Originally Posted by DieselDan
My method, which some will say is cumbersome, is to seat the tire with a mini-pump, then finish with a 12g cartridge in a 700c x 23 tire. This allows me to safely get started, then finish the job quickly. I do use the samller cartridge. I had the same bad experence, only I was holding the wheel in my hand when the tire blew off!
Also, carrying a mini pump allows you to limp home, or to the shop, by inflating a patched tube, or new tube, when you run out of CO2 or screw up using it.
This is EXACTLY what I do too.
Well...not the exploding tire in the hand trick.
Caution: The co2 carts don't work below freezing and get weak when it gets close to freezing. If you are in a bind in the cold get everything ready, keep the cartridge under you clothes until it gets warm, then quickly fill the tire as fast as you can before the cartridge gets too cold. Even keep your hands on it until you start to fill the tire.
Also after keeping cartridges in your seat pack for two years throw them out and get new ones, they may be empty by then.