Post by Gargoyle on Dec 1, 2004 21:13:54 GMT -5
This is taken from pbreview forums..
In the last few weeks, there has been a preponderance of questions regarding the utilization of SCUBA tanks in filling HPA bottles.
BASIC INFORMATION
SCUBA tanks are gauged not only by psi, but their basic size. More specifically, they are measured in Cubic Feet (cu. ft.) The most commonly used SCUBA tanks are 3000 psi/80 cu. ft. (there are other sized tanks available, but the 80 is definitely the way to go in terms of value.) While there are 4500 psi tanks available, they have tendency to be inconveniently bulky, and more importantly, three to five times more expensive than their 3000 psi counterpart.
While I cannot be sure, I would assume SCUBA tanks are fairly universal in size. They are 30¨ in height, 7.5 inches in diameter and weight approximately 45 pounds when full.
GETTING STARTED
FILL STATION: Before you even get a SCUBA tank, you will need a fill station. The fill station is used to connect the SCUBA tank to your HPA bottle; a SCUBA tank is worthless to a paintballer without a fill station. These are very common and easy to find. You can find them at most local pro-shops and online paintball retailers. They can range from anywhere from $40-$80.
SCUBA TANK(s): As previously stated, I recommend an 80 cu. ft. tank. You can find them at Paintball websites/stores, EBay, some sporting goods websites (e.g. sportschalet.com), and/or local dive shops. I would not pay more than $110 for a NEW tank. I actually paid $80 for a used tank at a local dive shop. The tank has to have a "K-valve¨ so it is compatible with a fill station. I like supporting small business so I recommend you go to the dive shop. They will probably be the people filling your tank to begin with, so it doesn't hurt getting on their good side and supporting them!
AIR FILLS: This can sometimes be complicated. I've found that while many people are willing to sell you a SCUBA tank, they're not nearly as cooperative in filling them. Many vendors require a C-Card or diving certification in order to fill your tanks. BE SURE TO CALL AROUND AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET YOUR TANK(s) FILLED BEFORE MAKING AN INVESTMENT!!! If and when you do find someone that fills tanks, I would recommend buying your tanks from them assuming the price is decent.
USING A SCUBA TANK
Setting up and using a SCUBA tank is an easy and self-explanatory task. On all fill stations, one end contains an OPENING and SCREW to attach to the SCUBA tank. The other end has a nozzle piece that attaches to your HPA bottle. On the side of the fill station, there is a release valve. It will all make sense when you see the pieces.
1. Screw the fill station onto the SCUBA tank
2. Close the release valve (if it isn't closed already)
3. Attach HPA bottle to nozzle portion of fill station
4. SLOWLY, open the valve to the SCUBA tank. For best efficiency, always fill your bottle slowly. Going too quick excites the gas, thus pressurizing the bottle too rapidly, and will not let allow you to reach the potential maximum psi.
5. The SCUBA tank will STOP filling on its own.*
6. Close the valve to the SCUBA tank
7. Open the release valve
8. Remove your HPA bottle from the fill station
9. Remove your fill station from your SCUBA tank
*Initially, your HPA bottle will fill up to 3000psi; however it will drop with subsequent fills. Essentially, the SCUBA tanks quits filling when it can no longer project air into the HPA bottle because it lacks the internal pressure. The MOMENT you release air out of your full SCUBA tank, it looses internal pressure. The more air you release, the more pressure you release. I will devote more on this in the next section.
AIR CONSUMPTION/PRESSURE LOSS
ONE 80 cu. ft. tank WILL ONLY YIELD ONE OR TWO 3000 psi FILLS!!
You did not misread that, ONE FULL SCUBA TANK will only FILL your tank a couple of times. A SCUBA tank doesn't have enough pressure to go over 3000 psi, so in reality, the fill is closer to 2800 once the air settles. Following that, EACH fill will lose approximately 100-250 psi/fill, because as stated earlier, the SCUBA tank lacks the internal pressure to do so. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but remember, the MOMENT you release air out of your full SCUBA tank, it looses internal pressure. That's why there is that 100-250psi drop off between fills!!!
