How come #1

[Beemer]

How come we use the same fill nipple for a 3000psi AND a 4500psi tank?

Seems kinda stupid dont it?

[CatoRockwell]

no, because you can fill a 4500 tank with a 3000 compressor, not all the way, but sometimes thats all you have.

[Fred]

i'd venture to guess that its rated at a MUCH higher operating pressure than we use em for... I don't think a 1500psi swing is going to affect that safety factor...

[Beemer]

i'd venture to guess that its rated at a MUCH higher operating pressure than we use em for... I don't think a 1500psi swing is going to affect that safety factor...

So its OK to put 4500psi in a 3000psi tank by accident or MISTAKE?

[CatoRockwell]

So its OK to put 4500psi in a 3000psi tank by accident or MISTAKE?

People should be expected to behave intelligently, if they don't then they should suffer the consequences of their own actions. I like choice, it means that when 4500 isn't available I can still fill my tank to 3000. If some moron gets themselves blown up because they don't pay attention to safety regulations, then the only thing we can hope is that they didn't pass on their genes to the next generation before they did.

[Jacobd]

4500PSI seems like alot, and it is, but you have to remember that the small fiber wrapped tanks we use have ridiculously high bursting pressures, point in case this page here (pics are a little graphic) where some poor fellow ended up with oil in his ASA and then flash-filled his tank which caused the oil and air mixture to ignite and explode, not at all unlike a diesel engine, but my point is even under that extreme circumstance the tank itself didn't rupture but rather the regulator blew off.
I can't say whether or not the same would happen if you slowly filled the tank to a higher and higher pressure until something failed or if this is true for all tank/reg combos but after seeing it I'm not really worried about over filling a 3000PSI tank by another 1500PSI by accident.

I should note though that none of what I just said has much to do with the danger of the reg/valve coming off the bottle and the bottle itself becoming a rocket and causeing injury, but this is true for co2 as well.

[behemoth]

So its OK to put 4500psi in a 3000psi tank by accident or MISTAKE?

He said nothing about putting 4500psi in a 3kpsi tank - Though, it'd probably hold it. - The burst discs would blow.

He said the FILL NIPPLE (you know, the whole point to this thread) - That little guy made of steel, that really doesnt hold much pressure, just lets the pressure pass on through....

And we've all made mistakes... But thats why there are safety features.

[Beemer]

He said nothing about putting 4500psi in a 3kpsi tank - Though, it'd probably hold it. - The burst discs would blow.

He said the FILL NIPPLE (you know, the whole point to this thread) - That little guy made of steel, that really doesnt hold much pressure, just lets the pressure pass on through....

And we've all made mistakes... But thats why there are safety features.

What safety features?

I should trust you or who ever is filling my TANK to be safe and not give me a SLAM[flashfill]?

[Frizzle Fry]

My 2 cents?

Another AO'er and I saw a kid blow the reg on a 3k tank at a 4.5k fill station last weekend. He scared the crap out of himself and everyone around him, and to top it off we had to take apart the freakin' thing for him and see what went wrong... Thankfully it was just a burst disc and bad shimming, but it could have been something worse. The kicker? This field only lets registered NEPL and NPPL team players fill their own tank; otherwise a ref, team member, or employee has to do it for you. I haven't played on a team in 4+ years, and the other AO'er hasn't played on one in something like 10, but we (as experienced players) have to rely on idiots like this kid filling our tanks.

I'm fairly sure that the reasoning behind this is that it's cheaper to mass-produce and bulk-order one part than two, and if you make it uniform you cut cost and reduce the number of spare parts you have to keep on hand. When I first started seeing HPA on fields, there was always an old-timer employee operating the fill station... When I worked at a field, we had a designated operator... These days, there's a lot of "fill-it-yourself" and field owners just don't train the people operating fill stations to the degree that's needed.

This issue has bugged me for a few years now.

[Beemer]

Thanks for your 2 cents Fry. Doesnt seem like such a STUPID question now does it?

[TwilightG]

I think the real question being asked here is why do we use the same air fitting for two substantially different pressures? Shouldn't they be different to prevent accidents?

Well, because it's convenient, easier, and cheaper. Doesn't make it right though.
In an ideal world, 3k psi tanks and 4.5k psi tanks would each have their own unique fill adapter. ...but this would also increase costs in manufacturing which would would translate to higher consumer prices. It would also increase costs (although minimal) for stores and fields performing fills to carry the extra equipment.

Beemer, you've mentioned quite a few times before about the lack of safety standards in paintball. Personally, I don't know if we'll ever see such a thing in this "sport". Unfortunately, if accidents and injuries increase and people start to take more notice, it is probably more likely that the equipment itself would become banned rather than imposing safety laws since no one would want to deal with it.

[Tombola]

[Dirge]

I think the real question being asked here is why do we use the same air fitting for two substantially different pressures? Shouldn't they be different to prevent accidents?

I completely agree with this. I would like to see a 3000psi fill nipple that is not compatible with a 4500psi air fill.

Would probably cost too much though (been said, just agreeing).

[BigEvil]

When 4500 was first introduced, there was a different fill nipple. The industry decided it was impractical to make field and store owners have to buy two completely separate filling systems.

[Beemer]

When 4500 was first introduced, there was a different fill nipple. The industry decided it was impractical to make field and store owners have to buy two completely separate filling systems.

Just two different fittings not the whole system. Pretty simple, smart and not that much cost really. Then again when has the paintball industry been smart.






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