So what happened to propane?

[Boydster]

I've been out of the whole paintball loop for quite a while. But I do remember that propane Tippmann gun that came out...

Did this idea take off or not? I thought it would be huge, and someday lead to 12 gram propane cartridges that would fuel your marker for an entire day of play. It'd be nice to get rid of the huge air tank and just slip a .50 cent propane cartridge inside of your gun... but that's just me.

[RRfireblade]

It did about as well as a 50# Tippy Pump Marker w/ a long heavy pump stoke , could be expected to do.

Other than that . . . that's about it.

[warbeak2099]

Too expensive for who it was marketed to. It was designed for backwoods players who didn't have the money or the access to keep getting $3-5 co2 fills. However, the gun cost $200-250. Far more than a backwoods rec player is gonna dish out for a pump gun that isn't even high performance / smooth.

[paintballfiend]

I've been out of the whole paintball loop for quite a while. But I do remember that propane Tippmann gun that came out...

Did this idea take off or not? I thought it would be huge, and someday lead to 12 gram propane cartridges that would fuel your marker for an entire day of play. It'd be nice to get rid of the huge air tank and just slip a .50 cent propane cartridge inside of your gun... but that's just me.

It didn't take off because you could get exploded.
Honestly, I would not feel safe using propane other than to fire up a grill.

[Boydster]

I'm not talking about those 20oz size propane tanks. Back then I thought it would be a great idea if new markers came out and were fueled by propane, propane in a 12g size canister. Who needs a 20oz that takes over a year to empty? A full day of play based solely off a single 12g or two. That would be badass, you couldn't disagree with that.

EDIT: ^Aren't propane tanks safer than CO2 tanks anyways?

[sTaLa]

It didn't take off because you could get exploded.
Honestly, I would not feel safe using propane other than to fire up a grill.

Because you think a 4500 psi tank of anything is not dangerous at all?

[paintballfiend]

I'm not talking about those 20oz size propane tanks. Back then I thought it would be a great idea if new markers came out and were fueled by propane, propane in a 12g size canister. Who needs a 20oz that takes over a year to empty? A full day of play based solely off a single 12g or two. That would be badass, you couldn't disagree with that.

EDIT: ^Aren't propane tanks safer than CO2 tanks anyways?

I would think not because physics is telling that propane tanks carry more energy than CO2, depending on tanks size. Also, if a CO2 tank ruptured if would not be spewing flames in all directions.

[craltal]

It didn't take off because you could get exploded.
Honestly, I would not feel safe using propane other than to fire up a grill.

it's stupid comments like this that help kill descent ideas. Forklifts use propane all the time and they don't explode. The amount that we are talking is negligible.

I'm sure you get much more stupid people around the 20 lb tanks and they don't explode, do they?

[paintballfiend]

Because you think a 4500 psi tank of anything is not dangerous at all?

Maybe not of marshmallows.

I never said 4500 psi tanks were not dangerous.

[paintballfiend]

it's stupid comments like this that help kill descent ideas. Forklifts use propane all the time and they don't explode. The amount that we are talking is negligible.

I'm sure you get much more stupid people around the 20 lb tanks and they don't explode, do they?

I wouldn't know, I don't work at a warehouse.

I'm just saying that if you bang a propane tank on a rock or land on it you could have one hell of a show.

[RoLLonBombs]

I wouldn't know, I don't work at a warehouse.

I'm just saying that if you bang a propane tank on a rock or land on it you could have one hell of a show.

i would be interested n seeing the show where a 12g propane tanks blows, probably suck for the guy landin on it, but id prob go for that then gettin smashed by a reg shot off a hpa

[paint magnet]

I wouldn't know, I don't work at a warehouse.

I'm just saying that if you bang a propane tank on a rock or land on it you could have one hell of a show.

Well yeah, if you drop a 4500 psi tank and break off the reg you're equally screwed.

I, for one, would feel safer around propane. In the event of an explosion, the rapidly exiting gas (which is at a much lower pressure) often puts out the source of the flame. As far as paintball is concerned you're far less likely to encounter a situation where rupturing a propane tank would set it off.

[RobOpel]

I wouldn't know, I don't work at a warehouse.

I'm just saying that if you bang a propane tank on a rock or land on it you could have one hell of a show.

So if the tank ruptures, whats going to ignite the gas? I could understand if it was someone smoking in the staging area or something, but would the igniter be around long enough to ignite it? The reason I pose it like this is that those tanks have enough pressure to 'blow out' a match if it were right beside the hole, and the propane would disperse into the air quickly enough that unless you were inside when this happened, or someone were actively lighting a cigarette or something right in the direction the propane was shooting, but a foot or so away from it, there wouldnt be much of a problem.

My background on this comes from building a flamethrower a couple years ago...we built a tank that could be pressurized to 200 psi and used a blow torch for a pilot light. Using denatured alcohol and 130 psi, the blow torch had to be 3-4" from the end of the nozle. Any closer and it blew out, any further away and the alcohol had already dispersed enough that it wouldn't light.

-Rob

[paintballfiend]

So if the tank ruptures, whats going to ignite the gas? I could understand if it was someone smoking in the staging area or something, but would the igniter be around long enough to ignite it? The reason I pose it like this is that those tanks have enough pressure to 'blow out' a match if it were right beside the hole, and the propane would disperse into the air quickly enough that unless you were inside when this happened, or someone were actively lighting a cigarette or something right in the direction the propane was shooting, but a foot or so away from it, there wouldnt be much of a problem.

My background on this comes from building a flamethrower a couple years ago...we built a tank that could be pressurized to 200 psi and used a blow torch for a pilot light. Using denatured alcohol and 130 psi, the blow torch had to be 3-4" from the end of the nozle. Any closer and it blew out, any further away and the alcohol had already dispersed enough that it wouldn't light.

-Rob

Ohh, I have officially been served. I gives you props hommie.
I see your point. I just get that episode of King of the Hill in my head where the Megalomart explodes due to a gas leak. I don't want a fear of propane to keep me from grilling my favorite meats.

[tbizzle0]

honestly, i see where you're coming from boydster, but i think the sound of using 'propane' scares people the most. becuase, yeah it's true, something could go wrong and it could possibly combust and cause injury (a lot of people smoke on field too) but chances are....it won't.

plus, it's stinky.....heh. i wouldnt want to be shootin that thing in front of my face all day, whereas c02/hpa are odorless gases. anyways, good idea but not quite...."practical" enough