Inexpensive HPA tanks & regulator

[Toddspeed]

E-Bay has .37 liter HPA tanks rated to 4500 psi, with adjustable regulators, for under $50. See item#172795407557. Has anyone used these? Are they a safe and reliable alternative to a Ninja 13 call tank and SHP regulator?

[addertooth]

Ask the vendor whether it has the DOT cert label on it.  If it does not have the label, you may have problems getting it filled in the United States.

Also, the vendor added this note at the bottom, it is critical....

Please note this bottle working pressure is 3000psi,not 4500psi but you can choose 4500psi regulator according to your own preferences!!!,please remind us what kind of regualtor and output pressure do you want by message.

[Toddspeed]

Thanks addertooth, good idea to check for the DOT label, and thanks for pointers my out the psi limit too. Still seems like a good way to go HPA with my QBS, would love to hear from someone who has one.

[addertooth]

Best of luck, we "Todds" have to stick together.  Admittedly, I am a gen 1 Todd.

[nervoustrigger]

Another thing to consider is that quite a few of us have experienced regulator creep with the generic Chinese regulators.  The Ninja design is much better in my experience, and I have not been able to substantially beat the $60 price for a regulated 13ci tank by buying overseas.

[Toddspeed]

  The Ninja design is much better in my experience, and I have not been able to substantially beat the $60 price for a regulated 13ci tank by buying overseas.
[/quote]

$60 isn't bad for a trusted brand, is there a $60 tank/reg combo that can be set to 1000-1200 psi output? I thought I needed the $85+ SHP for that.

[EXO35]

*tag* i just want to follow this thread 

[nervoustrigger]

You're right, if you want a paintball reg with a higher setpoint, there's a pretty sizeable jump in cost.  Percentage wise, that is...going from $60 to about $90 for the Ninja SHP.  But for a one time thing, that's the best way to go in my opinion.  If however you expect to do it more than once, I suggest learning how to reconfigure the Belleville stack to achieve the setpoint you want.  The investment will be less than $30 for some 0.032" Belleville washers, an ASA fill adapter, and a pressure gauge.  If you follow the QB79 link in my signature, near the top of the first post are a couple of links that describe how to do it.

[Toddspeed]

Thanks for the help Nervoustrigger, I've looked at many of your posts. You and RStern are some of the Jedis I'm trying to follow in building my QBS. I'll look at the posts about setting regulators, but just to get it clear...are you saying that the cheaper 800 psi output Ninja reg can be set to 1100 psi if you have those other items?
Also, you've actually tried the cheaper Chinese regs, and found that they don't stay set at the output you want them at?

[nervoustrigger]

Right, you can start with the standard Ninja regulator.  Discard the coil spring and install a stack of Belleville washers in its place.  Many of us have done it time and again.
 
Regarding regulator creep, I have only had two other regulators...one a JDS brand and the other a generic model purchased via Aliexpress.  Both would creep up over a period of minutes by 200-400psi.  I was able to satisfactorily repair the JDS by carefully dressing the sealing surfaces.  I could not get the generic one to behave with similar treatment so I ended up replacing the piston (aka spool) with a Ninja.
 
In fairness, I don't want to say the JDS was bad from the get go.  It was purchased by a friend and he said it had never been used.  It did in fact look new but I can't 100% vouch as to whether it was new.  Over time, the seat will wear and will have to be replaced.  A Ninja reg is no different.  However, the JDS and generic regulators both have a different geometry for the valve seat that logically appears to be more prone to creep.
 
Lastly, I do want to point out that some creeping doesn't necessarily pose a problem.  It depends on how the rifle is tuned.  If it is tuned to the knee (near peak velocity), it won't be particularly sensitive to creep.  Just as a traditional unregulated rifle can maintain a tight ES over a range of pressure, so will a regulated rifle that is tuned similarly.  I just look at it as one of the little things that's easy to avoid and there's really no price penalty.