Where and How to Fill Paintball Co2 Tanks

Want to know how or where to fill your paintball co2 tanks?  These are the questions we all ask when we first get into paintball, and fortunately below you can find the answers.

Where to Fill Your Paintball Co2 Tank - The most common place to get a co2 tank filled for paintball use is a local paintball store/field. A helpful tool for finding a paintball field or store near you is Google Maps. Search for "paintball" along with your town, city, or state, and all known locations should appear on the map. Cost for filling your paintball co2 tank varies by size of the tank and from place to place. I usually am willing to pay $2.00 - $4.00 for a 20oz tank, anything over is a ripoff in my opinion.

How to Fill Your Paintball Co2 Tank
Complications can arise of course if the nearest paintball store or field is 2 hours away. We used to drive an hour to get our co2 tanks filled, and soon decided it was too much of a hassle. We decided filling our own co2 tanks was the next best bet, and heck, we even got the chance to make a couple extra bucks by offering the service to other paintballers.

To fill your own co2 tanks you will need a bulk co2 canister, 20-35 pounds should do the trick if you plan on filling others co2 tanks. These can last anywhere from 30 to 40 fills depending on the size of paintball tanks you are filling (9oz - 20oz). You can pickup and rent a pre-filled bulk co2 canister at a local welding shop, or have Airgas or any other co2 deliver you one. Expect to fill out a liability contract, and to pay a yearly rental insurance fee for however many bulk co2 tanks you want.

The next two things you will need is a co2 fill station and a scale.  Co2 fill stations hook directly to the bulk cylinder and allow you to safely transfer co2 to smaller co2 tanks.   A scale allows you to keep track of how many ounces you have put into the tank you are filling.  I have found that postage scales work best as they are the most accurate and sensitive as far as reading ounces go.  A scale that reads up to 10 pounds is all you will need.

Obviously, filling paintball tanks on your own is not for everyone, but for those that do not have the luxury of having a paintball field or store in their area it may be the next best option.  If you do choose to go that route please be safe, as bulk co2 tanks pack some serious pressure.