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Gas Systems
Equipment Antisiphon Tubes One thing that you quickly discover when playing with CO2 is that the liquid is much more dense then the vapor, so it always goes to the bottom of the tank. If you have the tank hooked up to your marker or remote vertically, then you're fine. However if you are like 90% of us and you like your tank to be somewhat comfortable, and at a horizontal position, then an antisiphon tube is your first line of defense. It works, pretty much like a snorkel and allows gas to enter your marker, and not liquid. Keep in mind that an antisiphon tube should be matched to the ASA on your marker. If its not, then it could hurt more then it helps. Obviously if the tube in the pic below was turned down instead of up, then you wouldn't have much of a chance at getting gas into your marker.  Expansion Chambers Expansion chambers work like reverse heat sinks; they allow heat from the outside to warm up the gas inside, which gives the CO2 extra room to expand. This decreases the chance that liquid CO2 reaches your marker. Many chambers are subdivided like the one in the picture below, so that liquid CO2 falls down to the bottom, but isn't allowed to go out into the marker.  Regulators A regulator is a device that is made to actively control the output pressure of gas going through it. Optimally, the output pressure is unaffected by spikes or drops in input pressures. Poorly built regs can restrict air supply, whereas better regs have a higher "recharge rate." A marker is made to shoot at a certain pressure and every time it fires pressure in the marker drops as gas is expelled to shoot the paintball. Better regs have a higher flow, so the amount of time that is at a suboptimal pressure between shots is minimized and the marker is recharged as fast as possible. Regulators can come in an inline or bottom line setup as pictured below, or on HPA tanks. When adding multiple regulators to a marker, its important to keep about a 150-200psi differential between the regs, otherwise you can start restricting the flow by starving one reg for gas. There are few regulators that are made to work with CO2. Palmer's Stabilizers are perhaps the most famous for their ability to tame down CO2's spikes. Regulators don't inherently control liquid CO2 from reaching your marker, but they do allow you to drop your marker's operating pressure. Because its harder for liquid CO2 to exist at a lower pressure (the lower the pressure, the lower the temperature has to be for liquid to still exist) it adds another layer of security.  Remotes Remotes are typically used by players that do not want to attach their tanks directly to their markers. It changes the balance point of the marker and removes weight from it. For those that use their markers during scenarios, this can be especially valuable. However, players often find that switching hands with a remote is difficult. CO2 users especially enjoy the fact that by using a remote, its like adding an expansion chamber to your marker. It gives the gas additional room to expand into and be warmed by the outside environment.  Drop Forward A drop forward positions the tank further towards the center of the marker. They are made to change the balance of the marker, and ultimately make it more tight and compact.  ASA ASA's or "Air Source Adapters" are pretty simply the inputs for gas to go into your marker. Some come with handy on/off switches that help you air up and degas your marker. ASA's are built to be strong enough to hold tanks and still withstand the rigors of paintball as well.  HPA HPA stands for "High Pressure Air" and its often called "N2," or "Nitro." These other names usually stem from the fact that the air that we breathe contains nearly 80% nitrogen. The term HPA should in no way be confused with the output pressure of the tank. All paintball HPA tanks have regulators built in that send off a steady stream of gas at usually 400-800psi, regardless of the pressure in the tank. Tank Pressures There are two main pressures available: 3,000 psi and 4,500 psi. There is a substantial price increase between the two tanks, but there is a substantial difference in the amount of shots you can get as well. For example, if you can get 1,000 shots off of a 3,000 psi tank, you can get 1,500 out of the same size 4,500 psi tank. Ultimately players want to get as many shots as possible from as small of a package as possible, so 4,500 psi tanks are very popular. Output Pressure There are pretty much three types of formats for output pressure. CO2 Virtually everyone starts out using CO2 as their gas of choice. One of the things that makes it ideal is that a player can store a lot of energy in a relatively small tank, at a relatively low pressure. This is because it exists in a liquid form at about 800psi (depending on temp), and it expands into a vapor. The biggest dangers that CO2 poses to a paintball marker are not effects of CO2 being an inherently bad gas, but effects of the liquid CO2 on the marker. If you have ever seen small ice particles or "snow" being shot out of the front end of your marker, then you have had liquid CO2 in your marker. If liquid CO2 reaches the marker it can destroy O-rings, degrade seals, and damage electric solenoids that meter gas supply. It can also expand rapidly when its warmed up, causing "velocity spikes." These spikes can cause an otherwise tame marker to shoot hot. Furthermore, if a player chronos their marker in the early morning (when its cool) then they need to consider rechronoing again when it gets warmer, as the steady increase in temperature can equate to a steady increase in velocity as well. Large temperature swings can cause unsafe fluctuations in a marker's velocity. Ultimately, if there was a reliable way to keep CO2 at the same temperature and to keep liquid CO2 from entering in a marker then it would be used by every player.  CO2 Verses HPA Ultimately the choice between which gas to go with depends greatly on both your needs and your marker choice. If you go with a high end electro, then you want to be feeding it HPA. If you choose to go with a mech marker like a Tippmann, Palmer, or AGD then running CO2 can be very acceptable. HPA's main benefit is that it is stable at all temps and pressures. You won't see nearly as much dramatic spiking with it as you will see with CO2. CO2's main benefits are that you can get more shots out of a smaller package, and the tanks are much cheaper than HPA. For comparison purposes I've added this chart showing which size HPA tanks are comparable to these common CO2 tanks, so if you are thinking of upgrading from CO2 to HPA you'll know about how big of a tank to get. |
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