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dawump
02-28-2002, 11:29 AM
Does anyone know of a resource that shows a comparision between tanks with respect to weight?

My old 44/3000 is dying and I'm tired of lugging it around anyway. For the amount I play now ( just bought a house ) the Crossfire fiber wrapped tanks look interesting, eg the 850 preset 88 / 4500 can be bought for $175.. I don't want to end up with another heavy tank though.

If there isn't a resource, can someone demystify the weight issue. Clearly steel is heavy.. after that how can I look at the spec of a tank and guestimate how it may compare in weight to others.

And oh yea, thanks in advance for all the "just work out more" replies ;-)

Keith

bushjumper
02-28-2002, 12:01 PM
As far as I know there is no such thread or chart comparing the weights of different air systems. Here are some general rules of thumb though for HPA tanks.

In order of heaviest to lightest

Aluminum only (typically only 47ci tanks)
Steel
Glass Fiber wrapped Aluminum
Carbon Fiber wrapped Aluminum

Given the tank being made of the same material, the smallest will be lighter than the largest. It may seem strange that the aluminum tanks are heavier than the steel, but the aluminum only tanks are VERY thick walled in order to contain the high pressures. A 68ci steel tank will be lighter than a 47ci aluminum tank. There isn't a very big difference at all between the two types of fiber wrap, although one BIG difference is that most of the carbon fiber wrap tanks are now 5 year hydro due to the recent DOT rulings, and the glass fiber wrap tanks are all 3 year hydro.

And of course this doesn't tank into consideration the regulators. They are typically made of steel, aluminum, or brass. The aluminum regulators will be the lightest, followed by the steel and then brass. Screw in tanks will probably be lighter than fully adjustable tanks because the regulators are smaller.

I'm not sure how a 4500 psi tank compares to a 3000psi tank of the same size, but my guess is that the 4500 is probably around the same weight as they are almost always carbon fiber nowadays.

dawump
02-28-2002, 12:05 PM
Great response. Thanks

Keith

bushjumper
03-01-2002, 01:03 PM
I might add that Thordic has an excellent post on the weight of the compressed air in the Deep Blue forum here on AO. here is a Link (http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21839).

I've reproduced the relevant data from that post here, but I suggest you check it out yourself as it's got some good info....

You can see from the info below that the weight of the air itself can add up to approximately a pound and a half to the total weight of the system.

47ci 3000PSI tank: 7.0 ounces of air
68ci 3000PSI tank: 10.1 ounces of air
88ci 3000PSI tank: 13.1 ounces of air
114ci 3000PSI tank: 17.0 ounces of air

47ci 4500PSI tank: 10.5 ounces of air
68ci 4500PSI tank: 15.1 ounces of air
88ci 4500PSI tank: 19.7 ounces of air
114ci 4500PSI tank: 25.5 ounces of air