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portable air source

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 1:01 am
by mike1010
Ok so i have a couple of vortex block bbmg's and several air sources. i was wondering what you think is best? i have a kobalt nail gun paintball thing, but it drops to 60 psi when i start firing, so thats not good(without an expansion chamber) and a small compressor. i also have scuba tanks but i'm not sure how to regulate them. i use them for diving so my question is can i use the low pressure inflator hose and what psi does it put out. also is there anything better for actually getting around while skirmishing?

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:18 am
by psycix
Most BBMGs need alot of air. Using a portable air tank may become very expensive but thats your call.
As your pressure drops when firing, the air supplying system cannot handle the flow needed for the BBMG.
You can use scuba tanks, but you will need a regulator. I assume that your gun can't handle 200 bar or more. Still the point is that you need to get alot of flow through the reg and that things will freeze up.

I'd use your small compressor if I were you. Does it have a decently sized air tank?

Portability is a problem with BBMGs as a compressor is certainly the best and the cheapest option.
Scuba tanks may be too heavy to lug around (unless they are made of carbon fibre) and CO2 paintball tanks will be empty in no-time.

EDIT
can->can't

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:35 am
by cheeseboy
psycix wrote: I assume that your gun can handle 200 bar or more.
wow! that's nearly 3000PSI, jokes :D

what I use is a small empty fire extinguisher filled to about 300PSI and regulated to about 80, I didn't have a choice on the air source of mine as that was on the plan and suits the gun well (also I am to cheapskate to get something proper), with this I can get about 2 fillings of my tee vortex before having to re-compress, which is more than enough for me, but if you want it to last I prefer pressure over size if your bbmg needs to be portable I would get A small scuba tank- although I don't know where you'd get one- my friend has one which is about 10kilos, and about 1.5 feet long with a diameter of 2 inches he can get a massive blast from this as it is pressurized at 1000PSI with oxygen and regulated to 100. One would run out of bb's first. but I agree with psycix if your compressor doesn't need 240vAC (or 120 if your American) I would be relatively easy to make a mount and power supply for it, and if its petrol even better. the main difference is that refilling pressure vessels to anything more than 500PSI usually requires you to take it to a diving shop or something of the like, where as a compressor can be run cheaply and wont run out of air on you in a skirmish!

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 5:42 am
by psycix
Whups, I meant:
"I assume that your gun can't handle 200 bar or more. "
A small scuba tank- although I don't know where you'd get one- my friend has one which is about 10kilos, and about 1.5 feet long with a diameter of 2 inches he can get a massive blast from this as it is pressurized at 1000PSI with oxygen and regulated to 100.
Using pure oxygen in pneumatic cannons is a VERY stupid idea.
Things can catch fire spontaneously, and when that happens, stuff explodes because it will burn VERY violently.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:53 am
by inonickname
I'd just reccomend a compressor, as long as it has a decent sized tank. If it's a good one it may have enough flow to power your gun even without a fully pressurised tank. And btw It's not very smart (like psy said) to use pure O2 in any cannon that has substantial friction...Or combustions

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:09 am
by mike1010
i have a regular scuba reg(the kind you use while diving), and i think that the first stage has 145 psi output but i only can find 1 source to confirm this. i have several air compressors big and small, but my problem is something i can bring out on a feild, with no power.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:41 am
by grumpy
mike1010 wrote:i have a regular scuba reg(the kind you use while diving), and i think that the first stage has 145 psi output but i only can find 1 source to confirm this. i have several air compressors big and small, but my problem is something i can bring out on a feild, with no power.

you are correct, this is my setup that i use in paintball games. you can see the scuba tank and reg behind me.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 6:53 pm
by cheeseboy
hehe, I showed my friend your comments, and I don't thinks he likes you guys anymore :D but frankly I am also astonished that I didn't think of that first as it seems like common sense, when I helped him make his first I told him things along the lines of; don't take it out in the cold, don't take it above 150PSI and, if you hear a crack, immediately retire the gun, but I forgot to tell him about using oxygen :oops: thanks guys for preventing an accident

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 8:26 pm
by mike1010
umm fyi scuba tanks almost never use pure oxygen that would kill you below like 20 feet. if diving plus a enriched o2 mix costs more, so he meant to say pressurized air.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:35 pm
by psycix
Well then maybe its an oxygen cylinder used for welding or something like that.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 9:41 pm
by inonickname
psycix wrote:Well then maybe its an oxygen cylinder used for welding or something like that.
That's oxy-acet with a blowtorch like attachment you're thinking about. MIG welders use a noble gas like neon or argon to prevent burning.

Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2009 10:05 pm
by frankrede
inonickname wrote:
psycix wrote:Well then maybe its an oxygen cylinder used for welding or something like that.
That's oxy-acet with a blowtorch like attachment you're thinking about. MIG welders use a noble gas like neon or argon to prevent burning.
False, they use inert gasses to prevent contaminates in the atmosphere from contaminating the weld.

Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 8:56 am
by psycix
inonickname wrote:
psycix wrote:Well then maybe its an oxygen cylinder used for welding or something like that.
That's oxy-acet with a blowtorch like attachment you're thinking about. MIG welders use a noble gas like neon or argon to prevent burning.
No its an oxy-acet welding blowtorch I'm thinking about.
Though the oxy-acetylene welding equipment has mostly been replaced by modern techniques now, but it is still used sometimes.

So oxygen cylinders were being used for welding in the past, and nowadays its mainly used for cutting. I was not referring to the noble gas cylinders in MIG or TIG welders.