1. Air/Co2 Testing
- UK: Pi, CE and HSE
- US: DOT
- Canada: TC
Bottles stamped with these marks are legal in the countries they are listed under
Test dates:
These are UK ONLY
Copied from the UKPSF:
The fastest growth area in paintball at the present time is the conversion of markers from CO2 to compressed air. With this in mind the UKPSF would like to bring to player’s attention the need to have cylinders tested at approved intervals. Testing must be carried out on all full fibre wrap after three years (see notes below) and half fibre wrap bottles after five years from the date of manufacture., Steel and Aluminium bottles must also be tested five years from the manufactured date. This applies to ALL bottles of 0.5litre capacity and above including CO2 bottles.
The date of retest is from the date of manufacture, which will be etched into the cylinder in the case of steel or aluminium or on a label that is laminated into the fibre wrap on the cylinder, not from the date you purchased the cylinder. There must be out of test cylinders being used by paintballers so check your cylinder today.
The testing house can test the following cylinders: - HSE-AL-FWI (full wrap composite) HSE-AL-HWI (half wrap composite) BS 5043 Part 3 (Aluminium),BS 5043 part 4 (Steel), HSE-AL-FW2 and EN 12245. All these bottles must be subjected to a hydraulic pressure test to BS 5430 Part 3 (1990) and the new European Pi approval
If your bottle is out of test and you attend a tournament where compressed air is supplied, the organiser will refuse to fill your bottle as they will be breaking the law by filling an out of date cylinder. If you have a DOT cylinder the supplier of air will also refuse to fill your cylinder. If an accident should occur using an out of date bottle it could invalidate any insurance policy the site owner has and any personal policy you might have as a player.
There are several tournaments where air is not supplied by the organiser at these events the marshals have been instructed to check players’ cylinders and players with out of test bottles will not be allowed to play.
It is essential to check your cylinder today to prevent you from being refused permission to play an event. If you need your cylinder testing contact either Quantum products (01908 669468) Paintball Planet (0161 872 5572) or H-pac air services (01902 494988) Testing usually takes about two to three weeks.
Remember, a cylinder not in test can’t be used and will not be filled by a commercial supplier of compressed air.
Remember
FIVE YEARS FOR FULL-FIBRE WRAPPED BOTTLES - EN12245 and Pi certified.
THREE YEARS FOR FULL WRAPPED BOTTLES - HSE-AL-FW2 manufactured before July 2003 then five years after retesting for SCI and Luxfer cylinders
THREE YEARS FOR FULL WRAPPED BOTTLES - HSE-AL-FW1
FIVE YEARS FOR HALF WARP BOTTLES
FIVE YEARS FOR ALUMINUM OR STEEL BOTTLES
NOTES and amendments
The new European regulations (TPED) came onto the statute book in July 2003 and at that point the UK specification HSE-AL-FW2 became obsolete ie. no new cylinders could be produced to this specification for the UK market.
From July 2003, the European standard EN 12245 became the only acceptable specification for new cylinders.
All cylinders manufactured and certified to the HSE-AL-FW2 specification prior to July 2003 and retested after July 2003 have their retest period extended from 3 to 5 years at their next retest.
If you have a cylinder manufactured before July 2003 then you need to have it tested 3 years from the original manufactured date. The recertified cylinder will then need retesting after a further five year period.
All cylinders manufactured to EN 12245 and Pi certified to comply with the TPED start with a retest period of 5 years from date of manufacture.
All bottles should be discarded at the end of their design life, which is stamped on the bottle.
NB: Added by me (i.e not the UKPSF) In The UK you are not allowed to FILL DOT tested bottles, you are only allowed to use HSE and Pi tested bottles. The same goes for the states.
A way around this (although I do not encourage it, and do it entirely at your own risk) would be for a team playing in the UK with DOT bottles is to buy an HSE dive tank & get that filled, then fill your own tanks off that. Please make sure that all around you know what you are doing and keep well away from any people who are not FULLY aware of the legal grey area you are exploiting by doing this.
2.Air system lubrication/ Facts
Air systems should NOT be lubricated with anything other than designated high pressure lubricants, such as LOVE JUICE AIR LUBRICANT for angel A.I.R regs, made by WDP.
Putting ANYTHING else into you air system will run the risk of EXPLOSION
Buy a nipple cover for the fill nipple on your regulator, it stops any dirt and crap getting into your air system.
Bottles tend to come in set sizes, these are:
47 cubic inch / 0.8 litre
68 cubic inch / 1.1 litre
88 cubic inch / 1.5 litre
114 cubic inch / 1.9 litre
Air Systems come in three types of pressure, the higher the pressure, the more gas can be stored inside (i.e a 1.1 L 4500psi air system would store 50% more air than a 1.1L 3000psi system)
the compressoins are:
3000psi
4500psi
5000psi
Output pressure:
Normal fixed: 850 Psi
Low pressure fixed: 450 psi
CO2: 850 psi
Push fittings: You want these to be secure & rated for what you are using the for, if they explode the you are in big trouble:
High pressure push fittings: 900 psi
Standard push fittings: 230 psi
High pressure push fittings are available from Toma on these forums.
Macrolines are usually good for 200-800 psi (dependant upon type), but to be quite honest if one bursts, it will do no damage and they are easy and cheap to replace
