can you use these hi pressure air tanks to fill pcp rifle?

[rld1965]

hi there again, being that i am interested in purchasing my first pcp rifle i also need to find what else i may need to use in order to help shoot the pcp rifle . i was at dicks sporting goods today and noticed they sell a 48 oz hi pressure air tanks that goes to 3,000 psi and are refillable . i was told you can see these tanks at www.empirepaintball.com. on that site they sell all different size oz tank sizes as well as carbon tanks. if i did buy say the 48 oz  3000 psi hi pressure air tank would i be able to fill my pcp rifle with it.

[rsterne]

The output pressure of the regulator is usually only 850 psi.... If that is the case, then no....

Bob

[rld1965]

i am not sure what the output pressure of the regulator is on these tanks .

[Pellethuntr]

i am not sure what the output pressure of the regulator is on these tanks .

Bob is right, if they are used for paintball their output pressure will be below 1,000 psi.. Which is not enough for a PCP.. Although I am pretty sure it is a three piece design, tank, regulator, and the threaded part that goes into the gun also threads onto the regulator.. What I would like to do is to buy one of those tanks being that they are cheap, and remove the regulator.. you would most likely not be able to have it filled at a shop anymore BUT if you have a hand pump like I do it's no problem 

[arty]

try crosmans web site. they sell a  small bottle made to carry, can get a dozen fills for a marauder easy to carry into the field.

[rld1965]

Someone said to me if you use the scuba tank adapter on these tanks to fill your gun it should work . I am calling the company up on Monday to see what the story is on that issue and if it is an issue do they have an attachment that would correct it . Stay tuned .

[rld1965]

what would the output pressure have to be to fill lets say an evanix rainstorm 11 .22 or the airforce condor .22 ?

[Pellethuntr]

what would the output pressure have to be to fill lets say an evanix rainstorm 11 .22 or the airforce condor .22 ?

I'm pretty sure both of those guns run on 3,000 psi, but not 100% sure on the Rainstorm

[rld1965]

These tanks are from 3000 psi to 4500 psi hi pressure . As stated above they said the output of 850 is not enough to fill hi pressure pcp . The tank has enough pressure I guess it's the output of the regulators that is the problem . What would the propper output have to be in order to fill the pcp rifles ?

[1377x]

depends on your gun
another thing is you wont get many fills
a brand new scuba tank runs new $150 ,used $100 around here.it might be the same in your area

[only1harry]

To fill 3K psi guns like the Condor or Rainstorm, you would need to purchase a 4,500psi fireman's tank like most of us have. 

To answer your questions and because you are new to all this I will try to explain it. 
Scuba (3k psi max.) tanks or 4,500psi tanks do not have a specific "output".  They are not restricted or regulated (unless you spend extra $ to make them regulated).  So they will fill your gun's tank up to the pressure that is in the Scuba or 4500psi (SCBA) tank.  So with 4500psi tanks you have to close the valve when the pressure in your gun reaches 3k psi.  The gauge on the fill hose will tell you what pressure is in the gun as you are filling it, so you can stop when you reach the desired pressure in your gun's tank. 

So say an 80ft Scuba tank which is 3k psi, will only fill a PCP like a Condor, Marauder or Rainstorm to 3k psi 2 or 3 times before the pressure in the Scuba tank drops to 2,900-2,950psi.  Then you will only be able to fill your gun to 2900psi a couple of times.  The pressure in the Scuba will drop again to 2850 or 2800psi and so on.  So as you see a 3k psi Scuba tank does not work well with gun that takes a 3k psi fill.  You can shoot most PCP's fine at 2800psi or lower, but you just won't get as many shots.  Right now all 3 of my tanks are at 2,500 and below, and I am still filling my guns with them and shooting, because I cannot fill them at the store since they all need to be Hydro'd   So the point is that even though my Scuba and 4500 tanks are at 2,500psi I can still shoot - just less shots per fill. But that is not the desired state  

A 4,500psi tank is way better than a 3k tank if you have a PCP that can be filled to 3k psi.  Most PCP's go up to 3k psi, except for the Discovery which is 2k psi.  In the Disco's case a Scuba tank (3k psi) is more than enough and gives you 25-30 (2k) fills.  In the other's case you will only get two (2) 3k psi fills with a 3K Scuba or other tank.  A 4,500psi is more desirable but more expensive $, and there is also the shoebox compressor that enables you to fill your Scuba or fireman tanks without going to the Dive shop.

I hope this helps,
Harry

[TR]

Here is a couple of websites to visit that sell the type of tank/hose/fittings that you will need. 

I'm too cheap to spend several hundred dollars on a new SCBA (fireman's tank).  I'm scouring businesses that sell surplus fire department cylinders to find a screaming deal (haven't found it yet).  Fire Departments can only use the fiberglass wrapped composite cylinders for 15 years then they have to get rid of them.  If you can find a cylinder at the end of its fire department life, get it hydroed before the 15 year expiration date, they you have a cylinder that you can use for 5 years until the hydro expires.

