AI Tornado Impact Grenade - Leaking When Filling
 

I just picked up a brand new Impact Grenade (has not been used yet) and I'm not overly familiar with the thing.

When i fill it there seems to be gas venting from the fill valve. It explodes no problem and sends the BB's flying but I am not sure why it's venting the gas when filling. Is there an OVERFILL safety feature or something if i happen to be simply over filling it?

Everything else seems to be functioning properly but im not sure if because it's venting that im getting a fully charged grenade or not.

any advise?

It only needs a 5 second fill. It does have a safety feature to prevent overfilling. I'd suggest reading the manual or contacting airsoft innovations at their website if you have further problems.

What propane adapter do you have? Does it only vent propane when filling? Or does it stop and hold gas once you stop filling?

Spewing liquid propane is typically the sign to stop filling. Haven't gassed up my AI's in a while so I cannot recall if the fill valves spit has like Marui mags.

after the venting is stops and everything seems fine. I can throw the nade and it seems to work fine. But like i said how do i know if im getting a full charge or not? I am definitely not letting it fill for 5 seconds... maybe 3 and then i stop

I'm using the Madbull Propane adapter..

Further to this thread.. i just Googled this and found an article on this very question. The reply was this...

"Invert the grenade and inject propane gas into the fill valve at the bottom of the shuttle. You won't need to fill it for long, 3 to 4 seconds at most. I've noticed that grenades can slightly hiss immediately after filling yet exhibit no leaks under an immersion test. AI immerse all the grenades in water to make leaks visible. When asked about this, AI hypothesized that this could be because the propane charge could be boiling away inside the grenade while it warms up. There should be no gradual leaks in your grenades."

So i guess it's OK as long as it's not leaking after i fill it. I am not getting any 'gradual leaks after filling'..

As long as it isn't leaking after you stopped filling, it's fine.

Simple test:

Gas it up. Leave it for a few hours. Discharge it. Take note of how it goes off.

Gas it up again. Discharge it. Take note of how it goes off.

Compare the 2 results.

Remember to count out your fill time so that both fills are as similar as possible.

You should wait a minimum of 5 minutes before discharging it after filling.

Why? Has never been an issue before for many users.

Some of their fill valves are just shit. I have 3 tornados and one of them does it and two dont. Just shitty valves is all.

I've never really had a problem either, but it would cover any problems with cooling from gas expansion as a result of filling (gas moving from tank to grenade).

The 5 minute thing is just an advisory in the instructions.

There were instructions? lol

Ya its that piece of paper you tossed to the side upon opening haha

I think i need to clarify something here ...

The venting really only happens AFTER i remove the propane nozzle from the grenade.

I insert the nozzle.. it fills.... i remove the nozzle.. it vents.. then stops venting with what appears to be gas left in the tank. After this venting stops i am able to discharge the grenade.

It seems to me it vents off any over pressure and then stabilizes when at full pressure.

But this is only an assumption.. its possible that the dam thing is leaking and im not filling it all the way.

get a bucket of water, fill your grenade, wait for it to stabilize, then dunk it in the water.

or do my other test by letting it sit for a few hours which would mimic a game situation. fill, stash in rig, deploy when required.