could i fill a compressed air tank with an air compressor????

[Ed' E]

the other day i was painting a house with my dad
he has an air compressor he uses to spray the paint on the houses
it said maximum psi 3000
it also said 1250 HP
could i use it to fill a 3000 psi compressed air tank?:confused:

[Ronn]

Sure, and you could probably get 3000 psi in there too....for about one shot.

[FinnMcKool]

lol u wuz told

[F355DUDE]

Originally posted by Ed' E
the other day i was painting a house with my dad
he has an air compressor he uses to spray the paint on the houses
it said maximum psi 3000
it also said 1250 HP
could i use it to fill a 3000 psi compressed air tank?:confused:
1250 HP, eh? thats about the size of 2 Ferrari FX engines...

[-RuShPB227-]

maybe he meant 12.5 hp.... because i dont think an air compressor takes 2 ferrari engines to run.:rolleyes:

[Wintermute]

You could, but your gun might not last as long as it otherwise would. I doubt your air compressor is rated for breathable air, which means whatever it compresses is going to be relatively "dirty". Hence, it might put some extra wear on your gun.

[Ed' E]

it said:
1250 HP
in big block letters on the side
that is exactly what it said

1250 HP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(except without the exclamation points)

right below it said
Maximum Pressure Output 3000 psi

why wouldn't it last as long?

[Wintermute]

Well, when you're using a paintball gun the idea is that it's powered completely by gas. If you're using breathable air to power it, you know there are certain regulations that say it has to be a certain quality. Your lungs are much more exacting on air quality than your paintball gun is.

However, when you're using a regular air compressor (not breathable-rated), you're likely to get all kinds of exciting things in your air. Little bits of lubricant from the compressor section... bits of filter... etc. It's like putting some sand in your hopper along with your paintballs.

[Ed' E]

how do they normally fill compressed air tanks?

[Wintermute]

Ronn... 3000 psi of air is 3000 psi of air, whether it comes from the compressed air cannister at the paintball shop or from someone's garage. And no HPA system will stay at 3000 psi after the first shot, because after that there's less air in the tank and thus the pressure decreases.

[Wintermute]

People usually fill their HPA tanks with a SCUBA tank, simply because they're fairly easy to get and work with the right stuff. And somewhat easy to fill I might add, although I believe you have to be a certified for SCUBA in some states to get your tank filled. But anyway, once you have the tank you need a regulator and a fill adapter. You can get the regulator the same place as the tank, and it'll likely be included in the price of the tank. The fill adapter is designed for paintball tanks as far as I know, and probably runs less than $100 most places on the internet... I haven't checked specific prices.

[Ed' E]

Originally posted by FinnMcKool
lol u wuz told

:laugh:

[Ronn]

I agree, I was questioning wether the compressor would be able to fill the tank to a usable level.

[Wintermute]

Oh. The answer is yes: since the max. output on the compressor is 3000psi, it is possible to use it to fill a HPA tank as long as you don't mind the poor air quality. Of course, any lesser compressor could fill them as well, but the pressure wouldn't be as high and you wouldn't get as many shots. I suspect that most guns would get a few shots off even at 500psi.

[Ed' E]

sorry then Ronn

[FinnMcKool]

I don't think so... Im no expert at compressed air but It probably means thats the pressure inside the compressor tank or its output pressure( i'm definitly no expert) but if you could more ppl would probably do it and I've never heard of anyone doing it.

[FinnMcKool]

Maybe the 1200 was the size of the tank like 1200 quibic innches and HP=High Pressure or somthing.

[Wintermute]

You've probably never heard of anyone doing it because compressors that can handle breathable air are not nearly as cheap as regular ones. Not to mention HPA fills are so cheap it would take quite some time to justify the price of a fill station.

And yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if the 1250HP or whatever was the model number or something like that.

[Ed' E]

i'm sure i't not the model number or anything

my dad said it was really expensive
the best they make(when he bought it not that long ago tho but i'm sure there r better ones now, i just said that so no one would say "That's not the best one thay make! This one is better!")

[Wintermute]

I didn't know it was top-of-the-line. Heck, maybe it is 1250 horsepower. It'd hardly take any time at all to fill that way.

[Cheapdog]

Originally posted by Wintermute
Not to mention HPA fills are so cheap it would take quite some time to justify the price of a fill station.


Maybe HPA fills aren't cheap for him. Where I live, they charge $7 for 4500psi fills, which is more than they charge for CO2. It's madness!

[Cheapdog]

BTW they also charge $7 for 3000psi fills.

[Wintermute]

That's a little high, but I'd say they're inflating the fill price because air makes for better performance than CO2. But even at $7 per fill, it'd take quite some time to balance a $200 investment in SCUBA tank and fill station.

[F355DUDE]

Originally posted by Ed' E
it said:
1250 HP
in big block letters on the side
that is exactly what it said

1250 HP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(except without the exclamation points)

right below it said
Maximum Pressure Output 3000 psi

why wouldn't it last as long?
It has to be model numbers then. there is no way an air compressor has 1250hp. Its just plain impossible. the HP must mean high pressure and the 1250 is the model.

[FinnMcKool]

thats what i said exactly

[Bocasean]

To answer your question bluntly....yes you can fill your tank with a compressor. We use compressors all the time to fill tanks. In fact, EVERY tank on a paintball field has air in it that came from a compressor, regardless of whether or not they were "filled" from a bulk tank (a compressor filled the bulk tank). You need to get a fill station that'll transfer the air from the compressor to your tank. What we do is use the compressor to fill a Scuba tank, and we fill the gun tanks from the Scuba.

As for the horsepower issue, I do believe that you were mistaken. The largest motor I've seen on a compressor was 30hp, and it charged to 6000psi. I've also seen compressors that charge to 6000psi with only 7.5hp. 1250hp is unnecessarily powerful for a compressor engine, and way too bulky.

Finally, for the contamination issue, it is possible to get an oil-free compressor. Using the compressor for other jobs (such as painting or powerwashing) can contaminate the air resevoir with dirt, oil, and water. I have no doubts that your dad's compressor was expensive. Anything that charges into the 1000sPSI is going to be anywhere from $2000 to $15000. I think you'd be better served to get a fill station and rent a 50lb tank from a welding supply center, than to put added stress on your dad's machine.

Hope this helps.

Sean Rutan
UnitedPaintball
http://www.unitedpaintball.com/

[speedballz]

I was playing with my remote and air compresore the other day. i just hooked it up to my gun and there was hardly any air being shot from the gun so my compressor didnt even work will it was hooked up to my gun