Also I have found that most paintballers have no idea what you are talking about when you are trying to find equipment to fill your rifle.  Save some time and avoid the paintball shops.

This plan is time consuming, but if I can find a tank for about $30-$50 that will last me 5 years, it will be better than dropping several hundred dollars.

Check out these web sites I found.

http://www.airtanksforsale.com/
http://store.northshorecompressor.com/categories/Paintball-Accessories/
http://www.airhog.com/index.html
http://www.surplusfire.com/pages/s3.html
http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCBA-30min-Air-Tank-ISI-Viking-4500-PSI-Air-Bottle-Luxfer-L45J-2-Firefighter-/140865284649?forcev4exp=true&forceRpt=true
http://www.americanairworks.com/specials.html

And a useful calculator to predict how many fills you will get from a certain size and pressure of tank:
http://www.airhog.com/A26_Fill_Calc.html

Also, if you check with your local fire department you just might find some surplus tanks, or get some leads on which local departments are surplusing scba tanks.  Most fire department replace gear when they get a large grant to upgrade, so when they do surplus, they move their entire inventory.  Can't hurt to check the locals before purchasing on the internet.

Hope this helps.

[rld1965]

Very informative thank-you . I am not new to shooting guns but new to the pcp world of guns . It's just like when you all started to get into shooting pcp guns you learned along the way . With that being said I am very thankfull to the gta members in the help and info you are providing . Also are scuba tanks all rated at 4500 psi or 3000 psi ?

[Pellethuntr]

Very informative thank-you . I am not new to shooting guns but new to the pcp world of guns . It's just like when you all started to get into shooting pcp guns you learned along the way . With that being said I am very thankfull to the gta members in the help and info you are providing . Also are scuba tanks all rated at 4500 psi or 3000 psi ?

They very, generally a regular aluminum tank is filled to 3,000 and the carbon fiber ones are 4,500.. But that is just in general 

[TR]

Also are scuba tanks all rated at 4500 psi or 3000 psi ?

Generaly, SCBA tanks come in two psi, 2216 psi and 4500 psi.  3000 psi usually refers to SCUBA tanks.

I think there is a higher pressure (DIN) style of SCUBA tank that is rated to a higher pressure than 3000 psi tanks, but I am unfamiliar with them.

TR

[Pursang]

I wish the paintball companies would see the business opportunity(small maybe), and come up with a PCP valva/fill hose assembly for the tanks they already sell. In the paintball world a 90cu in tank with a regulator is ~ $160. In the airgun world, the same tank without the regulator is $300.

[1dollardean]

I've been away for awhile taking care of medical problems but I'm back now and will try to be more involved. I just noticed this thread and do consider myself to be somewhat informed on this subject. I've owned and used hand pumps, scuba tanks and paintball tanks. My hand pump was okay for my Disco but filling my Sumatra 2500 was a chore. My scuba tank was a steel tank rated for 3442psi. That gave me many 3000psi fills on my rifles but it was very heavy and a chore to have filled. Then I discovered JDS Airman and his 4500psi input 2000-3000psi output regulators for use with any 4500psi paintball tank. Very cool. Small and light to take to the firing range or even hunting with a tank cover designed to be carried strapped on to your belt. I have since upgraded to another 4500psi tank with a valve just like the DIN valves on scuba tanks. These are available from Joe Brancato at AirTanksForSale ( a really nice guy who sales nothing but top quality stuff ), Airhog Pneumatics, and now from Crosman/Benjamin. I actually bought the Benjamin 90ci tank from Pyramyd Air. Having a valve instead of a regulator allows me to fill my rifles to any psi up to the limit of the tank. My JDS regulator is set to 2500psi output which works very well with my Airforce TalonP when shooting lighter pellets and will fill any rifle with any psi up to 2500psi. So there are many choices and for a newbie to PCP rifles it can be very confusing, especially trying to understand why a large 3000psi scuba tank will not fill your rifle to 3000psi more than a couple of times. Before you make any large commitments to equipment purchases read all you can about the subject and do exactly what you have done here, ask questions. Best of luck with your new hobby and trust me, it will be a very fun hobby.

[rld1965]

if i understand you correctly then you are saying that there is a company that makes a regulator that can be applied to the bigger hi pressure paintball tank that has the propper output pressure to fill your 3000 psi pcp rifle to the correct fill level ? if thats the case then thats cool and it leaves more options for pcp shooters .

[1dollardean]

That's correct, you may find everything you want at jdsairman.com. I will be selling my 4500psi 90ci tank with a JDS 2500psi output regulator on eBay soon now that I have my new Benjamin tank. Many air rifles work best at less than a 3000psi fill which is why I chose 2500psi. I could also hook up the tank and regulator with a remote hose, the same hose I used to fill the air rifle, and leave it hooked up at the firing range so all of my shots were regulated to 2500psi.

[rld1965]

Do they have a regulator that has a 3000 psi output instead of the 2500 for the big paintball tank ? Also why did you goto the Benjamin tank if those hi pressure paintball ones would do the same thing . Thanks rob from ct