to buy your first scuba diving cylinder. You've decided you have enough compelling reasons to own your own cylinder(s) (tank / bottle), instead of continuing to rent. These include:
But, before you go ahead and buy a dive tank, there are some questions you'll want to answer to make sure you are spending your hard-earned money as wisely as possible. The answers to these questions will vary depending on who you are, where you live and dive, and on the type of diving you anticipate doing.
Here's a video that from SDI that answers some of the questions, and below we'll try to answer them all for you...
For most divers, a typical day of local diving involves at least two dives. For example, a common type of boat dive is a two-tank boat dive. Often you might travel to a remote site and it's not convenient to get to a dive shop for air fills in between dives.
This is why most divers will want to own more than one tank. Doing so will save you the inconvenience of renting a second, or even a third, cylinder.
In the southern waters of Australia most people dive with steel cylinders as they are tough, more resistant to external damage, and are negatively buoyant helping to offset the buoyancy from your thick exposure suit. Less weight is needed on your weight belt.
In the northern waters of Australia, the use of aluminium cylinders is more common. They are typically much cheaper.
However diving cylinders can be made from either steel or aluminium. Even though both types are metal, the steel and aluminium cylinders are manufactured differently, look slightly different, have different working pressures and behave very differently in the water.
Steel cylinders are made by drawing and spinning the cylinder from heated steel to a thickness of 4-5mm. This manufacturing technique means that the cylinder is finished with a rounded bottom that will require a rubber boot in order to stand upright. However, it also means that steel cylinder have nearly the same wall thickness everywhere and thus excellent fore and aft balance characteristics. The cylinders are typically galvanised before a protective paint finish is applied to the outside of the cylinder to help prevent rust forming and damaging the steel.
Steel scuba cylinders are negatively buoyant (more so when the cylinder is full) and are the typical dive cylinder to be found in southern Australia. Steel cylinders are available in a range of sizes including: 3, 5, 7, 9, 10.5, 12.2, 15 and 18 litres with a maximum operating pressure of 232 bar (sometimes referred to as low pressure). Steel or 300 bar (high pressure) cylinder are also available in 12, 7, 5 and 3 litre sizes.
Aluminium cylinders are made using an extrusion and forming process that uses a ram to effectively force the aluminium into a mould and create the internal space in one movement. This manufacturing technique gives the cylinder a flat bottom and negates the need for a separate rubber boot. It also means there is more metal at the bottom, which makes an aluminium cylinder more tail heavy, affecting diver trim.
Aluminium is a softer metal and requires a thicker wall of approximately 11 mm to withstand the internal pressure. Aluminium cylinders are typically bulkier and heavier than steel cylinders when comparing internal volumes. For example, the common 11.1 litre (80 cubic foot), 207 bar, aluminium cylinder weighs 14.3 kg vs the 12.2 litre (100 cubic foot), 232 bar, steel cylinder weighing in at just 12.9 kg. So the steel cylinder has 25% more air and weighs 1.4 kg less.
The aluminium cylinders also have a significant fluctuation of weight between slightly negatively buoyant when full (they sink), to positively buoyant when empty (they float). Thus divers have to carry extra weight to compensate for this. That's not a problem in the tropics where because or thin or no wetsuits divers don't carry much weight, but in temperate/cold waters divers don't like having to carry the extra weight.
Aluminium cylinders are usually used for technical diving as stage or decompression cylinders. Cylinders are available in a mixed range of sizes including 0.9 litre (S6), 1.9 litre (S13), 2.7 litre (S19), 5.7 litre (S40), and 11.1 litre (S80) with varying working pressures of between 207 and 240 bar.
Making a Catalina Aluminium Scuba Cylinder
While steel and aluminium scuba tanks come in a wide range of sizes (see above), the following are the most commonly used sizes:
12.2 litre (100 cubic foot), 232 bar, steel cylinder
RRP: $790, Our Price: $699, You Save $91 (12%).