Example: Utilizing ONE tank
Number of fills PSI (of both tanks, before settling)
1 3000
2 2800
3 2750
4 2550
5 2300
6 2150
As you can see, with each fill, the SCUBA tank becomes less and less pressurized, and thus looses its ability to fill an HPA bottle. Obviously, the more you gas up, the more pressure you use. Thus, I recommend topping off as often as possible. It is less taxing on the tank to go from 1700 to 2800psi opposed to 600 to 2800psi. Actually, I just hate shooting with less than 1000psi so that's why I probably recommend it!!
CASCADING: Cascading is a way to get around the pressure limitations of a single SCUBA tank. You will need at least TWO tanks to utilize this method. This way, you would use one tank(s) as the primary fill tank, and the another tank exclusively to top off. This way, while one tank loses pressure at a rapid rate; the other remains relatively full, enabling it to keep filling at a higher psi.
Example: Utilizing TWO tanks
Fills-- PSI/SCUBA #1-- PSI/SCUBA #2, HPA bottle
1 2400 3000
2 2300 3000
3 2200 2900
4 2100 2850
5 1950 2700
6 1800 2550
Example: Utilizing THREE tanks
Fills-- PSI/SC#1-- PSI/SC#2-- PSI/SC#3, HPA--
1 1500 2500 3000
2 1450 2400 3000
3 1350 2300 3000
4 1300 2250 2900
5 1250 2200 2800
6 1150 2100 2700
Thus, as you can see, the more SCUBA tanks you have, the longer you can stay at a high PSI. The numbers listed above are NOT scientifically researched, rather, a rough approximation to illustrate how cascading works.
4500 and 5000psi HPA bottles CAN be filled with a SCUBA tank, however they will only get up to 3000 psi.
One scuba tank is more than enough for one person, assuming you just shoot a case (or two) a day.
Well, I hope this helpful for some of you! I love my SCUBA tanks and encourage anyone who is thinking about it to make that investment. As long as you play regularly, the purchase will eventually pay for itself over time.
Again, this was copied from pbreview forums
I have a 80/3000 tank. Paid $160.00 & $15.00 for my Custom Sticker. I Pay $6.45 to fill it at Scuba Unlimited (513) 793-4747 in Blue Ash (I bought the tank from them)
;D
In the last few weeks, there has been a preponderance of questions regarding the utilization of SCUBA tanks in filling HPA bottles.
BASIC INFORMATION
SCUBA tanks are gauged not only by psi, but their basic size. More specifically, they are measured in Cubic Feet (cu. ft.) The most commonly used SCUBA tanks are 3000 psi/80 cu. ft. (there are other sized tanks available, but the 80 is definitely the way to go in terms of value.) While there are 4500 psi tanks available, they have tendency to be inconveniently bulky, and more importantly, three to five times more expensive than their 3000 psi counterpart.
While I cannot be sure, I would assume SCUBA tanks are fairly universal in size. They are 30¨ in height, 7.5 inches in diameter and weight approximately 45 pounds when full.
GETTING STARTED
FILL STATION: Before you even get a SCUBA tank, you will need a fill station. The fill station is used to connect the SCUBA tank to your HPA bottle; a SCUBA tank is worthless to a paintballer without a fill station. These are very common and easy to find. You can find them at most local pro-shops and online paintball retailers. They can range from anywhere from $40-$80.
SCUBA TANK(s): As previously stated, I recommend an 80 cu. ft. tank. You can find them at Paintball websites/stores, EBay, some sporting goods websites (e.g. sportschalet.com), and/or local dive shops. I would not pay more than $110 for a NEW tank. I actually paid $80 for a used tank at a local dive shop. The tank has to have a "K-valve¨ so it is compatible with a fill station. I like supporting small business so I recommend you go to the dive shop. They will probably be the people filling your tank to begin with, so it doesn't hurt getting on their good side and supporting them!
AIR FILLS: This can sometimes be complicated. I've found that while many people are willing to sell you a SCUBA tank, they're not nearly as cooperative in filling them. Many vendors require a C-Card or diving certification in order to fill your tanks. BE SURE TO CALL AROUND AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET YOUR TANK(s) FILLED BEFORE MAKING AN INVESTMENT!!! If and when you do find someone that fills tanks, I would recommend buying your tanks from them assuming the price is decent.
