Paintball Gear | How to Make, Build, Homemade, Paintball Gear » Paintball Tanks

HPA, N2, Compressed Air Tanks in a Nutshell

Reed — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:14:58 +0000

What is it, how it works, which tank you should get, and how many shots each size will get you.

Compressed Air and N2 are both gasses that go in HPA paintball tanks. HPA stands for High Pressure Air. Nitrogen and Compressed Air are both high pressure gasses. These gases are cleaner, and expand much faster than co2, which as you may know can be pretty inconsistent and crappy in cold weather. You can get HPA tanks filled by a high output air compressor(which are powered by gas or electricity), or a full scuba tank. Normal $50 air compressors will not work, they only output at 125psi, and HPA paintball tanks operate at 3000-4500 psi.

Make sure you are getting the right tank with the right output
All HPA tanks come with a built in regulator that will feed 0-900psi to the gun. Some tanks however have regulators that are fixed to feed at 500psi, so if you were to use it on a Tippmann 98 which needs 650-800psi to operate correctly your Tippmann would not work. Likewise, using an HPA tank with a fixed output of 800psi could spell trouble if you have a low pressure paintball gun that operates at 250-450psi.

Types of HPA Tanks
HPA paintball tanks are made out of aluminum, steel or carbon fiber. Steel HPA tanks are hella heavy. Aluminum tanks may be cheaper, but Carbon fiber tanks have a higher pressure capability which means they will supply more usable air to your paintball gun. The best way to go is carbon fiber, its lightweight and durable. More on why you should buy a carbon fiber tank over anything else.

Sizes of HPA Paintball Tanks
What confuses many players is the two numbers in the name of an HPA tank. For instance, what does "50ci 4500psi HPA Tank" mean? CI represents Cubic Inch, which represents the volume of the tank. The larger the number the more shots you can expect from the tank. PSI stands for Pounds Square Inch, which is the pressure the tank can be filled to.

How Many Shots Can I Get From a...

13ci 3000psi HPA tank = 160 paintballs
45ci 4500psi HPA tank = 830 paintballs
47ci 3000psi HPA tank = 580 paintballs
48ci 3000psi HPA tank = 590 paintballs
48ci 4500psi HPA tank = 880 paintballs
50ci 3000psi HPA tank = 615 paintballs
50ci 4500psi HPA tank = 920 paintballs
56ci 4500psi HPA tank = 1030 paintballs
62ci 3000psi HPA tank = 760 paintballs
68ci 3000psi HPA tank = 840 paintballs
68ci 4500psi HPA tank = 1250 paintballs
70ci 4500psi HPA tank = 1230 paintballs
88ci 4500psi HPA tank = 1620 paintballs
90ci 4500psi HPA tank = 1660 paintballs

Don't see your tank up above? Use this formula to figure up how many shots your tank can supply (1000/# of cubic inches)x4. You can also use this free online shot calculator.

Recommended HPA Tanks
One of the best HPA tank manufacturers is Ninja Paintball. For the last couple years they have been proving that quality service combined with a quality product is enough to produce a sustainable competitive advantage against larger paintball companies. They make great tanks that perform flawlessly, are affordable, and can easily be switched from low pressure output to high pressure output.

Video Review of Ninja HPA Paintball Tanks

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYbAqOgxpi4

Buy a Ninja HPA/N2/Compressed Air Paintball Tank

Ninja 48 3k 48ci 3000psi HPA Nitrogen Compressed Air Paintball Tank
US $49.95

Ninja 68CI 4500PSI High Pressure Air or Nitrogen Paintball Tank Grey Ghost
US $144.95

Ninja nitrogen tank 3000psi 48cu
US $90.00

Ninja 50 45 Tank
US $120.00

Ninja 48ci 3000psi N2 Paintball HPA Tanks Tank Remote Coil 4 PACK
US $249.95

Ninja Carbon Fiber HPA Tank Nitro Air 68 4500 Grey
US $144.95

68ci 4500psi NINJA TANK THE BEST TANKS OUT THERE FULLY ADJUSTABLE REG LN
US $150.00

Ninja Carbon Fiber HPA Tank Nitro Air 68 4500
US $154.95

Ninja Carbon Fiber HPA Tank Nitro Air 50 4500 Grey
US $139.95

Ninja Black Pearl Carbon Fiber Tank SLP Reg 68 4500
US $179.95

ANS Gear w Ninja regulator Compressed Air tank 3000psi 48cu
US $45.00

Ninja 90ci 4500 psi HPA Tank
US $159.95

Ninja 50CI 4500PSI High Pressure Air or Nitrogen Paintball Tank Grey Ghost
US $139.95

Ninja Paintball Tank Thread Protector W Oring Black
US $6.49

Ninja Aluminum HPA Tank Nitro Air 13 3000
US $59.95

Do Not Buy Brass Eagle Co2 Tanks

Reed — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:06:07 +0000

Perhaps one of the worst co2 tanks you could ever buy, I've never come across a Co2 tank made by Brass Eagle that has lasted more than 2 fills.

Every single Brass Eagle paintball co2 tank had one problem in common, the pin valve was total and utter crap. Back when I was filling co2 tanks for people, many would bring me tanks made by Brass Eagle that they got in a package at Wal-Mart for christmas. Out of all of the Brass Eagle co2 tanks that were filled for the first time, 4/10 tanks survived the first fill. The second time around, those 4 tanks all started to leak out of the pin valve. Why? My guess is Brass Eagle chose cheap over quality, and sacrificed a good seal for a good profit margin.

For quality yet affordable co2 tanks, check my article on cheap co2 tanks.

So let it be known that Co2 tanks made by Brass Eagle are crap. Don't waste your money, instead buy a co2 tank made by Pure Energy, and be sure to help another player out by passing this on.

Dirt Cheap Paintball Co2 Tanks

Reed — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:00:51 +0000

I'm kind of shocked after seeing how cheap my $35 co2 tank sold for on eBay last night, considering it was a 16oz chrome-moly co2 tank with a smart parts on off valve and anti siphon. I've sold single 9oz co2 tanks for more, which really makes this puzzling.

Maybe it was the age of the tank, or maybe it was the rust spots on it that made it sell for so cheap. I wouldn't have guessed those things would affect its price so much, but something sure did. I would have at least thought it would sell for more than a 9oz tank, considering it has a slew of extras... I mean anti siphon kits almost cost more than what the ENTIRE tank sold for...

But hey, enough complaining, at least someone came out of this auction a winner. I may have not gotten a golden deal but the winning bidder sure did. Just goes to show it pays to buy paintball gear off eBay, whether your looking to get 9oz, 12oz, 16oz, or 20oz co2 tanks, your bound to find some sort of cheap deal.