Thanks. I vaguely remember a scuba instructor saying a fully empty tank could cause condensation, which could lead to mold or bacteria which you would the breath in. Couldn't remember if there was something else 
Filling your bottles
- Thread starter Tom Allen
- Start date
Please bear in mind that I am new to this; but I have a few of questions:
a) How long would a 4500 tank last?
b) Do paintball sites charge to fill bottles?
c) Do scuba centres charge to fill bottles?
d) How long would it take to fully fill a 4500 tank?
Thanks
a) How long would a 4500 tank last?
b) Do paintball sites charge to fill bottles?
c) Do scuba centres charge to fill bottles?
d) How long would it take to fully fill a 4500 tank?
Thanks
a) From date of manufacture 15 years if retested every 5 years, number of shots per fill depends on your marker and how it is set up, from around 800 for a blowback like a Tippman to 2000 plus for a high end poppet.
b) Usually no, it's included in your green fees.
c) Yes, usually around £4-5 a time.
d) Depends on the fill station, the days of flash filling are gone thankfully, the slower you fill the safer and larger volume of charge you will achieve. It is a good policy to fill, allow the cylinder to cool down for a while and then top up. As you fill the cylinder will get warm and this reduces the overall capacity. 4,500 will be achieved as a cold fill.
Bear in mind that the industry standard is currently 3,000 psl, this is obviously cheaper to provide and reduces insurance costs for sites. Most Big Games and some tournaments will provide 4,500 fills. The biggest reason for using a 1.1 litre fiber wrapped 4,500 system is for extra shot capacity, for most players a 3,000 psi standard steel cylinder would be sufficient and a significant saving, you can always keep it as a backup when you progress to a larger cylinder at a later date.
Hope that helps, finally NEVER use any oil or other lubricant in or around an air system.
Thank you very much for a prompt and informative response. I really appreciate the advice!
safety. A few years back, someone who had sprayed wd40 in their fill nipple, used a quick fill station. Next guy to use it, went up in flames and an explosion, and was lucky to leave only with burns. So along with slow filling, 3k has become normal.
It's down to economics, if you do 4.5k fills you either need a bigger system or you need to be running the compressor virtually all day to keep the system full, plus you need to regulate the fill stations to 3k and 4.5k instead of just regulating the system, and then you need to man the fill stations to make sure no body fills a 3k at a 4.5k fill station, so much easier to do just 3k fills.
Ahhhh I see cheers matey as I fill my bottles myself anyway but a lot of sites only say 3k fill only thank you.
You can have safe slow 4.5k fill stations, likewise you can have dangerous flash fill 3k fill stations, and if any oils are contaminating the system even a safe slow 3k fill could be lethal.