— This cylinder size is used by the vast majority of divers. They come in two size options 'Compact' and 'Standard�. The thing to consider is body length. A Standard is around 625 mm long with 178 mm (7 inch) diameter and 12.9 kg weight. The Compact cylinder has an overall length of about 515 mm with 204 mm (8 inch) diameter and 14.2 kg weight, so it weighs 1.3 kg more. The vast majority of divers go for the Standard size, but the Compact can be suitable for people with shorter spines. The Standard sized 12 litre is available in either 232 bar or 300 bar, but it's rare that scuba divers opt for 300 bar cylinders. A pair of the Standard 12.2 litre cylinders is the preferred choice of most technical and sidemount divers.
11.1 litre (80 cubic foot), 207 bar, aluminium cylinder
RRP: $525, Our Price: $500, You Save $25 (5%).
— The S80 is the benchmark 'Standard Aluminium 80' cylinder used by the majority of recreational sport divers worldwide, especially in warmer waters. A pair of these S80 size cylinders is also a popular sidemount choice. They are also used as stage cylinders by technical divers doing very long run times.
10.5 litre (85 cubic foot), 232 bar, steel cylinder
RRP: $725, Our Price: $649, You Save $76 (10%).
— This shorter cylinder with 560 mm length with 178 mm (7 inch) diameter and 11.3 kg weight, is preferred by many women, and blokes with a shorter frame, because it's lighter and easier to handle. If you are a diver with a very good surface air consumption rate, as many women are, then this cylinder has enough air capacity for most dives. A pair of these steel tanks is also popular with sidemount divers, and women technical divers.
15.0 litre (125 cubic foot), 232 bar, steel cylinder
RRP: $880, Our Price: $789, You Save $91 (10%).
— This larger size, 610 mm long with 204 mm (8 inch) diameter and 16.5 kg weight, cylinder is the choice of divers with a poor surface air consumption rate. However, it's larger size and weight makes it awkward for many divers to use.
5.7 litre (40 cubic foot), 207 bar, aluminium cylinder
RRP: $399, Our Price: $380, You Save $19 (5%).
— The S40 is a popular choice as bailout cylinders for rebreather divers. The S40 is also popular as stage cylinders by new technical divers just starting out. However, if they progress to deeper depths, they'll typically need the extra capacity of S80s as stage cylinders, so we recommend that size.
3 litre (25 cubic foot), 232 bar, steel cylinder
RRP: $525, Our Price: $469, You Save $56 (11%).
— This small cylinder is used as 'pony bottle' or 'pony cylinder.' It is a small reserve cylinder that would generally attach to the main cylinder with a clamp and used as a reserve in emergencies. Available with 232 bar or 300 bar working pressures. A pair of these cylinders is a common choice for rebreather divers.
2.7 litre (19 cubic foot), 207 bar, aluminium cylinder
RRP: $349, Our Price: $331.50, You Save $17.50 (5%).
— The S19 makes an excellent choice as an emergency air source tank (pony bottle) for recreational sport divers, and as bailout cylinders for rebreather divers. It has also become popular as an oxygen deco tank as its capacity is plenty for all but the most extreme dives.
232 bar or 300 bar? More is better, right? Sounds like a no-brainer, but there are some drawbacks. Higher pressure requires more metal to contain it, so the higher pressure 300 bar tank is usually as big as the lower pressure 232 bar one, but much heavier (16.7 kg vs 12.9 kg) as the walls have to be thicker to contain the extra pressure.
Getting a 300 bar cylinder filled can be tricky, so always check your local air filling source to make sure they can fill to 300 bar. Not all dive shops can. If they can, they usualy charge much more, even double, for 300 bar fills, as they take much longer to do properly.
You also must have DIN (Deutsches Institut fur Normung which is a German manufacturing standard) connection on your regulator to attach to a 300 bar cylinder as these higher pressure cylinders are only available with DIN300 valves.
Cylinder valves are usually made from chrome plated brass and are available in two connection types, DIN and International A-Clamp, also called Yoke.
