How Safe Are HP Tanks?

[Shingo]

I just got back from a local PB shop to get my tank filled. Dude was kinda trippin' with my tank and took forever looking over the label to make sure the Hydro Date was ok and that the tank was in good condition.

Then the guy started talking about a friend who was filling a Nitro Tank nearly lost his arm when it exploded mid fill. Now I'm a little bit freaked thinking that I have this tank right upto my chest 95% of the time I'm on the field. If something goes wrong, I could have half my chest blown open.

I want to know how safe these HP tanks are and if you heard of any other stories similar to this.

~Shingo~

[Muzikman]

Let's just put it this way. It's not as safe as the majority of paintball players think.

You are holding a 4500psi bomb/rocket in your hands. It needs to be treated with respect.

Do not use out of hydro tanks
Always use tank covers
Do not use a tank that has a scratch deep enough to affect the wrap
Do not throw your gun (with tank attached)
Do not use the tank as a hammer
and do not mill your tank.

[Shingo]

I've always babied my HP tank from the first day I bought it. She's nearly in mint condition. But you never know if you have one of the "bad" ones. Muzikman you're right. It's like a bomb waiting to go off.

Does anybody know a safe way to store these tanks? Should they be stored empty or with some air in it?

~Shingo~

[SlartyBartFast]

:eek:
http://www.hkarmy.com/steve/Angel%20stuff/PICT0054.JPG

http://www.hkarmy.com/steve/Angel%20stuff/PICT0056.JPG

[JRingold]

Can they be dangerous, yes. Then again, so can the tires on cars, and the gas tanks, etc., etc.

With anything that is under pressure, you have to be certain that they are taken care of and stored properly. Someone once told me to think of the amount of pressure that 4500psi. has in this way: Take your standard automobile, and stand it up on a U.S. quarter. The amount of stress that's on the quarter, is approximately 4500psi.

You have to think about the tanks, and just don't do anything stupid with them. If something starts "unraveling" or if there's a cut or some form of defect, have trained personnel take a look at it. Only fill to the rated pressure.

The good thing is that it is relatively difficult to get a dynamic reaction out of a bottle that is still fit for purpose.

In perspective, considering the number of incidents that HPA and CO2 canisters have and the relative dangers of the contents of each, I still prefer HPA over CO2.

As far as storage; if there's nothing in it, nothing is trying to get out, thus it's in a pretty non-dynamic state if somthing does happen. I personally only fill before playing. If there is some volume in the tank at the end of play, I store in a cool place. Do I empty the tank just for the sake of emptying it? Only at the end of a season or if I am not planning to play in months.

[JRingold]

:eek:
picture1
picture2

Is there a story there? Can you describe what really happened, or are you simply trying to shock and scare people?

[MadPSIence]

looks like 4500psi in a 3000psi tank... that held up for a lil while but then blew the tank and regulator to ****... thus blowing up the gun too.

btw.. if you guys want to get the proper life out of your tanks.. store them empty.

[SlartyBartFast]

looks like 4500psi in a 3000psi tank... that held up for a lil while but then blew the tank and regulator to ****... thus blowing up the gun too.

btw.. if you guys want to get the proper life out of your tanks.. store them empty.

The HP burst disk on a 3000psi tank is 5000psi. No danger of making it burst with an overfill or two.

Don't make a habit of it though.

As far as background story, I have no clue. Just some pics offred up in a thread on PBN.

[Jaan]

I just got back from a local PB shop to get my tank filled. Dude was kinda trippin' with my tank and took forever looking over the label to make sure the Hydro Date was ok and that the tank was in good condition.Yeah, the last time I got one of my CO2 tanks filled at a field the kid didn't want to do it because the *original* date was 1992, even though the rehydro was less than a year old. The way he was acting like a little creep it made me think twice about letting him fill the tank.

Yes, the tanks are dangerous and they definitely need to be treated with respect. I've heard that CO2 tanks can be more dangerous in certain instances too ... the dry ice inside acts like fuel in a rocket and can keep the tank flying for a while. That's what happened when the woman was killed last year at the birthday party.

I know it's standard practice to keep a little pressure in scuba tanks to keep moisture out. I would guess it's more important for steel tanks but I don't think it would hurt either way.

[FallNAngel]

looks like 4500psi in a 3000psi tank... that held up for a lil while but then blew the tank and regulator to ****... thus blowing up the gun too.

btw.. if you guys want to get the proper life out of your tanks.. store them empty.

I thought you were supposed to store them (talking long term) with *some* air in them, as it keeps everything closed up and prevents condensation, etc on the inside.

[MadPSIence]

I thought you were supposed to store them (talking long term) with *some* air in them, as it keeps everything closed up and prevents condensation, etc on the inside.

proper thread and nipple covers will do the job.. but if you want to leave like 40-50psi in the tank then you have double insurance.

i meant.. empty as in not 4 digit PSI numbers.

[marctooshbro]

is it dangerous for my co2 tanks to be under my bed for a while, both near full. :cheers:

[onedude36]

how long is the hydro on pmi tanks? I have an armageddon with a pmi tank on it, and I dont know when it needs hydro.

[Creative Mayhem]

the best wa to store a tank is with at least 100PSI, that way there is no chance of any moisture getting in there. When there is moisture in the tank the actual alum tank inside the wrap can oxidize and basically flake off, causing a week point in the tank...

