[charlie 1]

There is endless horror stories about this regulator, that said in my early years I used them exclusively (3) & never had the extreme pains that people reported, like any single stage regulator it is prone to end of tank dump, the MA 957 more so as obviously it`s not the best quality. The needle valve is finicky to say the least, I did find that upping the working /delivery pressure to around 40 psi as opposed to the recommended 10 psi , it became more consistent.
As far as budget entry level pre assembled co2 regulators the MA 957 is my choice, the company stand behind their product & delivers some great customer service even if the regulator is out of warranty.
In short, it`s not bling, it`s not built like a bullet, it`s not the best quality parts and it`s definitely not 500.00 dollars plus but it gets the job done at a budget price with a few quirks that is easily manageable.
Regards

 

[charlie 1]

I took engineering courses in high school and have built robots and other machines from scratch, but neither of those had to hold back CO2 lol. So it scares me XD. I'm pretty good with technical stuff, but again CO2 scares me in ways. !

Here is a visual to relieve your fears, nothing to be worried about. If you don`t need a set up to last 3 life times & don't think the bling is necessary just get the affordable parts & build it