Nitro/Compressed Air Quality

[DPB]

Unfortunately I live in a relatively rural area and am not privy to a good paintball store with NO2 or Compressed Air. However, I do live in a town where the lowrider is cool and some honda civics have nitrus systems. What is the difference, if any, between the Nitrus sold in the paintball store and the Nitrus in the auto store? Can you interchange w/o adverse effects?

Also, I am familiar with chemistry so don't tell me that nitrus is nitrus. I am referring to the quality and presence of impurities.

Thanks, I look forward to informed replies.

[cphilip]

The Nitrus you refer to is Nitros Oxide. This is NOT the compressed Nitrogen you want to use. Or compressed air also can be used. There is lots of stuff on these and how to fill from SCUBA tanks and such. Use the search feature. Sounds like a SCUBA tank or even two or three is right for you. Lots of stuff already here so I won't repeat it. But do not use Nitros Oxide. Use Compressed Nitrogen or Compressed Air.

[Cypres0099]

Forgive me if I'm wrong but wouldn't using nitrous or nitrus, whatever, be dangerous to use in a paintball gun since it's ummmmm.... flammable? The stuff they use in paintball stores is nitrogen/nitro, as in what most of the air we breathe is made of.

Again, I'm sorry if I don't understand what you are asking but....

Darn Cphilip snuck his post in before me.

[Butterfingers]

Don't put nitrous in your nitrogen tank.

Nitrous is used for making cars go fast, accelerating combustion, and to knock you out when you go to the dentist. It is not for paintball.

Nitrogen is N2 an inert gas. Nitrogen as is what you need for paintball.

Compressed air has similar properties as nitrogen because air is mostly composed of nitrogen.

[HoppysMag]

paintball nitro is N2, i believe a cars nitro is N2O. N2O is flamible, N2 is not. ( or atleast less so) Please correct me if im wrong.

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by Cypres0099
Forgive me if I'm wrong but wouldn't using nitrous or nitrus, whatever, be dangerous to use in a paintball gun since it's ummmmm.... flammable? The stuff they use in paintball stores is nitrogen/nitro, as in what most of the air we breathe is made of.

Again, I'm sorry if I don't understand what you are asking but....

Nitrous is not flamable, it just supports combustion. Nitrous is an oxygen carrier.

If you hold a flame in front of nitrous it will not blow up or light on fire. It will simply make the source flame burn hotter/bigger

[tranman]

You're thinking of nitrous oxide that they use in cars and dentists offices (laughing gas). The gas used for paintball is nitrogen (the element), consists of N2 (two molecules of N to make a stable molecule), just nitrogen molecules, its stable. Nitrous oxide's chemical composition is NO2(1 molecule of N and 2 molecules of 0), therefore making it an oxidizer which makes things burn a lot more easily. The gas used in paintball is stable and won't cause any problems around fires, etc. Nitrous oxide...now thats a different story. Now theres a chemistry lesson for ya.

[cphilip]

Alright now... before somebody gets their panties in a wad...Nitros Oxide is not Flammable... it is an Oxydizer that is promoting better flamability. And yes that can be interesting in the right situation. Not a good use for Paintball though.

Added on edit: sorry tranman, we posted on top of each other. That is correct.

[DPB]

thanks for the help. I will definitely feel more informed once I check this out.

Thank you.

[cphilip]

Do a general search for SCUBA's and Fill Stations. That should give you hours and hours of reading to do. And a lot of links to prices and sources too.

[Cypres0099]

I knew I was going to hear something about my flammable remark. :) I remember a post similar to this one where that came up.

[cphilip]

Yes! We are sooooooo picky here aren't we? :rolleyes:

[TylerDurden]

68 automag flame thrower. hehe.

[Hasty8]

The main difference between N2 and HPA/CA is the quality.

N2 (Nitrogen gas) ,not to be mistaken with N2O as correctly explained in earlier posts, is pure, meaning it should, theoretically (missed the bulls eye with that spelling) not contain any dust or dirt or other particles that could scratch, mar, ot otherwise damage the inner workings of your mechanicals and what not.

HPA/CA (High Pressure Air or Compressed Air) is just regular breathing air that gets suck into a chamber and pressurized by a machine to the proper pressure rating.

It would be nice if the air is first filetered before being pressurized so as to remove some of the foreign particles in it but there is no requirement to do that.

Some people feel that there is a performance benefit in N2 over HPA/CA but I have used all both and didn't really see a noticeable difference in consistency, velocity or amount of shots per fill.

[DPB]

Ok, now that I've got the correct gas, there IS a compressed gas place around here. Can you get a tank of compressed Nitrogen and is there the issue of a prescription as in my former mistaken gas Nitrus NO2. I have already checked on compressed air and they only offer up to 2200 psi. My tank is 4500psi. What is the word, you people in the know??????

Thanks

[LaW]

Scuba shops are your best bet when it comes to fills if there are no local fields around. In order to get 4500 the compressors alone cost a lot and it's hard to find places that will fill that high. You could get your own setup like with scuba tank and fill adaptor etc with a used tank will run you about 200.. you'll get about 2 3000psi or close to that fills and the rest will be less and less. 4500 is expensive :) hehe you know what i've been responding to posts and I'm like so out of it that i don't remember what i'm talking about so my posts sound weird... i need sleep or something

[cphilip]

Yes you can find fill stations for 6000 psi cylinders they are very expensive. But you say your Gas shop will not stock them anyway.

So SCUBA is probably your best bet and live with the 3000 psi fills in your 4500 psi tank. You can find 4500 psi SCUBA'a they are Steel not aluminum and expensive and heavy as heck. And many SCUBA shops cannot fill past 3000 psi anyway.

SO I recommend a 80 cubic foot - 3300psi Aluminum SCUBA with a SCUBA Fill Station,. Should all be obtainable new for about $200 total or you can look for used and save a few bucks.

Read up on the cascading of more than one of them, The advantages of the 3300 over the 3000 scuba and all about hydro dating and VIP inspections and such. It's all here already as I said.

[Hasty8]

Are you talking about setting up your own fill station?

If so then I have to try and talk you out of it unless you are a qualified airsmith. Those things are bombs and I have lost tow friends so far to faulty tanks rupturing on them while diving. Also, a diving stope near my house recently closed its doors after their fill station blew. One guy lost half of his left hand and a 3 year old kid in the store almost got her head taken off.

Please be careful with fill stations.

If you are just talking about getting you tanks filled by an air supply facility then use them, you'll just have to live with the lower pressure.