Without a commercial paintball field in backyards, trainers often face a dilemma where you can fill up your air tanks. While paintball guns are equipped with portable CO2 or compressed air cylinders, they need to be recruited frequently to continue the game. Depending on how close you live to the nearest cylinder refill station, your ability to play as often as you want may be extremely limited. Feeling the excitement of the game, most players do not think to check the availability of tanks until they buy their equipment — just to find out that they cannot use it as much as they like.
Fortunately, with a little ingenuity and creative thinking, the question of how to refill your cans with a pistol gun can be less complicated. If you find that there are no filling stations in your portable CO2 or compressed air bottles in your area, you can always buy your own refill equipment, but this is the most expensive route. Before you do this, check several non-paintball sources for potential tankers who may be in your area, just waiting to be discovered.
If you bought your paintball equipment at a local facility or online store, air guns are empty and must be filled. The first places to look for filling paintball air tanks are created by the gas stations in your community. Walmart used to offer a CO2 refill / exchange program, and it was very convenient (as it seems that almost everyone lives somewhere near Walmart), however they stopped offering it a few years ago.
Other well-known institutions that fill portable CO2 or compressed air cylinders for paintball guns are Dick sporting goods and large stores of hunting accessories, such as Cabella & Bass Pro Shop. If you live near a commercial paintball field that rents weapons and supplies, often these buildings have equipment that can also refill tanks with an air tank. Companies such as these nominal charges for this service (usually less than $ 5 / tank) are the easiest and cheapest way to replenish stocks of CO2 or compressed air tanks.
If you do not have a commercial paintball field in your city or are close enough to one of the large stores for hunting or sports equipment, there are a few more places to check. First, find a paintball parts store to find out if they offer a tank refill service or at least know where to go. Unfortunately, these stores are even harder to find than commercial fields, as most paintball equipment is bought online, but it’s worth checking out. Sometimes local gun shops offer portable refueling for an air tanker, as they can also sell paintball equipment or aerospace equipment. They may also know where to go if they do not offer a service.
If these sources are barren, there are other places to look, but it may take a small investment of your own equipment to refuel. Regardless of whether you are using CO2 or compressed air, you will need a bulk tank and a kit to replace the cylinders. Filler kits include an air line, fittings, and valves that are required to transfer air from a larger tank to a smaller portable tank. Keep in mind, however, CO2 cylinders and refill kits are different from compressed air tanks and replenishment kits and, as a rule, cannot be mixed and matched.
Remember that if you are going to create your own paintball refill station, you will still have to find refills for your volumetric-size cylinders, but this is usually easier than finding refills for small portable cylinders used directly to your marker. If you have chosen tanks and equipment for volumetric filling to replenish portable CO2 cylinders, cylinders with a minimum size of cylinders with a volume of 20 pounds. and up to 35 pounds; These tanks look like scuba divers and can be bought online at paintball stores that sell equipment for commercial sites.
Another significant source of volumetric CO2 tanks are companies that sell welding consumables. These groups are also usually the first place to search for filling CO2 tanks. Sometimes welding equipment companies also offer rolling CO2 cylinders, and in many cases it is even cheaper and better than actual ownership. As the owner of an air tank with a volumetric weight, you are responsible for its shelf life and the subsequent cost of ensuring that its safety is checked and remarked. If your tank is damaged, you can get stuck in a tank that no one will fill; however, rental tanks may be replaced with new ones, with updated hydrotest safety ratings.
Refueling a portable CO2 cylinder from a tank of volumetric size is quite simple and requires a set of spare parts and the scale of the tank. Tower scales are small, electronic scales that will weigh your portable CO2 bottle so you can see when it is full. They can be bought at most paintball stores, although they are not specific to paintball, and any digital scale can be used; Tanks of CO2 weights are best because you can hang a portable tank from a scale for easier use. When transferring air from a volume tank to a smaller cylinder, you should also wear a pair of safety glasses.
With all the nozzles and adapters of the ASA in & # 39; Replace the replenishment kits for both the full tank and the transfer cylinder. Open the ASA adapter on the CO2 carbon bottle and hang it from the tank scale. First write down the weight of the empty CO2 bottle, and then weigh up to zero. Open the valve on a volumetric CO2 cylinder so that you can hear the gas being immersed in a portable cylinder; fill until the tank weighs the correct amount of ounces (corresponding to the size of an ounce of the tank, or 9, 12, 16, or 20 ounces). For best results, just fill portable CO2 cylinders for up to 1 oz. less than maximum capacity; this leaves room for gas expansion due to temperature changes during storage or travel, etc.
Setting up your own compressed air station is similar to setting up CO2, but it is even easier to refill portable tanks for your paintball gun. As well as CO2 refueling equipment, you will need a high-pressure air tank and a replenishment kit. Neat tanks produce excellent bulk-sized compressed air cylinders and are usually available from 30 cubic feet to 100 and 3000 pounds per square inch. You can buy scuba gears of this size online or in any diving shop for less than $ 300 depending on what size you want. You can also purchase huge volumetric cylinders with volumetric compressed air, however they can cost more than $ 1,000 and (like commercial tanks with a volumetric volume of CO2) are probably the most cost-effective for renting.
Filling compressed air tanks is often offered at welding plants and commercial air tanks, but they can be made with any commercial air compressor. Keep in mind, however, that the size air compressor required to refill high pressure air tanks is not a $ 250 model used for pressure to flush your home. The volumetric air compressor needed to replenish air tanks typically costs between 4,000 and 13,000 US dollars; as a rule, are prohibitive for recreational users. Commercial air compressors can sometimes meet with companies of medium and large size, which can also help replenish their air tanks for a nominal fee.
Air transfer from bulk compressed air cylinders to smaller portable high-pressure air tanks that are suitable for your paintball gun is even simpler than the CO2 filling process. Since compressed air cylinders have a pressure gauge, you do not need a scale to weigh them to tell when they are full. A simple connection of hoses for filling refueling or a station for filling with scuba in both tanks, opening valves and viewing pressure gauges will be sufficient. Since high-pressure air tanks are not subject to pressure changes with temperature, you do not need to make any adjustments to account for this (for example, when filling portable CO2 cylinders).
Before purchasing an expensive overlay paintball equipment, check your location to see how easy (or difficult) it will be to refill your pistol cans. Depending on availability, make a choice of CO2 or high-pressure air based on what you find. Despite the fact that compressed air is usually better suited for paintball guns, it is best to choose which air source you use, based on your ability to refuel your tanks for the most consistent game. With the right equipment and information, however, it can be very affordable to become your own refill station with a pistol-pistol!
