Post by nliwarrior13 on Oct 13, 2005 6:38:28 GMT -5
Originally posted by kjjm4
Compressed air is just what it sounds like; it is the atmospheric air we breathe, compressed to high pressure (after being filtered and dried). N2 is nitrogen. Air is 70% nitrogen. From a performance standpoint, when used to power a paintgun, there is no noticeable difference between the two. Most places fill with air.
The advantage of air/N2 over CO2 is that CO2 is stored in the bottle as a liquid, and must expand to a gas to power most paintball guns. This expansion process in inherently unstable. Also, the expansion process absorbs heat energy, which is why your gun gets cold when you shoot fast with CO2. Because of the instability inherent in the expansion process, CO2 is not as consistent as air, and your velocity will spike and drop erratically. CO2 has problems working in extreme temperatures as well. Some guns, particularly electronic markers, have problems with freezing while running CO2, and can be either temporarily or permanently damaged by it.
Air/N2 is always a gas, so it is much more stable than CO2, and because of this, it operates a paintball gun more consistently and at a more constant velocity.
----------
FAQ
Q: What do the numbers mean on an air system?
A: The first number is the volume of the tank in cubic inches, and the second number is the pressure the tank can safely be filled to, in pounds per square inch. For example, a 68/4500 tank holds 68 cubic inches of air, at a maximum pressure of 4500 psi.
Q: How many shots can I get from air system X?
A: As a rather general rule of thumb, a 3000 psi system gets 10 shots per cubic inch, and a 4500 psi system gets 15 shots per cubic inch. For example, a 47/3000 air system will give roughly 450-500 shots (the formula says 470) on an average gun. The formula estimate is pretty rough; some guns will do a lot better, and some will get fewer shots than the formula says, but it gets you in the ballpark.
Q: Can I run my gun on CO2?
A: Generally speaking, the answer is yes, even for electronic markers. However, not all guns can be run on raw, unregulated CO2. All low priced blowbacks can run on CO2, just by screwing a CO2 into the ASA. For an electronic marker, things get more complicated. If liquid CO2 enters the gun, parts can freeze, which will cause the gun to stop working. The problem of freezing is complicated further by the very high rates of fire that electronic guns can achieve. To use CO2 on an electronic marker an anti-siphon tube should be used at minimum. The best setup is a female (bottomline) Palmer's Stablizer, running into a male Stabilizer. With this setup, you can run CO2 on any gun. Even though you can make CO2 work, the only reason to select it over air is if air fills are not available. CO2 is not more cost effective on a high-end electronic marker, because you need to spend about $150 on regulators, and you can easily get a compressed air system for that much. The best high-end markers to run on CO2 are the Impulse (by Smart Parts), and the WGP Autococker. Both of these will operate fine on CO2 with nothing more than an anti-siphon.
Q:What output pressure do I need?
A: There are three types of HPA tanks: high pressure output presets, low pressure output presets, and adjustable output tanks. Most guns on the market today work best with a high pressure output preset tank. These tanks output about 850 psi, which is the average pressure of a CO2 tank. Spiders, Tippmanns, and other blowback-operated guns need a high pressure output tank. Even many guns that run on relatively low pressure, like Autocockers, require a high pressure tank, because the inline regulator controls the pressure going into the gun, and to prevent starving/shootdown and inconsistency, you need at least 200 psi more pressure going into the reg than coming out. Some guns, like the newer Angels (Speed and A4) need a low pressure output tank. An adjustable tank is more of a luxury than a necessity for most guns. In most cases, you still need an inline, secondary regulator to get really good consistency An adjustable output tank lets you really tweak things to get the best efficiency and consistency. The cost of adjustable air systems is prohibitive, so they are overkill and unneeded for most entry to mid-level guns.
Q: What is the difference between an expansion chamber and a regulator, and which is better?
A: An expansion chamber is just what it sounds like: a chamber for gas to expand in. CO2 is a liquid in the tank, and needs time/space to expand. The x-chamber provides space for the gas to expand, so it is more likely to be a gas when it enters the gun. A regulator, on the other hand, controls the pressure of a gas. Regulators help improve the consistency of a gun by keeping the input pressure steady, which helps prevent fluctuations in velocity. From a performance standpoint, a reg. is almost always better than an x-chamber. Unless you play in cold weather with CO2, an x-chamber usually won't make more than a slight difference in performance.
Q: Are there any advantages to using CO2?
A: Yes, there are. Some guns are real gas hogs, like the old Shockers, and some Tippmann markers. The old Shockers were very low pressure, so they could operate perfectly well on CO2 (CO2 is less and less likely to be in a liquid state the lower pressures get). The Tippmann CVX valve is largely unaffected by liquid CO2, so they work just fine. CO2 is in a liquid state, so you can fit a great deal more CO2 into a given size tank (speaking in terms of the mass, which is a measure of the amount of matter, of the gas inside the bottle); this means you get a great deal more shots from a CO2 tank than you would from an equivalently sized HPA tank. For situations when size and weight are at a premium, or rapid fire is not important, CO2 is probably a good choice.
----------
Please feel free to ask any questions as they will be attempted and added to the FAQ if deemed "worthy".
