Air Poll

[Aslan]

I had some issues with my mag last night where it seemed like, despite my expansion chamber, it seemed that maybe liquid CO2 was affecting the valve performance. I've read on pbreview that many, many users say CO2 in any form of usage is bad for Mags. However, I've also read threads here, there, and seen people where CO2 is used and there are no problems. So I thought I'd do a poll and see what most people use and maybe they could also write about problems they've had with one versus the other or why they prefer one over another.

[MadPSIence]

Nitro is compressed air. Nobody fills their gun with 100% nitrogen.

[Aslan]

Really...?

Nitro is compressed air. Nobody fills their gun with 100% nitrogen.

Well...slap me in the head and call me a newb. No, don't.

I thought there was CO2, nitro, and compressed air tanks. The guy at the paintball store told me the advantage of compressed air tanks was that you could fill them with your air compressor. Are you sure?

[Spacemanvic]

Ummm..the air compressors you'd need to use to fill the tanks are of a higher PSI than you find in your normal garage. Think scuba shop, with $12,000 compressor

[spsantos]

Nitro is compressed air. Nobody fills their gun with 100% nitrogen.

I don't want to start any flame nor anything, but Nitro is molstly N2, with a very small percentage of air (usually measured in ppm-parts per million). Most of the N2 generators can suck N2 from the air leaving about 1-2 parts per million of air.

So it's generaly safe to say that nitro is 99.9% PURE nitrogen.

[amrani]

nitro and compressed air are pretty much interchangable. compressed air and nitro can be put into the same tanks, and acutally, you can put CO2 into a (some) nitro tank too, but its not really worth it to do that.....

it just depends on where you are getting your tank filled, and there is no real difference between shooting nitro and compressed air, as compressed air is what we breathe, compressed into a bottle, (funny how the name is so realted), and the air we breathe is mostly nitrogen, not oxygen as some people who never finished 5th grade may think

EDIT: to stay on topic, i just had some problems with my clasic valve with CO2 today. the x, rt, and e max valves all REQUIRE compressed air/nitro. this is because of the design. the calssic valve can use anything, although its recomended if you plan to shoot very fast at all, run it horisonta, through an ex chamber, or a remote. it seems that it will freeze the valve very fast when run through a straight hose hooked up to normal asa.

[spsantos]

On the topic...

I changed to Compressed Air because I also upgraded to the X-Valve, the main advantage for me is that compressed air allows more rapid firing continuously, while with co2 we could start to get liquid/snow into the valve, messing it all up

The only low down is that in fact high pressure compressors (220-300 bar) (3000-4500 psi), are REALLY expensive, so we'd better refill either at a fire department or a scuba shop. Anyway, refills are way less-expensive, even more if you use a scuba tank and a fill-station.

[Taylock]

if your going to run Co2 with your mag you want a syphion tube in your tank. you can buy one on e-bay for $10.00, however if you play speedball or like to dump 4k rounds a day then you need to just buy a comp air tank. im using a 68automag, i have a custom expansion chamber and a syphion tube in the tank and have no problem with liquid Co2. but i dont just dump paint. best of luck.

[Number13]

The guy at the paintball store told me the advantage of compressed air tanks was that you could fill them with your air compressor.

Do not fill an HPA (High Pressure Air) tank off of a home-use air compressor. That compressor you bought at Menards works great for your nailgun and car tires, but it will cause your tank to fail hydro, as well as potentially create a very dangerous situation. Before compressing air into a HPA tank, the air must be very thoroughly filtered to remove moisture and non-gas particles. This requires a compressor that is rated for breathable-air, such as you would find in a scuba shop or a firestation.

Oh, and what kind of paintball store is encouraging its consumers to go play with 5k PSI compressors to fill their own tanks? This is not an insult to you, but would you mind sharing your age? Filling HPA tanks is not all cake and honey. This has been discussed before in many threads: the widespread improper training, negligent behavior, and indifference among HPA providers is leading paintball to a very unhealthy PR session due to HPA catastrophe.

By the way, unless you're charging to fill a large number of tanks each week, it is quite cheaper for you to fill CO2 in your home than it is to fill CA.

And as has already been said: the terms Nitro and CA can be used interchangably due to the high nitrogen content in ambient air. I did know one person who, for about a month, filled actual N2 several years ago just so he could brag about it. The increased cost, decreased availability, and equal performance ended that practice, however.

Finally, if you have played for awhile with that mage and CO2 has worked fine for you up until this point, you're probably OK to continue using it rather than investing $100-$200 into an HPA tank. It's your personal call if the investment is worth avoiding some unpleasent CO2 effects on rare occasions. Analyze the risks and rewards of both sides: not investing in HPA or investing in HPA.

[Aslan]

Thanks

Do not fill an HPA (High Pressure Air) tank off of a home-use air compressor. That compressor you bought at Menards works great for your nailgun and car tires, but it will cause your tank to fail hydro, as well as potentially create a very dangerous situation. Before compressing air into a HPA tank, the air must be very thoroughly filtered to remove moisture and non-gas particles. This requires a compressor that is rated for breathable-air, such as you would find in a scuba shop or a firestation.

Oh, and what kind of paintball store is encouraging its consumers to go play with 5k PSI compressors to fill their own tanks? This is not an insult to you, but would you mind sharing your age? Filling HPA tanks is not all cake and honey. This has been discussed before in many threads: the widespread improper training, negligent behavior, and indifference among HPA providers is leading paintball to a very unhealthy PR session due to HPA catastrophe.

By the way, unless you're charging to fill a large number of tanks each week, it is quite cheaper for you to fill CO2 in your home than it is to fill CA.

And as has already been said: the terms Nitro and CA can be used interchangably due to the high nitrogen content in ambient air. I did know one person who, for about a month, filled actual N2 several years ago just so he could brag about it. The increased cost, decreased availability, and equal performance ended that practice, however.

Finally, if you have played for awhile with that mage and CO2 has worked fine for you up until this point, you're probably OK to continue using it rather than investing $100-$200 into an HPA tank. It's your personal call if the investment is worth avoiding some unpleasent CO2 effects on rare occasions. Analyze the risks and rewards of both sides: not investing in HPA or investing in HPA.

Very informative.

I'm 30.

And I've already determined that my mag hates CO2...so I will run nitro/compressed air through it...once I get it to work that is...see other thread...

[JKR]

Anti-siphon CO2 with expansion chamber mounted at the vertical ASA.

It works for me with a minimum of fuss. I expect some issues in temps below 40-45 but it is working fine for me now. I don't get heavy on the trigger either so that helps too--I'd say I top out at 6-7 bps.

I prefer my setup because it is cheap, compact and I can fill my own tanks at home.

[monkeyking]

I don't know what the fuss is about with CO2 in a Mag. Mine runs fine. I understand HPA is more consistent, so I'm going to try it out, but with CO2 I can still reliably hit elbows, hoppers, and toes.

My low BPS probably helps the situation. As they say, it only takes one ball to put the guy out.