yet 'nother question!?!

[unknown]

aight, someone answer. what makes n2/hpa/whatever so good? how is it different from c02 as far as hook up, etc.

[lemonhead]

i honestly have no clue except for its durabililty and weight

[tj]

haha ok this is kinda had and if i get something wrong plez dont ge mad but here it goes
when co2 gets hot the velocity jumps makeing you shoot way hot nitro does not
co2 during the winter makes your gun freeze because it gets so cold
and nitro cost a lot more i dont use the stuff cause at some fields you cant get it :)

[C4pyro]

You did alright Tj but hopefully I can go a little further. CO2 is a very unconsistent gas...it starts as a liquid in your tank so therefore it must change state and expand as a gas...in this way it is not consisten because on one shot the co2 may expand more then on another so you will get a spike or drop in velocity. Also if you are shooting extremely fast, the gas will not have enough time to expand and you will start getting co2 liquid in the gun...this will start to freeze up your internals and dramaically alter the consistency of your velocity. Also with co2 with an on-gun tank, if you hold the gun down so the tank is above the gun, like in a ready position and then take a quick snap shot, you will spike, and I mean spike. If your gun is set at like 285...you can spike to like 320...hurts like a bit*h.

Air is a lot more consisten because it is already a gas and does not have to expand or change for. It is alot cleaner then co2 so you will also have to clean your gun less. And of course air is not really cold. it is actually more hot then it is cold, so it won't freeze your gun after rapid fires. If you other people don't believe the air gets a little warm...go to a fill starion and fill your tank...then touch the carbin fiber rap....it will be really warm if you filled it slow and pretty hot if you filled it fast....just a little tid bit....the slower you fill your tank the better. The extreme heat is not good for your fiber rap and you will keep more air in your tank. Hot air expands so if it is really hot, it will shrink in volume as it cools in your tank.

But yeah....co2 is cheaper and you cna get more shots off of it but air is better all around for your marker and game play.....I hope I covered everything and that I am remotely right?.....daaahhhwwwweeeellll....hehehehehe

[DasBaldDog]

TJ, for a man who had a paintball up his nose, you got it mostly correct.

Co2 when shot in rapid succession or in cold weather will tend to not evaporate into a gas before going through the gun which can damage the internals of the marker. Also, unless taken into consideration, the uneveness of the evaporation of the gas can cause velocity spikes (a good reg and expansion chamber can take care of that).
Nitro can be used in colder weather with constant pressure and will not freeze up your gun.

[in trauma]

if you put co2 through a reg is does pretty good and you never have to worry about spikes

[MuckRaker]

The most efficient and effective way to use CO2 is with an tank that has an anti-siphon tube, and an inline regulator.

an anti-siphon tube is a tube inserted into the tank that prevents liquid CO2 from entering the gun, so it helps keep the velocity more consistent.

[jfoust]

hpa is stored as a gun unlike co2 and will keep the same consistancy until the tankn is empty unlike co2 which u can tell is gettin low

[FSU Paintball]

Here's a good guide to go by. If your gun costs under $300, stay with CO2. It won't make much of a difference to switch to compressed air.

If your gun costs over $300, get compressed air when you can. It makes the biggest difference. Also, since tanks are getting so cheap, it's a good buy right now. You can get a 68 ci fiber wrapped 4500 psi tank from Pure Energy from action villiage right now for $220. I think it's the best buy for a tank in paintball right now. I have the same tank on my Mag, and I can shoot half a case out of it.

[UTLadiesMan]

Everyone has forgotten one of the most important parts. N2/HPA is usually stored at a much higher pressure. (about 1800 psi for CO2, and 3000 - 4500 psi for N2/HPA). Because of this you must have a regulator or maybe two, depending on your gun. True, the higher pressure gases expand more consistently, but the biggest difference is the presence of a good regulator. A high quality regulator (esp. those on more expensive tanks) makes the pressure inside your gun exactly the same after every shot. This means more consistency because each ball will react in exactly the same way. CO2 expands much more slowly than nitrogen or air, so putting a regulator right on the tank doesn't change all that much. The first shot of a string will be more consistent, but after rapid firing, your velocity will drop a lot.

[tj]

thanx guys i can get something right once in a while and i was tryin to say all of that but i was chattin on aim :)

[MuckRaker]

Originally posted by FSU Paintball
Here's a good guide to go by. If your gun costs under $300, stay with CO2. It won't make much of a difference to switch to compressed air.

If your gun costs over $300, get compressed air when you can. It makes the biggest difference. Also, since tanks are getting so cheap, it's a good buy right now. You can get a 68 ci fiber wrapped 4500 psi tank from Pure Energy from action villiage right now for $220. I think it's the best buy for a tank in paintball right now. I have the same tank on my Mag, and I can shoot half a case out of it.

Before getting a 4500 psi tank, you may want to make sure that your field, pro shop or other store can fill to that pressure.

[FSU Paintball]

Oooh, good point. I forgot to mention that. If you can't get 4500 psi fills, you might as well get the 3000 psi tank. It's about $170 at http://www.thepaintballstore.com

If you get a 3000 psi, I recommend the 88 ci Pure Energy size, so you can get enough shots.