Thanks
Compressed air is just what it sounds like; it is the atmospheric air we breathe, compressed to high pressure (after being filtered and dried). N2 is nitrogen. Air is 70% nitrogen. From a performance standpoint, when used to power a paintgun, there is no noticeable difference between the two. Most places fill with air.
The advantage of air/N2 over CO2 is that CO2 is stored in the bottle as a liquid, and must expand to a gas to power most paintball guns. This expansion process in inherently unstable. Also, the expansion process absorbs heat energy, which is why your gun gets cold when you shoot fast with CO2. Because of the instability inherent in the expansion process, CO2 is not as consistent as air, and your velocity will spike and drop erratically. CO2 has problems working in extreme temperatures as well. Some guns, particularly electronic markers, have problems with freezing while running CO2, and can be either temporarily or permanently damaged by it.
Air/N2 is always a gas, so it is much more stable than CO2, and because of this, it operates a paintball gun more consistently and at a more constant velocity.
----------
FAQ
Q: What do the numbers mean on an air system?
A: The first number is the volume of the tank in cubic inches, and the second number is the pressure the tank can safely be filled to, in pounds per square inch. For example, a 68/4500 tank holds 68 cubic inches of air, at a maximum pressure of 4500 psi.
Q: How many shots can I get from air system X?
A: As a rather general rule of thumb, a 3000 psi system gets 10 shots per cubic inch, and a 4500 psi system gets 15 shots per cubic inch. For example, a 47/3000 air system will give roughly 450-500 shots (the formula says 470) on an average gun. The formula estimate is pretty rough; some guns will do a lot better, and some will get fewer shots than the formula says, but it gets you in the ballpark.
Q: Can I run my gun on CO2?
A: Generally speaking, the answer is yes, even for electronic markers. However, not all guns can be run on raw, unregulated CO2. All low priced blowbacks can run on CO2, just by screwing a CO2 into the ASA. For an electronic marker, things get more complicated. If liquid CO2 enters the gun, parts can freeze, which will cause the gun to stop working. The problem of freezing is complicated further by the very high rates of fire that electronic guns can achieve. To use CO2 on an electronic marker an anti-siphon tube should be used at minimum. The best setup is a female (bottomline) Palmer's Stablizer, running into a male Stabilizer. With this setup, you can run CO2 on any gun. Even though you can make CO2 work, the only reason to select it over air is if air fills are not available. CO2 is not more cost effective on a high-end electronic marker, because you need to spend about $150 on regulators, and you can easily get a compressed air system for that much. The best high-end markers to run on CO2 are the Impulse (by Smart Parts), and the WGP Autococker. Both of these will operate fine on CO2 with nothing more than an anti-siphon.
Q:What output pressure do I need?
A: There are three types of HPA tanks: high pressure output presets, low pressure output presets, and adjustable output tanks. Most guns on the market today work best with a high pressure output preset tank. These tanks output about 850 psi, which is the average pressure of a CO2 tank. Spiders, Tippmanns, and other blowback-operated guns need a high pressure output tank. Even many guns that run on relatively low pressure, like Autocockers, require a high pressure tank, because the inline regulator controls the pressure going into the gun, and to prevent starving/shootdown and inconsistency, you need at least 200 psi more pressure going into the reg than coming out. Some guns, like the newer Angels (Speed and A4) need a low pressure output tank. An adjustable tank is more of a luxury than a necessity for most guns. In most cases, you still need an inline, secondary regulator to get really good consistency An adjustable output tank lets you really tweak things to get the best efficiency and consistency. The cost of adjustable air systems is prohibitive, so they are overkill and unneeded for most entry to mid-level guns.
Q: What is the difference between an expansion chamber and a regulator, and which is better?
A: An expansion chamber is just what it sounds like: a chamber for gas to expand in. CO2 is a liquid in the tank, and needs time/space to expand. The x-chamber provides space for the gas to expand, so it is more likely to be a gas when it enters the gun. A regulator, on the other hand, controls the pressure of a gas. Regulators help improve the consistency of a gun by keeping the input pressure steady, which helps prevent fluctuations in velocity. From a performance standpoint, a reg. is almost always better than an x-chamber. Unless you play in cold weather with CO2, an x-chamber usually won't make more than a slight difference in performance.
Q: Are there any advantages to using CO2?
A: Yes, there are. Some guns are real gas hogs, like the old Shockers, and some Tippmann markers. The old Shockers were very low pressure, so they could operate perfectly well on CO2 (CO2 is less and less likely to be in a liquid state the lower pressures get). The Tippmann CVX valve is largely unaffected by liquid CO2, so they work just fine. CO2 is in a liquid state, so you can fit a great deal more CO2 into a given size tank (speaking in terms of the mass, which is a measure of the amount of matter, of the gas inside the bottle); this means you get a great deal more shots from a CO2 tank than you would from an equivalently sized HPA tank. For situations when size and weight are at a premium, or rapid fire is not important, CO2 is probably a good choice.
----------
Please feel free to ask any questions as they will be attempted and added to the FAQ if deemed "worthy".
Thanks
