What the heck was he saying?

[Camo]

I am looking to buy a top of the line compressed air system for my retro minimag so I ventured over to my local pball store and asked for his opinion. This will be my first compressed air system so I am completely new to this. Before I new it he went into a five minute explanation of what I needed and I didnt't understand a single word. Could anyone explain to me like I was a five years old what I will need for my mag to run off compressed air and make any recommendations on what tank to get. I want to buy a great tank so $ is not a concern. Also mention which tanks are not an option too.

[ciaran.mooney]

Ok different types of tank.

Screw in or mounted

Screw ins only come in 3000psi usually, and mounted systems usually come in 4500psi, or possibly 5000psi. The higher the number the more shots you will get off for your tank size. So a 68ci 45000psi tank will get more shots off than the same tank at 3000psi.

Ok, for a mag, from Co2 to air is simple. Cheap option, buy a "screw in" tank, it will screw into your bottom line just like Co2, though they only come in 3000psi. There is no need for extra tubes etc. Or if you want more shots you can get a mounted system, but you will have to take off your bottom line, and "mount" it to your mag. The very best system for a mag would be the "Flatline", dont get it confused with the barrel made by Tippman, because its made by AGD for the Automag.

Ok I just assumed you were using a mag for the whole of that post, but it can be transefered for any marker.

[a_malfunction]

Well, there are many tanks on the market designed for different things.... In order to help you decide which one to get, I need to know a few things. First, Can your field fill tanks up tp 4500 psi? If they can, then go for a 4500 psi system, if not, you'll have to get a 3000 psi system. How many shots do you want from your tank? They come in all sizes, all the way from 45ci to 114ci. If you play front, then you'll want a smaller tank to facilitate squeezing into those tiny front bunkers. If you are in the back, a bigger tank that allows you to shoot more paint would be better. AGD, Air America, Nitroduck, Smart Parts and WDP all make some very high quality tanks. You really cant go wrong with tanks from these companies. But like I said, you need to figure out your needs.... it will help tremendously in deciding.

[BlackVCG]

First of all, you have preset systems and adjustable systems. The preset systems are cheaper and usually have the output pressure set to 800psi. The adjustable systems are more expensive, but usually are higher flowing regs. and you can usually adjust the output pressure from 0-1200psi.

Now, whether adjustable output is worth anything to you or not is up to you. What adjustable output will do for you is if you had a Retro Valve, it will allow you to tune the amount of kick back the trigger has. The way the Retro Valve works is it recharges with input air pressure. So if your input is higher, the valve will recharge with more force on the on/off pin and thus the trigger will push back faster, making the trigger more reactive.

If you just have a standard Mag valve, you can get a good preset system and it will be cheap and work fine with your gun. If you plan on getting the Retro Valve, get an adjustable system.

For preset systems, you attach them to your gun through a standard screw-in ASA. Just like putting on a Co2 tank, except you're using a compressed air system. Adjustable systems usually are setup to attach with a cradle. So you get some kind of drop forward that will fit the system and attach the drop forward to the tank.

I recommend the Air America Me'Lee preset system and the AGD Flatline adjustable system. The nice thing about the Flatline is that it comes with a drop forward and screws so you can set it up right once you get the tank. All you need to do is attach hose from the low pressure output on the tank and then to the gun and you're ready to go.

Good luck in your search and I hope some of that made sense.

[Camo]

Thanks for the responses!!! Any info helps! I think I want to go with an adjustable 68/4500. I want to learn how to adjust the pressure to get the retro valve working the way I want it to. I have read that you need to play around with the trigger/pressure to get it working like it is made to. I think I also read that the valve works better under a certain amount of pressure. Air America gets great reviews but they are for a wide range of markers and they have different tanks. I'm trying to understand which tank to buy. I also like the flatline because it's AGD. What about regs? I know they regulate pressure but sometimes you need two, sometimes one. Why is this? Doesn't the minimag have an internal reg? I may sound clueless but I am totally new to the world of compressed air. I have been playing for two years with my VM-68 beleive it or not and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Sniper game yesterday.....six shots six kills. I thought I would mention my minimag is new and I have never shot it with CO2.

[virus]

your are right about the minimagand all mags for that matter already have a reg as part of the valve....

on markers like the cocker a secondary reg is very useful and usally required.... but a mag again doesn't need one...

as for teh rt kickback... input pressure directly affect the amount of kickback... a lower input pressure, say 650-700psi, the trigger wont kick back all that hard... but the marker wil fire more consistant over the chrono and the first shot will not have a lot of drop off....

now a high input pressure say 800-950psi, the trigger will have a considerable amount of kick back, which could cause it to go into a runnaway mode untill you can control it (its not that hard), the first shot in a string or during a slow rate of fire will appear to have shoot down but once you hit the higher rates of fire things go to where they should be.... this is only cuz of the way the valve is designed... pressure acutally goes up in the valve the faster you fire due to the air heating up.. and once you stop for a few seconds it cools down and the first shot seems slow again..

then you have the happy med. input pressures 700-800psi, these will have the pros of both the high and low and very few of the cons.....

it all comes down to how much kick back you like on the trigger.... myself i run mine at about 925-950psi... i like the stong kick back and even during a rec game i find myself as the "cover fire guy" for the cocker and eltro guyz at my field, only cuz i carry 2 much paint and i dont mind throwin some out there when needed... and were talkin sustained stings but not at a high enough ROF that i out shoot my hooper, though that will be rememdied when my warp feed comes in....

only other thing i would recomend would be using the steel braided lines... less over all trouble...

[lala]

Hi first off you can only use compressed air with the retro valve. and some one before said "you could only get 3000psi with a scrue in tank", you can also get them in a 4500psi also thay just cost a little more. personaly I run a Air Amarica Armageddon adjustable and its easy to work on and simple good luck.

[soilent green]

I suggest you buy an adjustable output for the retro I suggest either the AGD flatline 4500 or a dual regulated nitroduck tuff skin if you really want to get fancy there is always angel air I suggest the flatline reg with ss braided hose and pro connects

[Smokee_2_7]

I also suggest the Flatline system. The 4500 systems are ALMOST on the market.. . . you should be able to get one in the next few weeks.

Also, Im not sure if you know this or not, but somthing from an earlier post made me think about this. Do not try to run the retrovalve off of CO2. Its designed for compressed air or nitrogen ONLY. (*by the way, Comp. air and N2 are virtually the same in regards to paintball use. Ya can put either one into whichever tank. Some fields will have N2, some will have Comp. Air. It makes no difference.)

Hope this helps.

Carl