USING A SCUBA TANK
Setting up and using a SCUBA tank is an easy and self-explanatory task. On all fill stations, one end contains an OPENING and SCREW to attach to the SCUBA tank. The other end has a nozzle piece that attaches to your HPA bottle. On the side of the fill station, there is a release valve. It will all make sense when you see the pieces.
1. Screw the fill station onto the SCUBA tank
2. Close the release valve (if it isn't closed already)
3. Attach HPA bottle to nozzle portion of fill station
4. SLOWLY, open the valve to the SCUBA tank. For best efficiency, always fill your bottle slowly. Going too quick excites the gas, thus pressurizing the bottle too rapidly, and will not let allow you to reach the potential maximum psi.
5. The SCUBA tank will STOP filling on its own.*
6. Close the valve to the SCUBA tank
7. Open the release valve
8. Remove your HPA bottle from the fill station
9. Remove your fill station from your SCUBA tank
*Initially, your HPA bottle will fill up to 3000psi; however it will drop with subsequent fills. Essentially, the SCUBA tanks quits filling when it can no longer project air into the HPA bottle because it lacks the internal pressure. The MOMENT you release air out of your full SCUBA tank, it looses internal pressure. The more air you release, the more pressure you release. I will devote more on this in the next section.
AIR CONSUMPTION/PRESSURE LOSS
ONE 80 cu. ft. tank WILL ONLY YIELD ONE OR TWO 3000 psi FILLS!!
You did not misread that, ONE FULL SCUBA TANK will only FILL your tank a couple of times. A SCUBA tank doesn't have enough pressure to go over 3000 psi, so in reality, the fill is closer to 2800 once the air settles. Following that, EACH fill will lose approximately 100-250 psi/fill, because as stated earlier, the SCUBA tank lacks the internal pressure to do so. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but remember, the MOMENT you release air out of your full SCUBA tank, it looses internal pressure. That's why there is that 100-250psi drop off between fills!!!
Example: Utilizing ONE tank
Number of fills PSI (of both tanks, before settling)
1 3000
2 2800
3 2750
4 2550
5 2300
6 2150
As you can see, with each fill, the SCUBA tank becomes less and less pressurized, and thus looses its ability to fill an HPA bottle. Obviously, the more you gas up, the more pressure you use. Thus, I recommend topping off as often as possible. It is less taxing on the tank to go from 1700 to 2800psi opposed to 600 to 2800psi. Actually, I just hate shooting with less than 1000psi so that's why I probably recommend it!!
CASCADING: Cascading is a way to get around the pressure limitations of a single SCUBA tank. You will need at least TWO tanks to utilize this method. This way, you would use one tank(s) as the primary fill tank, and the another tank exclusively to top off. This way, while one tank loses pressure at a rapid rate; the other remains relatively full, enabling it to keep filling at a higher psi.
Example: Utilizing TWO tanks
Fills-- PSI/SCUBA #1-- PSI/SCUBA #2, HPA bottle
1 2400 3000
2 2300 3000
3 2200 2900
4 2100 2850
5 1950 2700
6 1800 2550
Example: Utilizing THREE tanks
Fills-- PSI/SC#1-- PSI/SC#2-- PSI/SC#3, HPA--
1 1500 2500 3000
2 1450 2400 3000
3 1350 2300 3000
4 1300 2250 2900
5 1250 2200 2800
6 1150 2100 2700
Thus, as you can see, the more SCUBA tanks you have, the longer you can stay at a high PSI. The numbers listed above are NOT scientifically researched, rather, a rough approximation to illustrate how cascading works.
4500 and 5000psi HPA bottles CAN be filled with a SCUBA tank, however they will only get up to 3000 psi.
One scuba tank is more than enough for one person, assuming you just shoot a case (or two) a day.
Well, I hope this helpful for some of you! I love my SCUBA tanks and encourage anyone who is thinking about it to make that investment. As long as you play regularly, the purchase will eventually pay for itself over time.
Again, this was copied from pbreview forums
I have a 80/3000 tank. Paid $160.00 & $15.00 for my Custom Sticker. I Pay $6.45 to fill it at Scuba Unlimited (513) 793-4747 in Blue Ash (I bought the tank from them)
;D