Fill Station?

[ttoad4000t]

Hey all...I was wondering what it takes to have a personal fill station? i would need all of the info, and any tips or directions, its for an n2 tank, im just tired of driving about 30 min to get my tank filled.




Thanks,
Todd

[subbeh]

Scuba tank w. current VIP and hydro
MAYBE divers license (ask your shop BEFORE you buy your equipment if they'll fill it without a license, make sure they KNOW you are using it for paintball)
Fill Station

That's everything... I suggest netting around the tank to protect it. BE CAREFUL... never ever EVER fill an out of date bottle. Always be careful... projectiles, such as metal shards of an exploding tank, that are thrown by a 3000 PSI pressure can be deadly...

[ttoad4000t]

but what size of scuba tank? (i have a 68 3k)
how much will this cost?
where can i get the larger tank filled?

[21caballer]

the average scuba size is 80. i forgot how they measure them but the ones you usually see are that size. most are made to be filled to 3000 psi. they do make 4500 but most scuba shops dont even fill that high.

you also need a fill station to put on the scuba tank. they are about 50 bucks and very simple to use. used scuba tanks should run 100-120 dollars and since your life doesn't depend on them i wouldn't worry about the brand name or anything. i have seen the costs to fill a scuba from 3-5 dollars. most dont require a dive card anymore. my local scuba shop is very helpfull, and i live in the middle of the desert (tucson). if you are filling empty tanks off of your scuba you will find it uses the air very quickly. if you are just topping off it will last a lot longer. using two tanks is the best option, pre fill with one and top off with the other.

try doing a search i think you will find lots of info on this subject,

[ttoad4000t]

Thanks a lot :)

[rjvemt1]

how many times can i fill a 3k psi, 68 ci tank off of the average scuba tank?

[Mossman]

You will normally get like 2800psi, 2500, 2300, 2000, 1800, 1600, 1400, ETC. After like 4 or 5 fills I seem to run out of air too quick to justify refilling it. LOL,

Thats my experience at least. The steps are a little closer together I think, but thats a general close idea.

[vineas]

Also, don't fill your tank to the point where the scuba becomes completely empty ... if you do that the shop will have to do a visual inspection before filling it, which costs about $10-15.

Go to the local dive shop before you buy, most shops around here (MN) have a deal where if you buy a tank from them, you get some number of free fills ... when you factor in the cost of the fills, it ends up costing more to buy from some cheap place online.

[FrAuStY]

I'm not a scuba expert but I see some errors in info above. Scuba tanks are no longer manufactured to be filled above 3000 psi. They used to make 4500 (4300) tanks but there were too many that failed hydro tests so they no longer make them. The only tanks available to fill to 4500 psi are the large nitrogen cylinders that you can get from welding suppliers and such. They're like 160-200 Cu/Ft 4500 psi max. And unfortunately you'd have to rent these as if you wanted to buy them you'd be out like 5-700$

Scuba tanks range in size from 60 Cu/ft up to 120 cu/ft.@3000 psi. You have to have them hydro'd every five years, and vip'd every two (or 1 depending on who's filling). As stated above..make sure your scuba shop knows they aren't going in the water, tha you're using them to fill a smaller HPA tank. I have an 80Cu/ft 3000 psi scuba and I get about 3 fills at or above 2600 psi, depending on how empty the small tank is when I refill/top off. If the tank was empty then mossman gave a pretty good idea of what the pressures would be. After that the pressure will drop about 200 psi per fill down to about 1700 psi. From there I can get about 6 fills on 1700-1600 psi then after that it just starts dropping about 300 psi per fill. Keep in mind... this will vary depeding on how much air you shoot and how many times you've filled that day.

