The paintball sport includes shooting paintballs with the help of compressed air that is housed in a paintball tank for the dedicated marker. A paintball tank without compressed air is a non-useful paintball gun. Hence the right amount of compressed air is required for the best shot. Compressed air pushes pellets from the gun to their specific targets. But the air is limited and cannot just last forever! Therefore, you need to refill your tank over time to avoid interruption in the game rounds.
How To Fill The Paintball Tank With An Air Compressor? – 7 Easy Steps And Video
Air compressors are preferable for refilling the paintball tanks at ease and in-home comfort. When you know the right steps to fill a paintball tank with an air compressor, you do not need any professional help. But, it is wrong for you to count on air tank refills as similar to that of pumping air to vehicle tires. Instead, you will need the right air compressor, which comes with adequate pressure to help you refill the tank.
This guide will help you with the steps you should follow to learn how to fill a paintball tank with an air compressor.
Step 1: Determine the Maximum Tank PSI
Identify the PSI that your paintball tank can hold! Before you can go ahead and fill the paintball tank, this should be an important consideration. The tank you own for your paintball game will have the PSI indication over it. The average capacity is around 4500 to 5000 PSI per the records. This consideration is important to ensure that you are not going beyond the tank’s capacity.
Similarly, if you are filling the CO2 tank, then you should refrigerate the tank first but stabilize the temperature. Hence, this action will help you fill the tank without any trouble.
Step 2: Release the Air from Paintball Tank
When you are refilling the Co2 or HPA tank, you need to ensure that there is no air within it. For releasing the air, you need to follow certain steps, which include:
- Open the air valve
- Let the air escape from within the tank.
- Make sure you are releasing air only in a well-ventilated environment. Again, it ensures that you don’t have breathing problems by inhaling this air.
Step 3: Connect the Air Compressor
After you have released the air from your paintball tank, you need to connect the nozzles of the air compressor and the paintball tank. Both the nozzles should match with one another and connect securely to prevent the air from leakage. You need to see the O-ring, designed to prevent air from escaping after the nozzle is attached to the tank.
Without the O-ring, it will be difficult to fill the tank completely and efficiently. Pull back the collar of the attachment nozzle in a way that the central needle exposes itself. Now, plug the tank into the air compressor nozzle and check if it is secure. The air compressor and paintball tank are ready for the next filling process.
Step 4: Turn on the Compressor
Check again for the power cable of the compressor, whether it is connected properly to the supply or not. After turning on the compressor, it will take a few minutes to fill the tank with new air. Check both the gauges, one attached to the paintball tank and the air compressor.
This is to countercheck the gauge functions! The catch is that both the gauges should fluctuate identically to let you know that they are working correctly and efficiently.
Step 5: Do not Prefer “Hot Fill” Technique
Avoid quick refilling practice! It is the most common mistake that the paintballers do! It is called a hot-fill if you rush to refill the paintball tank or want to get over with it quickly. It occurs when you push the lever or button quite too much to speed up the refilling process.
With this practice, the air will rise quickly in the paintball tank and result in the gauge’s rapid rise. This fast movement can damage the tank, and it is your responsibility to try and prevent this situation at all costs. The truth is that the hot fill technique appears to be filling the tank, but it doesn’t do so.
When you hot fill the paintball tank and disconnect the air compressor, you will see that the gauge level will drop down, even without any use. You cannot afford to go onto the field with an empty tank even after refilling it. It might eat up your game time, and you will eventually lose track of the fields. Therefore, you should fill the paintball tanks slowly.
Step 6: Release the Pressure
After the paintball tank is refilled, there is a possibility that some air might still be inside the compressor. This air was ready to get into the tank, but as it was already full, this air couldn’t escape the tank. Some people miss out on this step and experience problems in the long run. You need to release the excess air by using the release valve attached to the air compressor.
Right when you press the valve, all of the excess air will escape the compressor tank. If you forget this step, then you might just put your tank in grave trouble, and you might need to replace it over time. But, on the other hand, this will possibly be expensive for passionate paintballers and will just set your mood off from the game. So, avoid making this mistake!
Step 7: Detach the Hose or Attachment
When you are over with the pressure-releasing step, it is time you can finally detach the hose from the tank’s filling nipple. For removing the hose, you just need to give a simple pull, and the job will be done. After removing the same, you should store it safely and gently back at the compartment where it belongs. And then, you are good to go for your paintball rounds.
How To Fill A Paint Ball Tank With An Air Compressor- Video Explanation
If you’re not sure you have the right manipulations to fill in your paintball tank, you can watch this video from my friend Joel at Punishers Paintball
FAQs
Final Thoughts
These steps are clear and understandable for rookies to learn how to fill the paintball tanks using an air compressor. But if you still have some hassles in understanding the process, you can always take of professionals initially to learn it. You don’t have to feel bad or embarrassed for asking for help if you are not a professional paintballer.
You can take the help of professional paintballers who have air compressors with them to guide you with the refilling process. However, you will soon have it in your memory to perform all independently without external guidance. In a nutshell, you should know that refilling the tank is simple, and you just need the right parts with you. When you get familiar with the process, you will find it easier over time.
In spite of this guide, if it remains too risky or too much complicated to fill your paintball tank, so you should consider to go to your local paintball pro shop given most of these stores have both compressed air and CO2 refilling equipment. It will cost you approximately USD 5.
If you like to play more paintball rounds very often, you will need refills frequently. In that case, you can prefer owning your air compressor without second thoughts. Hence, this will save you a lot of money in small fees over a long time.