Buying a CO2 or Compressed Air Tank

Buying a CO2 or compressed air tank is a lot simpler than some people make it out to be. There are a few simple questions that you have to ask yourself to figure out the exact tank that is best for you. There are two questions that you first must ask yourself to find out what tank is best for you. First does my marker require nitrogen? Second do I have enough money for nitrogen and if so do I want to spend that much on a tank.

If you answered no to both of these questions then it would appear you are unavoidably bound for CO2. The next question for you then is if you will be playing somewhere that you can get a tank refilled at anytime (like an organized field). If so then you can get any size tank and you should be fine, I would recommend a 20oz. Tank though because it’s the best deal and you may end up needing the higher capacity during some of your longer games. But if you are going to be playing “outlaw” or “renegade” ball (note: neither of these are illegal they are just terms for places that some people play at other than organized fields, for example playing in the woods at some ones house could be referred to as this) miles away from any field or somewhere that you could get your tank refilled at, then you will definitely want a 20oz. CO2 tank. Seeing as how nothing else will give you 1000+ shots per one fill and you will most likely be using about that much or more in 5-7 games.

Now if your marker requires nitrogen and you don’t have enough money there is a loophole. It’s an anti-siphoned CO2 tank. All markers (to the best of my knowledge) that can’t handle normal CO2 can use anti-siphoned CO2. An anti-siphoned CO2 tank will cost about $50 and as far as I know only comes in 20oz cylinders.

Now if your marker requires nitrogen and you have the money I suggest you get one. A few reasons are that they are much more consistent, they are more efficient, its easier on your marker (CO2 can be hard on a marker even if its anti-siphoned), and the temperature won’t affect it, whereas with CO2 you us the expansion of the CO2 to propel the paintball, when its cold out the CO2 won’t expand as much, but with nitrogen you use a burst of high pressure to propel the paintball meaning the temperature has no effect upon it. So if you have decided to go with nitrogen you still need to find out what size, psi, and pressure to get.

Now once again if you are going to be playing at a field where you can get your tank refilled anytime then you can go with just about any size, but if you are going to be playing miles away from any fill station I suggest you get a tank with a capacity upwards of 68ci (cubic inches). If, however, you are a tournament and not a recreational player then your tank size will be determined mostly by your position. Fronts will want a smaller lighter tank so probably a 68ci or smaller. A back player needs to be able to get 1000+ shots in a game so they will want a 70ci or higher. As for a mid player, they have to be able to shoot quite a bit yet make sure their tank is small, and light for when they need to fill in for a front, so right around 68ci would probably be best.

Now as to psi (pounds per square inch), there are two different options (as far as I know), 3000psi and 4500psi. I believe the only difference is that with 4500psi you can fit more air into a smaller space (if I am wrong someone please contact me my e-mail info is at the bottom of all my articles). So it’s usually your best bet to go with 4500psi.

The last thing you need to figure out before you purchase your nitrogen tank is your marker’s operating pressure. Some markers operate best at a pressure between 300-500psi output from the tank and some operate best at a higher pressure. There are generally two pressures referred to and they are high pressure and low pressure. If your marker has a low operation then you obviously want a low-pressure tank and the same is true for high pressure. If however your marker has a regulator then just get a high-pressure tank. There is also a final option that is good for if you have two different markers without regulators that operate at different pressures. This final option is an adjustable tank; it does exactly what it implies because you can adjust the psi output unlike on other tanks, which are preset.