[Lohman446]

Considering what is to me an obvious danger of HPA tanks and the little respect that most people show for them I am very surprised there have not been more reported incidents with them then there have been.

Watch SCUBA people once with there tanks - most of them treat them as if they are filled with nitro-glycerin and might explode at the slightest tap.

[Spartan X]

Considering what is to me an obvious danger of HPA tanks and the little respect that most people show for them I am very surprised there have not been more reported incidents with them then there have been.

Watch SCUBA people once with there tanks - most of them treat them as if they are filled with nitro-glycerin and might explode at the slightest tap.


Eh with scuba tank it's not so much as being carfull with them in the respect of diging them, rather with the valve. For some reason they made the valve and threads easy to brake...not to sure why that is. Thats the bigest danger...dropping the tank on tyhe valve. My scuba instructor told us one time a tank was falling off a bench on a boat, no one was close enough to catch it to they literally all jumped off the boat. The tanks valve broke off and shot threw the boats canapy and when some were far far away and they never found it.

[JRingold]

is it dangerous for my co2 tanks to be under my bed for a while, both near full. :cheers:

Only if your Air Conditioning goes out and your room becomes oven like...

Since your room is temperature controlled, I'd prefer to have them under a heavy piece of furnature (bed) than sitting in a garage that doesn't have any temperature control.

[stop whining buy a mag]

A guy who occasionally plays at my local field always fills his 3,000 PSI tank up to 4,500 PSI. Many of us have told him it is just a matter of time before something goes wrong with it. Does he care? No. Do we want to play around him while he has that tank? No.

Those are the kind of people who get injured in HPA accidents.

[lord1234]

those are the kind of people you kick out of paintball fields.....

as for scuba tanks: we don't fear our tanks...we just respect them. The valves are sorta flimsy..and I have seen one go shooting....saw it take a chunk out of the side of a building...now that is impressive.

[the_lane]

wow i have that gun(pic 2) at the locoal pro shop ill hav to ask chris if he knows anything about this... link please?

-lane

[NukeGoose]

That tank was intentionally overfilled so that it would blow... I think it took some ungodly high pressure to do it (for some reason 12,000 PSI is in my head... but it was a while ago when I first saw that so I'm not certain). Thumbs up for burst disks.

Store your HPA tanks with some air in them, on the SCUBA tanks that we fill/run the booster from at the field they say to not drain them below 200 PSI, I'd assume that a similar number is good for HPA tanks.

[phelix]

Don't buy nitro duck.

[68magOwner]

Don't buy nitro duck.

any specific reason why? i used to have one (my first n2 tank, have only used crossfire since). But, 2 teammates still use nitro duck tanks without problems, and, mine never game me any issues.

[JRingold]

A guy who occasionally plays at my local field always fills his 3,000 PSI tank up to 4,500 PSI. Many of us have told him it is just a matter of time before something goes wrong with it. Does he care? No. Do we want to play around him while he has that tank? No.

Those are the kind of people who get injured in HPA accidents.

Another reason not to allow self-fills. This, my friend, is a problem that your field owner should know about. Some people care more about convienance than safety.

[VFX_Fenix]

THere's actually Military slo-mo footage of the same fiber wrapped HPA bottles that we use in paintball where they intentionally puncture the bottles with bullets. It's interesting because when the bottles are pierced its easy to see the fiber wrap separate from the other layers and allow the air inside them to vent.

HPA Tanks are safe enough provided they're well taken care of, serviced and inspected regularly, and have the propper burst disc assys. installed.

Inspecting you tank for dings, nicks, chips, and "dig" before you use them is an important part of maintaining these cylinders. Regular Hydro Testing is also well advised, the tanks themselves are run up several thousand psi above their rating to test for expansion, too much expansion and the tank fails, you get your bottle back with a hole drilled into it.

Personally I'm not concerned about any tank being particularly dangerous, they've all been through extensive testing buy DOT to declare them "safe" with propper handling and inspection. The lack of concern that many players display, however, over the maintinance of their gear is another point. Intentionally overfilling a cylinder above its service rating will likely not result in the failure of the tank through the 3 years it's hydro is good for, however it would be reasonable to assume that this tank, if overfilled regularly will fail hydro because it has been stressed excesively. The service pressure ratings (as I understand them anyway) are the pressures the cylinder is rated to carry 24/7 for the lifetime of the cylinder (15 years in the case of fiber tanks). The burst pressure is significantly higher than the service pressure so as to allow a considerable ammount of headroom for variables like ambient temp. and altitude changes among other things.

Bottom line, any tank which is within hydro and fails is due to the negligence/abuse of the user/owner. There is no reason one of these cylinders should fail within the 3 to 5 years between their Hydro Dates.

[MrSnugglebumz]

From what I've heard/seen about Hydroing a tank... they are required to fill the tanks 75% OVER the norm pressure. Meaning a 4500psi tank, they take it to rougly 7800psi. In other words... they made the tanks to take a ton more than what you're putting in them. Most companies do this will all their products because they know people don't follow the guidelines, some tanks are weaker than others, etc etc. There's no way HPA tank companies could make these things under insurance policies if they were like strapping a bomb to you chest. Yea.. you can't drop them from the top of the Empire State Building, but I've jumped into more bunkers on my tank than I can remember.