DIN valves (Deutsches Institut fur Normung which is a German manufacturing standard) are available for either 232 or 300 bar cylinders. The 232 bar connectors are shorter than the 300 bar version and will not seal in a 300 bar valve. 300 bar connectors will fit in either 232 or 300 bar cylinder valves. There are two distinct benefits to the DIN connection:
The O-ring is fitted to the regulator thread rather than the cylinder valve face. This means that when the first stage it fitted the O-ring is trapped inside the valve outlet, preventing the O-ring from being forced out under pressure and its also protected. The whole connection is much more compact, secure and safer. That's why technical divers use DIN vales and DIN is the mandatory standard in Europe.
The Deutsches Institut F�r Normung (DIN) is a German standards setting organisation similar to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Compressed Gas Association (CGA). DIN 477 is a specification that recommends cylinder valve outlet and connector designs for specific types of gases and pressures based upon safety considerations. These various designs have deliberate incompatibilities to preclude the possibility of errors when handling different types of compressed gases at differing working pressures.
The two valve outlets and connectors of interest for divers are the DIN 477 No. 13 and the DIN 477 No. 56 (formerly No. 50), both designated for use with compressed air. The DIN 477 valve and regulator fittings are most widely used outside the U.S. The regulator first stage DIN connector is a male screw type, and instead of clamping on to the outside of the valve as does the yoke, it screws directly into the female DIN outlet of the valve. The sealing O-ring is held in the end of the regulator connector rather than in the face of the outlet. The DIN 477 system, with it's captured o-ring design, has proven to be very reliable for use with SCUBA.
DIN 200 Bar
Outlet/Connector #13 is from DIN 477 part 1 - for cylinders with test pressure ratings up to 300 bar and is commonly referred to in the SCUBA industry by the slang term "200 bar", probably because most cylinders with 300 bar test pressures have working pressures in the 200 bar range.
Adaptors are available to allow connection of yoke regulators to DIN 200 bar cylinder valves. These plug adaptors (or inserts) are rated for 200-240 bar, and can only be used with valves which are designed to accept them.
DIN 300 Bar
Outlet/Connector #56 is from DIN 477 part 5 - for cylinders with test pressure ratings up to 450 bar and is commonly referred to in the SCUBA industry by the slang term "300 bar". Most cylinders with 450 bar test pressures have working pressures in the 300 bar range. The two designs are nearly identical, but the #56 valve outlet is deliberately deeper so the shorter #13 connector will not be long enough to seat properly. This is a safety feature to prevent connecting a low pressure device to a high pressure supply.
It's important to understand that the '200 bar' or '300 bar' descriptions are just slang terms that have nothing to do with the pressure ratings of the outlets and connectors themselves!
Yoke (A-Clamp) valves are still widely used in many countries, including Australia, but as DIN valves become more popular sales of Yoke connection regulators have fallen. A-Clamp connectors have a maximum pressure rating of 232 bar and are typically only used in recreational diving (i.e. non-technical diving). The Yoke valves are also referred to as A-Clamp or International (INT) valves.
Most modern 232 bar cylinder valves are now convertible between A-Clamp and DIN using an insert that is supplied with new cylinders. The insert is left in for A-Clamp regulators, and removed using an 8 mm Allen key to allow a DIN regulator to screw into the cylinder valve. These changeable valve are typically called DIN/K valves.
Australian standards require that the cylinder valve includes a bursting disk, a pressure relief device that will release the gas before the cylinder fails in the event of over pressurisation. If a bursting disk ruptures during a dive the entire contents of the cylinder will be lost in a very short time. The risk of this happening to a correctly rated disc, in good condition, on a correctly filled cylinder is very low.
