Tank Sizes For Paintballing: A Guide

Paintballing can be a fantastic hobby – the great sense of competition and warfare with none of the harm. But, there is a lot of equipment involved and at times it can be difficult to keep track of everything you need to make the most of your hobby. One of the most important elements of your equipment will of course be the CO2 canister that allows you to shoot your paintballs in the first place.

Obviously the CO2 in paintball canisters has a number of applications, but it’s the use in your paintball gun that is the real issue, or more importantly; which canister of CO2 do you need to use. Picking the right CO2 cylinder can be a confusing process, but it doesn’t have to be.

Home Use

For a personal paintballing experience, a smaller tank of 6.35kg can be plenty to keep you going through all of your paintball needs. This is also a great option if there are large gaps between your paintballing excursions; it is an intense hobby and can require the dedication of a large stretch of time all at once. As such it might not be affordable nor feasible to do it often, so this small canister is the perfect alternative.

Large Quantities or Group Filling

Of course, buying your own individual canister may not be economically sound, but the nature of paintballing is at its heart a group activity. So, it’s not a great leap that pooling together with friends for a shared hobby is a great idea.

Not only will you save money in the long run, but you can create a core group to be able to paintball with regularly in a more affordable manner than might have previously been the case. If this is the route you choose to take then a number of CO2 cylinders are available to you: either the 15kg or the 34kg cylinder. Obviously the more avid a paintballer you are, the more CO2 you will need, so if you take part in this hobby regularly then it is highly recommended to acquire the larger option to be on the safe side.

CO2 or Compressed Air

But, CO2 is not the only option when it comes to your paintball needs. There are some drawbacks to using CO2, number one of these problems being the gun chilling, which results in a loss of pressure the more you shoot your gun. This leads to a loss of range and an eventual sputtering halt to the guns usefulness whatsoever.

As a counter-measure to the slight drawback of using CO2, some players have turned to compressed air tanks, or High Pressure Air. The tanks are pressurised up to the maximum of the canister, around 3000 to 4500 psi (Pounds per Square Inch), and this is regulated throughout the canister to deliver constant pressure.

There are of course some downsides to this method of paintballing also; refilling can be difficult as tire pumps and garage compressors do not work; they are bulkier than traditional CO2 canisters; and they cost a substantial amount more than CO2 canisters, sometimes 3 to 12 times as much.

At Adams Gas we pride ourselves on the wide variety of products that we provide and the variety of uses that they are applied to. Ensuring that you have the right product is paramount to what we do; we know gas and can advise you on its application across numerous uses. If you have any enquiries don’t hesitate to contact us on 01843 220 596, or keep up to date with all of our latest news via Facebook or Twitter.