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please help me chose a air source for bbmg

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:20 pm
by aqauras
Ok so i want to build my first bbmg but im haveing trouble selecting the best propelnt for me I want to spend as little money as possiable but I dont know what to use. I did some reasrch but I still havent come to a conclusion heres what I know already.

propane: its cheap easy to connect to a blow gun and doesnt need a regulator only problem is im not allowed to use it becuase its flameable.

co2: the co2 its self is cheap and isnt a problem to hook up to a blow gun but it the regulators for co2 are expensive and as you know i dont want to spend much money.

hpa: the tanks are expensive and the regulators are cheap it totals up to basicly the same cost of a co2 set up.

preasure dusters: all ive heard about these is they have good out put preasure (about 150 psi) but they dont give enough air to oprate a bbmg if any one knows how to inlarge the air output please tell me.

co2 tire fillers: they push air out at a very high preasure around 800 psi but it uses up all the co2 very quick if any one knows how to lower the rate the co2 is pushed out that would help.

heluim: ive never heard of any one useing heluim but it seems it would work and it also proably wouldnt need a regultor but to my knowledge there none refiable and the only cheap ones are ballon fillers and i wouldnt think they have a high out put preasure.

airsoft green gas (propane): not sure if its flameable but my parents wont know so i would be able to use it only problem is i dont know how i would hook up a green gas can to a blowgun or preasure washer or anything that i can use as a triger.

fire extinguishers : not sure about the output preasure or the volume of air that is pushed out but fire extinguishers are expensive and i would have to make sure it is a co2 extinguisher and not one of the chemical ones.

nitrogen: the tanks are around 50 dollars and im pretty sure a normal regulator would work due to the fact nitrogen is not a liquid under preasure like co2 is unless it is very cold so it is a considerable option.

if i missed anything please tell me im always open for new ideas !
this is my first post so go easy on my spelling and grammer.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:24 pm
by spudtyrrant
uh hmmm how about air :roll: :D

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:30 pm
by aqauras
thats hpa right hpa stands for high preasre air right?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:36 pm
by bobgengeskahn
CO2 and HPA are most common. HPA = high pressure air. depending which you go with you need to make sure the regulator you run can run whatever you have... I went with a Palmers so I know it can run both. CO2 tanks are cheaper than HPA ($20-50) and about $5 to fill. HPA tanks cost a lot more, but HPA is more reliable to run off of if you are doing something that requires consistency.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 6:55 pm
by spudtyrrant
aqauras wrote:thats hpa right hpa stands for high preasre air right?
first of all, pcguy was nice enough to put a spell check at the bottom right of the message box, and second i was referring to a low pressure high volume source.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 7:58 pm
by clemsonguy1125
Well the most common air source is a air compresser, but it looks like you want it to bee portable. Ive made pvc tanks out of 5 feet of pvc. It worked good enough at 40 psi to shoot through a coke can. It only last about 5 seconds though. Id glue a schrader in a fire extinguisher and pump it up to whatever pressure its rated at. It I dont think it will matter what kind of extinguisher is is as long as it empty but Ive never used one. Heres my pvc tank one. http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/portabl ... 19708.html

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:12 pm
by Gun Freak
Wow clemsonguy I've seen your gun on youtube :D

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 8:49 pm
by DR
Mr.Plow, my favorite old SGTC moderator, was a genius, when it came to BBMG's!

Check out this link on his webpage, which (amazingly) is still active:

<a href="http://www.neospud.com/mark3/mark3.html">UltimateInline
Mark III - Commando</a>

... BBMG require a massive amount (volume) of air, to sustain a particular rate of fire. If you don't have a large air compressor, this is the cheapest way to go.

IIRC, he also used a 10lb. CO2 cylinder, which was mounted to a scuba backpack frame.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:10 pm
by aqauras
what about those green gas cans is there any way to hook one up to a blow gun?

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:26 pm
by clemsonguy1125
aqauras wrote:what about those green gas cans is there any way to hook one up to a blow gun?
Well I wouldn't, as green gas is just propane and a can of green gas can cost about 15 bucks so if your going to use that you should just by a camping propane can as that will bee easiest to use

By the way green gas containers say they are flammable so your parents will probably figure it out.

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 9:54 pm
by ramses
clemsonguy1125 wrote:By the way green gas containers say they are flammable so your parents will probably figure it out.
If you're the argumentative type, you could use this to your advantage.

"if it is safe enough to be allowed to be sold and used as propellants in commercial airsoft guns, why I can't I use it? And propane is the same thing, just around 1/10th the cost."

Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 11:49 pm
by DR
LPG, while inexpensive, is far too dangerous to use;

The gas lies low and collects near the floor- I could already envision someone playing with this in their garage, and then one small spark (like a stray bb hitting the floor, would make the entire garage a 3200 cubic foot combustion chamber.

Also, at a high-rate of flow, the line leading to your BBMG would just freeze up anyway. Or, more importantly, you'd start spitting out liquid propane. - BAD NEWS! The liquid, once it hits the open air, turns to a gas and expands to 270 times it's volume.

The pvc could crack, it subjected to enough of a shock. PVC plastic is actually stronger when it's cold, but on the flip-side, is more brittle - as far as impact is concerned.

You could buy yourself a kick-ass compressor, for about 200 bucks and be limited to the garage... But think of all the fun you would have, now that you can build and test monster-sized pneumatics!

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 12:51 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
A good track pump won't cost much, that will enable you to take a reasonably sized reservoir to pressure in a short time.

This is what I managed with 90 psi and a 2 litre coke bottle, you can make a bigger reservoir in the shape of a backpack as suggested above for more firing time.

This one used a similar setup, lasted about 4 seconds and was slightly less ghetto ;)