!!! IMPORTANT !!! Cylinders and valve threads come in a variety of sizes and great care must be taken to ensure when fitting a valve to a cylinder that matching threads are used. The valve thread specification must exactly match the neck thread specification of the cylinder. Improperly matched neck threads can fail under pressure and can have fatal consequences if someone is hit by the flying valve or cylinder. Only qualified scuba servicing professionals should be installing this equipment. Please ensure you have the training and experience required before purchasing this item if you intend to fit it yourself. If you are unsure, please call your local scuba technician to provide appropriate information for your system.
The Australian Standard says that aluminium and steel tanks/cylinders/bottles must have a standard 3/4" NPSM (NGS) parallel thread, sealed by an O-ring, which has a 60� thread form, a pitch diameter of 0.9820 to 0.9873 in (24.94 to 25.08 mm), and a pitch of 14 threads per inch (5.5 threads per cm). It is torqued to 40 to 50 Nm (30 to 37 lbf�ft) on aluminium cylinders.
On most steel and aluminium diving cylinders in Europe the M25X2 ISO parallel thread, which is sealed by an O-ring and torqued to 100 to 130 N�m (74 to 96 lbf�ft) on steel, and 95 to 130 N�m (70 to 96 lbf�ft) on aluminium cylinders, is now commonly used. (M25 means the diameter of the thread is 25 mm and the X2 defines the 2 mm pitch of the thread.) On smaller cylinders where the neck isn't large enough for the M25X2 thread a M18x1.5 parallel thread, which is sealed by an O-ring, and torqued to 100 to 130 N�m (74 to 96 lbf�ft) on steel cylinders, and 85 to 100 N�m (63 to 74 lbf�ft) on aluminium cylinders is used.
Please Note: The M25X2 metric thread valves are only for use with metric M25X2 threaded cylinders. While they can be wound into a cylinder/tank with a 3/4 inch NPSM threaded neck, they will not seal properly and the combination can be very extremely dangerous. Do not try and use these M25X2 valves on typical Faber, Catalina, Luxfer etc. cylinders purchased in Australia.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit spring loaded collet.
When someone tries to fit a M25 valve into a 3/4 BSP cylinder thread, they will get it to seal, but only after damaging the brass threads on the valve. This produces an unstable fitting which can result in the valve coming out with incredible force that could seriously injure someone, or even kill. You have been warned.
In recent times some companies in Australia have been importing cylinders and valves with M25X2 threads, contrary to Australian Standards. The owners of the M25X2 thread cylinders and valves are typically unaware of this. Thus it can be easy for a very dangerous mix up to oocur.
In the real world yes, you need a cylinder boot on a steel scuba cylinder. Most steel cylinders have a rounded bottom. Thus a cylinder boot gives your otherwise wobbly steel cylinder something to stand in to keep it upright. It also gives it a layer of protection against bumps and bangs. A worthwhile investment. Most of the steel cylinders we sell come with a boot.
Most aluminium scuba tanks have a flat bottom and thus can stand upright without a cylinder boot. Some people put cylinder boots shaped for aluminium tanks on them for added protection of the cylinder base.
Mesh protector sleeves that slide over the cylinder to protect from exterior damage.
Valve covers to help keep water and dust out of the valve opening.
Handles and carriers these make hauling your tank a little easier.
Compressed gas stickers should be displayed on all vehicles carrying diving cylinders.
Australian Standards (AS2030.5) require that your scuba diving tank be visually inspected and pressure tested at a certified testing station once per year.
A Visual Test is a detailed visual inspection of the entire cylinder and includes the following checks:
A Hydrostatic Test is also performed. During the hydrostatic test the cylinder is filled with water and then placed inside a high pressure chamber that is also filled with water. The cylinder is then pressurised to its test pressure which is high enough to slightly expand the cylinder. The expansion displaces the surrounding water which is channelled into a measurement tube. If the cylinder expansion is with acceptable limits and returns to an acceptable range it successfully passes the test.
Cylinders that do not pass either of these tests are generally destroyed to prevent continued unsafe use. Test centres may return the cylinder if requested, but the cylinder must be rendered unusable before the cylinder is collected.
