How to Fill Air Tanks for Paintball Guns
Understanding how to refill your paintball tank is something you are going to have to learn at some point. Although paintball fields usually provide refilling stations, these are not always readily available. If you want to play paintball at home or on the grounds of your own property, you will also not have ready access to such services.
Another reason to learn how to refill your paintball air tanks at home is the cost-saving implications. Although CO2 refills are fairly cheap, refilling a HPA tank can be particularly expensive. While tackling a refill for the first time can be tricky, once you have the basics mastered, you will have no issues keeping your tank full in the future.
How to Refill a C02 Tank
Filling a CO2 tank yourself is fairly simple. To refill your tank, all you will need is a source tank of C02 and a fill station. Before refilling your paintball C02 tank, keep it refrigerated when not in use. This will prevent external temperature changes from causing any issues down the line.
When it comes to refilling, attach your main C02 tank to your fill station. Next, attach the paintball C02 tank to the refill station. You should then rotate the primary valve on the main C02 tank you will be drawing gas from. Finally, open the valve on your filling station, allowing air to enter your paintball tank until it is full.
How to Refill a HPA Tank
Refilling a HPA tank is slightly more complicated. Although some people will tell you that you can use all manner of air compressors to fill a HPA tank, this is not true. Standard air compressors will only provide you with nominal air pressure, with levels far too low to be suitable for use with a paintball tank.
Ideally, you should be looking to invest in a premium air compressor pump with a rating of around 4,500 PSI. This pressure level is more in line with what paintball HPA tanks require. Although these air compressors are considerably expensive, they will make refilling your HPA tanks incredibly straightforward.
A more cost-effective alternative is to use a scuba tank and refilling station. If you opt for this cheaper alternative, you should first attach the scuba tank to your fill station. Next, attach your paintball marker HPA tank tot he station. Your filling station release valve should be closed at this point.
Next, turn the primary valve very slowly so that air can be fed into the HPA tank. Keep an eye on the gauge to make sure you are not overfilling it. Once the HPA tank is full, you should slowly turn the release valve to bring the pressure on the fill station. You can then detach your HPA tank and attach it to your paintball gun.
