switch between nitrogen and co2

[phantom289]

so ive been playing speedball for a few years but now i decided to buy an a5 to play woodsball with my friends back home which i started to upgrade. anyway i was wondering since i have tanks from speedball which r nitrogen and the tank that i got with the gun was co2 would i be able to switch back and forth between the two? i know nitrogen is better but i would want to be able to use the co2 tank instead of it just sitting there so i might switch back and forth. also the hoze that i got is recommended for 3000psi which would be the co2 tank.

[Coenen]

If you've already got HPA tanks why even use the CO2 tank in the first place?

The pressure rating for the hose is a maximum pressure before it fails. Gaseous CO2 is approximately 900psi in very warm weather. All HPA tanks have a regulator that steps down the internal pressure from the tank to a more manageable number, usually 800-850psi for high output tanks and 450 or so for low output tanks. Nothing to really worry about there.

[phantom289]

o ok nice so then the hoze will be fine to use with the nitrogen tank which is 4500psi. but do u know if i would be able to switch between the two gases? would it mess up the gun cuz thats what i heard but i dont understand why. even if i cant switch i would just like to understand the reasoning

[Coenen]

It's not necessarily a good thing for the marker because switching between the two can cause condensation in the valve of the marker. It's basically the same deal as having water in the valve of the marker, which, if it's left to sit can cause corrosion problems and generally mess up the gun. It's not a lock to happen, but it's not a good chance to take either.

You could go back and forth, probably with no issues at all. The real question there is, why? HPA is by far the better system to run the marker on, it would almost be silly to run on CO2. The only exception to that being if you were playing somewhere where you could get the tanks refilled.

[phantom289]

o ok thanks. i was really just wondering cuz i thought at first that i couldnt use the hpa tank with the hoze but u explained that i could. and also because depending was on hand. like what kind of gas i could get depending on where i was. like if im home i know that i can get either one but wen i go to school i dont know what is the closest place around and what who carries so i possibly only might be able to get co2. know what i mean. but ill be using the hpa tanks all the time. unless for a rare time that i only have co2 on hand. thanks again

[XRidgelinerX]

I swap back and forth between CO2 & HPA all the time with my A-5 depending on where I'm playing and what is available. CO2 for outlaw woodsball far from refills, cause it lasts much longer. 48/3000 HPA if there is air close by.

I've never had a problem. Only difference is my A-5 has a response trigger. With CO2, any firm trigger pull gets it rocking in full auto. With HPA, the triggers sweet spot requires a softer touch.

[Uziel Gal]

Using both CO2 and air is not an issue in and of itself - the marker handles both just fine. Using one gas source one day and another gas source on the next - not an issue. When it becomes an issue is if you switch straight from one to the other, quickly swapping back and forth between the two.

For instance, if you started out using CO2, and rapid fired until your marker's valve was freezing cold, then quickly unscrewed your CO2 tank and screwed in an air tank, then you have the situation that Coenen - any water vapour in the air that hasn't been removed by the compressor (water vapour should be filtered out, but that depends very much on the condition of the compressor), will hit the cold valve and condense, leaving water inside your marker.

If you are going to switch gasses mid day, give the marker time to warm up first, or start the day with air so that when you do need to switch, you switch from air to CO2, rather than from CO2 to air.