The Scuba Doctor Service and Repair Centre can do both types of tank testing. See Scuba Cylinder Testing for more details.
It's important that you look after your dive cylinder properly. For details about the care, storage and transportation of steel and aluminium dive tanks, please see Scuba Cylinder Care.
By taking proper care of your scuba cylinder you'll be rewarded with many years of safe, trouble-free service.
When purchasing scuba cylinders, the long-term advantages of steel's excellent buoyancy characteristics and long life make it the best choice for most divers, but especially those in cold and temperate waters. Choose a 232 bar steel tank size that meets your needs when it is under filled, putting an end to short fill concerns. For most divers this will be a 12.2 litre (100 cubic foot) cylinder, but some may prefer the smaller 10.5 litre (85 cubic foot) cylinder.
If your budget is tight, then an aluminium cylinders initially costs significantly less. If going with an aluminium cylinder, avoid paints, and choose the brushed finish. (The paint used on aluminium cylinders flakes off and ends up everywhere.)
For both steel and aluminium cylinders you should choose a convertible valve having a DIN outlet with K (yoke) insert, often described as a 'DIN/K' valve. (We provide this as our standard offering.)
Remember, the standard 207 bar aluminium 11.1 litre (80 cubic foot) capacity cylinder with a K valve is not a 'one-size-fits-all' tank. Making the right cylinder choice can significantly improve your diving enjoyment. Please use this guide when reviewing scuba diving cylinders and you should be able to find the right cylinder/tank to last you for years of diving.
You can see our full range of available Scuba Diving Cylinders in our online dive shop.
We’ve been talking a lot lately about the tremendous surge in demand for guns and ammunition, that began in the Spring of 2020. It’s the biggest gun story of the past year, and it certainly affects all of us as consumers of guns and ammunition.
The “Great Gun Crisis of 2020-2021” has dramatically increased the ranks of gun owners in America, and has simultaneously introduced many people to revolvers for the very first time. Whether they’re first-time gun owners, or seasoned gun owners who just bought their very first revolver, a lot of Americans are taking their first steps as RevolverGuys (which I use generically, to include all you RevolverGals out there) and discovering the joys of these great guns.
One of our readers recently suggested that these revolver newbies could benefit from some general tips and advice on how to handle and operate these guns. We’ve certainly done lots of instructional articles at RevolverGuy about how to safely grasp, hold, unload, function check, reload (here, here, here, here, and here), decock, and dry practice with your revolvers, for example, but I liked this idea of doing a more general, “Revolver 101” article that would collect some of the bits and pieces about handling and working with revolvers that don’t fit neatly into other categories.
So, without further delay, here’s some thoughts on various revolver dos and don’ts for our newest, revolver-totin’ brothers and sisters.
Our first stop on this journey is a pet peeve of mine, and of every other serious RevolverGuy—flipping the cylinder shut on a double action revolver.
You’ve seen this maneuver before on TV. The character is holding a double action revolver with the cylinder open, and he decides it’s time to close it up. Instead of just pushing the cylinder into the window, like he should, he rapidly flips the revolver onto its side, so the heavy cylinder slams shut with great drama . . . and stupidity.
DO NOT DO THIS to your revolver! It’s a great way to damage your revolver, and it’s the mark of a rank amateur. So is the inverse–holding the cylinder release, and flipping the cylinder open with a flick of the wrist.
These maneuvers can damage the crane or yoke of your revolver, the cylinder stop, the ejector rod center pin, and other important parts, so please, please, PLEASE, don’t do this. As RevolverGuy Darryl Bolke likes to say, “every time you do that, a puppy dies.”
The kissing cousin of the flip maneuver is slapping the cylinder shut, often with the intent to have the cylinder still spinning when it closes into the frame.
This is just as dumb a maneuver as the flip, and possibly more damaging. If the cylinder is spinning ‘round when it’s closed into the frame, the cylinder stop will take a beating and the stop notches on the cylinder will probably get peened and damaged. You might also damage the yoke, center pin, and other parts. There are few ways you can destroy the delicate timing on your revolver more quickly than slamming the cylinder into the frame with a flip or a slap.
