The HiPac broke through the bottom of the O-ring groove because the wall was too thin at that point.... I don't think there was any connection between that, and the failure of the single valve screw, which is why the valve ended up in his leg.... It is likely the valve screw failed first, and either the guy dropped the gun, twisted it, or the sudden depressurization broke the HiPac.... We will never know which failed first, but they are two completely separate failures that happened at the same time, or within milliseconds of each other....
The guys blaming the HiPac for the valve in his leg is totally wrong, that happened because he only used a single screw to retain it.... If the HiPac is used as intended, the tube is NOT pressurized, and the force on the valve is about 10th what it was when that gun failed.... On the other hand, some HiPacs and/or extensions are either drilled out oversize, and/or the O-ring groove is too deep, leaving the wall in that area too thin for the pressure loads.... Any additional load from the gun falling, or side pressure applied in some way, only makes a failure more likely.... This thread....
topic71524.html .... was posted because the manufacturer of the HiPac admitted that some/many of the parts were too thin.... although he never did issue a recall (that I saw), IMO he just disappeared and closed down the original website until the problem cooled off....
Like Al, I have never heard of a HiPac failing when used as intended.... although some have been prudently taken out of service by their owners because of the thin wall below the O-ring, which is adjacent to the threads.... I can only assume that is where the "failed at the threads" rumour started....
Bob