Also check with your paintball fields as some don't allow external fill stations..i.e nitro cylinders/scuba's on there property due to insurance regulation. As stated before... be very careful when filling your tanks. I know waaayy too many people who just crank open tha valve on their scuba to rapid fill their tanks.. NOT a GOOD IDEA! Slowly fill your tanks as rapid filling causing the tank to heat up from the frcition of air. This can weaken the carob fiber wrap around your tank and may cause premature condemnation and you will no longer be able to fill it anywhere :( Scubas are great if you use them correctly.

Good luck :)

[rjvemt1]

As stated above..make sure your scuba shop knows they aren't going in the water, tha you're using them to fill a smaller HPA tank.

why is this important?

[masonekramer]

I just went to the scuba dive center the other day and got a bunch of information. 1st off tanks come in a variety of PSI and materials. They range anywhere from 2200PSI to 3500PSI (3500 PSI is the absolute highest that recreational scuba tanks go, theres no such thing as a fiber wrapped 4500psi+ tank anymore) , and can be steel or aluminum. After you get past 3000 PSI u convert to a special fixture for higher pressure. You see, normal scuba tanks have a weird yoke system that has a tendency to burst at all the wrong moments, and so they change to a threaded system for 3500 PSI tanks. Paintball HPA tanks do NOT fit the higher pressure threaded system, and neither do the paintball - scuba fill adaptors

In order to fill up a HPA tank you need to buy a "scuba fill station" which is basically a thing that allows you transfer air from the weird scuba yoke setup to the threaded HPA setup. YOU CANT JUST PUT YOUR HPA TANK INTO THE SCUBA TANK, YOU NEED A FILL ADAPTOR. They sell them online for like $40.

Also, since scuba tanks only go up to 3000PSI (the ones that u can use to fill paintballs anyway), u'll never get even a 3000psi fill on your HPA tank. And every fill you do, the PSI will go down. If you get an 88 cubic foot tank, after 5 fills of your HPA you'll be down to 2200 PSI in your HPA tank.

I think scuba tank filling is a dumb idea. You get crap fills of no more than 2800 PSI or so and it goes down quickly. If you're going to be filling off a scuba tank you might as well buy a 3000 PSI HPA tank, which is a bad investment, and you'll have to fill up after every game almost. Just get a 4500 PSI tank and get the all day air pass at your field. Even considered in the long wrong, it won't cost you much money at all, and you'll be a lot less likely to run out of air. Maybe if they come up with 6k+ psi scuba tanks itll be a good idea, but not right now.

[magsRus]

a 3000psi or a 4000 psi scuba tank, a scuba lisence and a subca fill station


cost:

3000tank brand new 180 dollars used 100 dollars on ebay

4000 tank brand new 250-300 sometimes hard to find used 200 on ebay again hard to find

scuba fill station 40-70 dollars at a lot of online stores... paintballgear and firstcall if you call them

[magsRus]

If you want get a good fills you are going to want to purchase two or three 3000psi scuba only need one fill station and use a cascade method filling your compressed air tank starting from the left scuba tank, then go to the second scuba, then go to the third..everything is left to right in paintball

[masonekramer]

Have you ever seen a 4000psi tank, because the guy at the store assured me that they do not exist

[Death Angel]

masonekramer ,finally someone agrees with me that scuba refills aren't worth the money!!! I have done this when HP was new and they are a pain and almost worthless. The only players that seem to do this are the renegade palyer anyway. I have my own opinions about renegade play. Most people filling don't have a clue how dangerous this procedure is. My choice would be to drive the 30 min., get a full fill and have it done PROPERLY!!!

[riooso]

Hey scuba tanks are generally 3000 and 3300 p.s.i. and they are safe to use. I get a fill card and have a scuba tank filled for $2.00. A 3300 pound tank will last you all day if you shoot about a case of paint. Filling is not a problem if you use your head and follow general rules. Like make sure that the scuba tank is not able to fall over when left unattended or lay it down.
Make fills slowly to make sure that you get the maximum amount of air in your markers' tank. Scuba tanks are a safe and cheap way to cut costs.

R