This is simple: When you close the cylinder on a double action revolver, you don’t want the cylinder to be spinning, and you don’t want to use excessive force. It can roll under the control of your thumb as it closes, but you don’t want it spinning. You can be firm and deliberate without being abusive, and it will make your revolver last much longer.
Revolver Great Jerry Miculek reminds us that it’s also important to get the sequence right, when you’re opening your double action revolver.
Jerry advises that you don’t want to press on the side of the cylinder before you operate the cylinder release, because you could damage the center pin and the frame of your Smith & Wesson revolver. In normal operation, pushing the cylinder release forward compresses the center pin into the shaft of the extractor, and frees the cylinder to swing out of the frame. However, if the cylinder is already being pushed out of the frame when you operate the cylinder release, the cylinder may move before the center pin is fully retracted, and it may strike and drag on the edge of the hole in the frame, possibly damaging it. So, operate the cylinder release first, then push the cylinder out to avoid this.
A similar concern exists for the Colt lockup. In the Colt system, the cylinder is locked by a bolt that extends from inside the frame, into a recess in the center of the extractor. In normal use, the Colt cylinder release is pulled to the rear, which retracts the bolt from the extractor, and frees the cylinder to swing out. If you are pushing on the side of the Colt cylinder before the cylinder release is operated, you could damage the side of the bolt, or the edge of the recess in the extractor. So, once again, operate the cylinder release first, then push the cylinder out.
Single action revolvers don’t have swing-out cylinders, but that doesn’t make them immune to being damaged by a careless handler.
One stupid move that you’ve probably seen on TV is to wind up and give the unlocked cylinder a spin, like you’re trying to pull start a lawn mower. With a loud buzzing sound, the cylinder whirs round and round, like a spinning game wheel, until it slowly runs out of steam, and comes to an exhausted halt with a click, click . . . click.
Congratulations, you just abused the delicate parts on your gun. The only thing you could have done to make it worse is to slam the loading gate shut, or cock the hammer to full cock while the cylinder was spinning round like a roulette wheel–that would have completed the injury.
Use some care and deliberation when you rotate your single action cylinder for loading or unloading, and don’t try to spin it rapidly for effect, OK? There’s no reason to do it, and it’s not cool, it’s just silly.
If you want to go the extra mile, and look like a real savvy RevolverGuy, try to line up the notch on the cylinder so that the stop falls directly into place when you close the loading gate—that will save it from having to drag on the cylinder and the raceway leading up to the notch, before the cylinder locks up. That’s a pro’s move, there.
Another single action sin (that unthinking people sometimes attempt on double action guns, too) is to hold the trigger back and rapidly “fan” the hammer spur with your support hand, like all those celluloid heroes on the big screen. This move always looks great in the movies, and delivers surefire results against hordes of baddies, but in real life, you’re just wasting ammo and damaging your gun (not to mention your hand—more than one person has cut themselves on a sharp edge, or pinched their hand, when attempting this move).
When you slam a hammer back into full cock, on either a single action or double action revolver, you start the cylinder turning fast, and it builds up a lot of rotational inertia. All that mass comes to an abrupt halt when the cylinder locks up, and it causes a lot of stress on the stop and the stop notches on the cylinder (seeing any trends, here?). It’s also not great on the surfaces where the sear and hammer make contact with each other.
Therefore, it’s far better to cock a revolver to single action with a smooth, steady, and slow draw of the hammer, than to slam it back with a rapid, jerky motion, as you do when you cock it too quickly or fan the hammer spur. Take it easy when you cock that thumb buster, partner!
We love our rimfire revolvers here, and we want them to last a long time, so we try to limit the amount of dry fire that we do with them.
On a rimfire, the firing pin strikes the rim of the cartridge near its edge, instead of in the center of the cartridge’s head (hence, the label “rimfire,” as opposed to “centerfire”). The collapsing brass rim of the cartridge actually cushions the tip of the firing pin when it strikes the cartridge, thereby protecting the pin.
