Let's Talk Scuba!

[LawFox32]

Ok well what I want to do is get a scuba tank and I have a few questions. What type of valve do I need on a scuba tank? what brand of fill station for my nitro tank should I get? Do the valves on the tanks have gauges so I know how much pressure I have in the scuba?


Ok Thanks guys and gals for the help, b/c If I am gonna go retro I need a better way of getting nitro than calling the local store 15 times and make the guy go out and get their tank filled and then pay for the nitro fill as much I would pay for a scuba tank fill

[cphilip]

lets talk about it in technical? Border line but still technical. Lots of good stuff already here though on SCUBA's. Try searching for a bit. I am sure someone will help though.

Moving to Tech Forum.

[cphilip]

Well since no one else has helped I will

The SCUBA tank comes with a J valve. Thats the one the fill stations fit anyway. Your will find ACI makes one for about $50 and there are a few others adn yes it has a guage on it but you still want to go by your HPA tanks guage to fill.

So you want a standdard SCUBA Tank. I recommend the 80 Cubic Foot 3300 psi one called "Neutral Bouyancy" tank about $160 to your door from Divers Discount Supply online if you can't find it local. Its a bit more air for $10 more than the standard 3000 psi one you will normally find. And a regular SCUBA fill adapter. Thats all you need to do it.

[veteranmag]

I'm guessing that you are not a certified scuba diver. Consider the following 1. It would probably be a good idea to check if there is a local scuba shop that will fill your tanks. Many shops may be reluctant to fill your tank unless you show them your certification. 2. when I did the math the cost of the tank ($160), fill station ($60), cost per fill ($10) and the cost of the periodic inspecting the tank (just like your nitro tank) (don't know how much but must be over $50) was not worthwile to me. Instead I will likely rent a filled scuba tank ($10/day) when I get another friend to convert to nitro).

Also, I don't know how many fills you can get with a scuba tank, but except for the first few fills, your nitro tank will be filled less and less as the pressure in the scuba tank decreases.

If you do get the tank, let us know how it works out (how many fills per tank, how much the pressure drops, etc.)

[C�borg]

Man you guys have some expensive fills, it only costs me $3 to fill my scuba.

Another option you might consider is building your own fill station, I bought the ACI one, but I have seen many home made fill stations at my local field, and they work just fine, I see the store bought ones go down more than the home made ones, and the home made ones make you seem like an expert on paintball

[cphilip]

It only costs $15 a year for annual visual inspection and about $25 every Five years for Hyro testing. The SCUBA shop wll do them or have them done for that. Seems to be about average of $5-6 a fill. More and more SCUBA shops fill for paintball now. But do ask around. Fill can be had for free if you know someone at the Fire Department and use their cascade for SCBA's.

[RobP4P]

anyone know where I could find a scuba shop around chicago???

[Ityl]

We bought 20 fills and they were $70-$75 with tax. less than $4 a fill. We would play all day with 4-5 people filling off one tank, mostly 47's but still. We just charged everyone a buck to fill off it. I think the 3.3k tank is what you what though, nore full fills. Plus, we don't play at a field a lot.

[paulballs21]

I just bought a 3000psi 80 cu. ft. tank. I can fill my 91 cu.in. two times full and about ten more fills over 2000 psi. That's great but when I got to SC Village they started tripping out telling me I can't fill my own tank. Yeah right, they think I'm gonna pay ten bucks to them for air? I have to hide it in the cab of my truck now but it still beats the outrageous price those money hungry jerks try to charge for air. With a $20 entry fee I expect free air. Even the smaller fields out here have free compressed air. If you plan on playing at SC Village hide your scuba tank and pocket the savings.

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black Teflon E-MAG
bone stock and kickin'
12v revvy

[DRAGONSLAYER]

I use a SCUBA tank, but I'm in a fire dept and made me a fill station to fill my own. Go to your local dive shop and tell them what your doing, maybe they will fill it. Remember your SCUBA tank needs hydro. Check it out if you buy a used tank.

[Halliday]

Try to find a used LOCAL scuba tank. I'm always on ebay trying to find a good used tank. They usually end up about $100-$120 with them being out of hydro. Then they need to be shipped, $20. Plus vis inspection, $20. For me it always end up being the same as buying a $150 new local tank!

[Xzion]

RobP4P; try looking in the phone book, I know here in Canada, they have ads of businesses and such in the front of the phone books, dont know about US phone books though.

[ShinyGuy]

veteranmag - I agree that renting a tank is more cost effective that buying one most of the time and my local SCUBA shop is willing to rent a tank to me (certified diver) but not to my non-certified paintball buddies. Although they are willing to fill tanks for them (knowing why they want a fill)

[Tpmxkidd]

Hey Shiny you need to ask your scuba shop if your buddies can sign a waiver stating they diving is dangerous to untrained people and they are using the air for paintball. One of the dive shops in Omaha abslutely hates paintballers so we told everyone about him. He tried to get the other shops in trouble for filling our bottles but he had us sign waivers so the "man" couldn't do anything. Hey Veteran, I can fill a 68 ci bottle with a "useable" amount of air is around 12 times. By useable I mean more than 2000 psi.

[Gjobsin]

tpmx we need to know how big your scuba tank is or we are left in the dark