What's Happening with Tippman's Propane Gun??

[Brian Terry AGD]

man tom i see them then all over the place ,in back yards as grills.hook the propane up and you are good to go..

[Alpha]

Har har har.

Mr. Kaye,

As a member of Boston Paintball's staff (actually I'm just a petty referee who gets tucked in the back room cleaning rentals), I can say we do sell them (we buy from NPS).

I'm not sure if we've sold one, but I will find out for you.

I can say, as a ref at Boston's only, and eastern Massachusett's largest indoor field, that I've NEVER seen one on our field.

I do know that my shift manager gassed one up to try it out, and out spewed some propane. I'm assuming it was nothign large (much like a CO2 discharge when you degas a marker), but it stunk up the store so bad they had to open the doors and windows (I'm not sure if you've been to Boston in february, but its bad).

I'll get some info from the owner if you'd like.

[Lohman446]

You know, I normally get a first look at the "odd" things around, if I don't buy it myself. I have toyed with the idea of buying one but it does not fill any niche I would want (its not stock class, nor is it open class). I have not seen any around here yet, or had an interest expressed in them by others.

[SniperSmurf]

A couple of us on the Tippmann forum are still trying to figure out how to make it semi lol. I mocked up a paint image. There are still kinks to work out though. Think about it, a semi gun that can get 50k shots per tank. Perfect for scenario games? I think so...

Better wear some oven-mits with a semi-automatic C3!

I've only seen one in person. The stroke is not nearly as bad as I expected. It is a little long though, due to having to prime new propane and vent the burned gas (in a rather large combustion chamber), but not difficult by any means... at least compared to a new PGP or something. The very fact that people are saying that it's nothing special speaks volumes to me. That implies that it performs on the same level as comparable Co2 or HPA pumps, just no better or worse. I'd say that's pretty impressive for a brand new technology with that kind of efficiency!

[camilion705]

Are there any pics of people using them? It seems like an awkward gun...

[OneEyedPimp]

I really really like mine, but no feild within 4 hours of me allow the use of it because of the "fire danger." It is kind of funny when I showed up my local field with it, it was like a bunch of prairie dogs sticking their heads out and saying, "Propane, what in tarnation?!"

[Rick-USA]

I'm not sure why your field would have a problem letting you play with it. It's a proven safe application. It's been used for years on nail guns without any serious problems I've been able to locate.

As far as seeing them out at your local field. I'm not sure you'll see a lot out there. That wasn't really the market Tippman was going after I think. It's more the renegade players they are after with this setup.

[paullus99]

From some industry contacts I have - I've heard nothing but bad things....can't be more specific, but from a paintball store perspective, the C-3 is a lose-lose proposition.

[OneEyedPimp]

I'm not sure why your field would have a problem letting you play with it. It's a proven safe application. It's been used for years on nail guns without any serious problems I've been able to locate.

As far as seeing them out at your local field. I'm not sure you'll see a lot out there. That wasn't really the market Tippman was going after I think. It's more the renegade players they are after with this setup.

Velocity Paintball park, San Diego. Really closed minded place, cater to the speedball crowd.

[barrel break]

Well, it seems like a good idea to me. It extends the playing feild to those who just want it to work, and everyone can get propane.
Casual ballers rejoice.

[AGD]

Well as you know I am pretty friendly with the Tippman crew and I got to see the gun before it was released. They asked me what I thought and I told them a couple things:

Its a pump (first problem) and propane means you are cutting the store out of the chance to sell air and make the customer come back. Second its got flamable stuff and if something goes wrong its going to be bad. So in essence I was negative on it.

The next thing I told them is every time Tippman made a move in paintball that I thought was stupid, it was a big success. Denny Sr. who is a good friend of mine, spends about two seconds making big decisons and is always right. I agonize over every detail and still I am probably 50/50.

So I was checking here to see if the magic still worked over there. Apparently not....

Thanks for the feedback!

AGD

[shartley]

Well as you know I am pretty friendly with the Tippman crew and I got to see the gun before it was released. They asked me what I thought and I told them a couple things:

Its a pump (first problem) and propane means you are cutting the store out of the chance to sell air and make the customer come back. Second its got flamable stuff and if something goes wrong its going to be bad. So in essence I was negative on it.

The next thing I told them is every time Tippman made a move in paintball that I thought was stupid, it was a big success. Denny Sr. who is a good friend of mine, spends about two seconds making big decisons and is always right. I agonize over every detail and still I am probably 50/50.

So I was checking here to see if the magic still worked over there. Apparently not....

Thanks for the feedback!

AGD

[BigEvil]

So I was checking here to see if the magic still worked over there. Apparently not....

Thanks for the feedback!

AGD

The gun right now is just a curiosity. I think people picked them up just to check them out.

They are not hot sellers, because I dont think that they really fill any 'need'.
-Are C02 and HPA so unavailable and expensive that players would want this new system?
-Pump guns are never going to sell big like the electros, so that fact is a big drawback right away.
-yes, its flamable. Forklifts have been using propane safely for years. How and where they are used is also heavily regulated by law. If propane as a power source for paintball guns ever became popular, expect the same.

mu $.02

[marpat]

BTW Hi Tom! nice to see you on the forum! just wanted to put that in as i see the little green dot next to your name. I hope everything is well with you.

From a potential buyer.

Never never never.. would i play paintall with a combustable substance no matter how safe or how many shots i get from it. Too many tolerance/manufacturing issues and variables for me to even concider buying a C3.

I know a few ppl who have bought them but quickly re-sold them.

Besides all you need is one bad accident with it and there will be some serious ramifications / lawsuits.

[Pacifist_Farmer]

I'm not sure this is the right crowd to field those questions. I would say the majority of C3 users won't be frequenting a message board like this.