If you dry fire your rimfire revolver with nothing in the chamber, the firing pin can strike the narrow shelf inside the chamber that the rim of your cartridge rests against, when it’s fully chambered. This can deliver a real shock to the firing pin, when the steel tip of the pin slams into the steel shelf in the chamber, and it can cause it to chip or break. It can also disfigure the shelf inside your chamber, and possibly peen it badly enough that it will prevent your cartridge from being easily chambered.
In centerfire revolvers, we often use snap caps to help cushion the fall of the firing pin, and preserve the health of our revolver as we safely conduct our dry practice. However, there aren’t many good snap cap options for rimfire guns. Some of the products on the market are good for “action proving,” which means you can use them to practice loading and unloading the gun, but they aren’t really designed to withstand many impacts from the firing pin in dry fire. Others are robust enough that they’ll withstand regular strikes, but it’s not clear how much protection they offer to the firing pin itself. They’ll protect the chamber, but not necessarily the firing pin.
An economical way to resolve this dilemma is to visit your hardware store and buy a package of plastic, #4 drywall anchors. These are typically yellow in color, and about 7/8” long, and they fit the chambers of .22 caliber rimfire revolvers just dandy. Because they’re plastic, they’ll cushion the firing pin tip nicely, while protecting the chamber. The yellow color will also help to identify them as training tools for safe dry practice.
You’ll chew up the plastic rims with repeat strikes, so you’ll want to rotate them periodically for best effect, and will need to toss them if the rim gets too ratty, or looks like it’s going to separate. When you’re done with your practice, you’ll also want to check the chambers and bore of your gun very carefully, to make sure that you don’t have any stray pieces of the drywall anchor left behind.
With regular use, however, they’ll help to keep your skills sharp and your revolver in good working order. We highly recommend the use of snap caps in both your centerfire and your rimfire revolvers, and think the drywall anchors are a super option for the latter. Give them a try and let us know what you think.
A thorough treatment of the task of cleaning your revolver is beyond the scope of this article, and we’ll probably tackle it as a standalone piece sometime soon, but you need to keep your revolver clean to keep it working efficiently.
Your owner’s manual will be a good place to start on this, but those are notoriously brief about maintenance responsibilities. Every brand/model will have its own unique requirements, but here’s some general areas of concern for all revolvers:
• Keep the cylinder face and forcing cone area clean, to avoid cylinder drag and binding;
• Keep the area under the extractor clean, so it can sit flush in the cylinder. Debris that builds up under the extractor, like unburned powder grains, can prevent you from closing the cylinder, or create significant cylinder drag;
• Keep the ratchet clean, for proper operation;
• Keep the chambers clean, to avoid issues with sticky case extraction or rounds that won’t seat fully in the chamber by gravity;
• If you have a revolver with an external hammer, keep the hammer channel clean, to avoid the hammer or action binding on debris like balls of pocket lint;
• Take the grips off when you clean, to prevent rust from building up underneath them.
Keeping your revolver properly lubricated is equally as important as keeping It clean. A revolver that’s dry will usually work fine, but a revolver that’s lubricated too heavily will collect debris that can jam the action, and may risk contaminating the ammunition, so be sparing with how much lubricant you apply, and be exacting about where you apply it. Refer to your owner’s manual for guidance.
Some places on your revolver that will generally need occasional lubrication include:
So, that’s a pretty good roundup of dos and don’ts to get you budding revolver enthusiasts started off on the right foot.
It’s certain that I forgot something good, so I’m going to rely on my fellow RevolverGuys to keep me honest, and add their own tips and advice in the comments section, below. Make sure you check those out, to learn from our esteemed RevolverGuy brothers and sisters, and be sure to let us know if you have any questions, either by using the comments section or by reaching out via the Contact Us tab.
Shoot straight and be safe out there!
Mike
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