Filling Co2 yourself

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   Hi everyone
I have search around for a little while and the one topic I came upon was very helpful, but I didnt really understand the one section of it.
It talked about flipping the Main tank upside down for some reason. I did not understand how this would help, they said it was something about filling off of liquid Co2 instead of gas. Is it better to fill with liquid than gas?
The reason I ask all this is because me and a couple co-workers who are planning to start playing paintball together are going to fill our tanks at home. We all work at subway and I realized we could probably use the tanks from coke-a-cola to fill our tanks if we got a scale and a valve and adapter for it.
so my question is, would filling from a coke Co2 tank work? should I find a set up to flip the tank upside down? or do the coke canisters come with siphon tubes that will draw liquid from the bottom anyways?
thank you for any info you can provide
btw yes I know what I am doing when filling co2 tanks and actually am going to recieve official training on how to fill Co2 the weekend of the 11th.

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Snick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 03 October 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 343	Post Options Post Reply Quote Snick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Filling Co2 yourself Posted: 04 November 2006 at 8:30am
	Hi everyone I have search around for a little while and the one topic I came upon was very helpful, but I didnt really understand the one section of it. It talked about flipping the Main tank upside down for some reason. I did not understand how this would help, they said it was something about filling off of liquid Co2 instead of gas. Is it better to fill with liquid than gas? The reason I ask all this is because me and a couple co-workers who are planning to start playing paintball together are going to fill our tanks at home. We all work at subway and I realized we could probably use the tanks from coke-a-cola to fill our tanks if we got a scale and a valve and adapter for it. so my question is, would filling from a coke Co2 tank work? should I find a set up to flip the tank upside down? or do the coke canisters come with siphon tubes that will draw liquid from the bottom anyways? thank you for any info you can provide btw yes I know what I am doing when filling co2 tanks and actually am going to recieve official training on how to fill Co2 the weekend of the 11th.


oldsoldier Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Crazy old guy Joined: 10 June 2002 Status: Offline Points: 6725	Post Options Post Reply Quote oldsoldier Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 November 2006 at 11:21am
	CO2 is an expansion gas, from the liquid CO2 in the tank. As in the old siphon bottles, putting more liquid in your tank, gave you a higher volumn of gas on the expansion. Turning the filler tank upside down will place the liquid CO2 near the valve, and transfere liquid CO2 to your tank to be filled. Too many fields do place just the expanded "gas" into CO2 tanks to increase CO2 sales (intentional or unintentionally?). Edited by oldsoldier - 04 November 2006 at 11:21am


Snick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 03 October 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 343	Post Options Post Reply Quote Snick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 November 2006 at 1:25pm
	but isnt 20 oz. od co2 still 20 oz. of Co2? you are still putting just as much mass into the tank, shouldnt you get the same output? since yeah 1 ci. of liquid co2 will give more gas than just throwing 1 ci. of co2, but doesnt the liquid weigh more? its still the same amount of Co2 in the bottle if its 20 oz. isnt it?


Shadowminion Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Gold Member Strike 1 - Language, 3/20 Joined: 06 June 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1625	Post Options Post Reply Quote Shadowminion Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 November 2006 at 2:17pm
	The capacity of CO2 tanks is given in liquid weight .
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RoboCop Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Aw man, my butt is rusted... Joined: 06 November 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 5196	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoboCop Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 November 2006 at 8:56pm
	When you put the tank on a scale, and zero it out with the tank empty you can then measure up to 20 oz. Just putting plain co2 gas will not give you a 20 oz. fill. Most of the 20 oz. comes from the liquid co2 that is put into the tank. I guess your coke tank is just regular co2, correct? If it is, you should be able to use it. The easiest way to find out if it has a siphon is to see if it says it has one or filling a tank with it upwards and seeing how many shots you get with it or if it fills to the desired amount.

Picasso Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Gold Member Joined: 10 June 2002 Location: Cuba Status: Offline Points: 1326	Post Options Post Reply Quote Picasso Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 November 2006 at 11:08pm
	To answer your quesiton Snick, yes, if you wer using a Co2 bottle from a Coke dispensing system, it would have to be upside down, as they do not normally have a Siphon, or "Dip" tube as they call them in the gas industry. It is difficult to deal with a 20 lb. tank in the upside down position. A standard Co2 fill station will work, but, you have to screw it in so that everything is facing UP, when the Tank is upside down. If you tried to fill with the Coke tank "right side up", you would be only filling with gas, not liquid, which would place just about 1 oz. of Co2, by weight, into your PB tank (NO matter whether it's a 20 oz or a 12 ozer, it always is about 1 oz.) That's how you know when your bulk tank is running out, you keep getting a 1 or a 2 oz. fill. If fields placed only expanded C02 gas into players bottle, they would be lucky to get even 50 shots out of it. It would be quite obvious. PB fields use bulk tanks with Dip tubes so it would be impossible for them to do so, unless their tank ran dry. Also, the money is in the Paint, the gas is cheap, so it behooves them to gas you up, so you can shoot that paint so they can make money. A field that short-filled PB tanks would actually be lessening their paint profits, not making more money. It's wise to fill just below capacity. Place 18 ozs into a 20 ozer, place 11 ozs into a 12 ozer. This leaves a small gas bubble which allows for better expansion if the gas as it enters your air lines and gun's valve. This becomes more critical as temps drop in fall and winter. Finally, don't refill your tanks unless you are experienced and know the safety issues. A bulk Co2 tank contains a lot of potential force and should be respected. Tipping them upside down is probably not real safe.

Ghostcat Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 20 October 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 27	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ghostcat Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 05 November 2006 at 11:37pm
	I've done this before, make yourself a stand that will safely allow you to hold the tank upside down. I'm assuming you are dealing with a 20# food grade CO2 tank. For less then $10 in wood and nails you can construct a wooden stand. Next get yourself a good scale that weighs in ounces and pounds. Weigh your bottles, never guestimate. You can pre-freeze your empty bottles and this will help with filling them fuller, otherwise you end up having to fill and vent the bottles to get a full fill. If you have the $200 fill/dump regulator then you won't have to waste the vented gas. A $50 simple filling valve will work, just weigh the bottles as said above. The most important thing you stated was you were going to be taught how to properly fill bottles. That is the best idea yet.
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Snick Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Member Joined: 03 October 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 343	Post Options Post Reply Quote Snick Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 November 2006 at 4:57pm
	does it matter weither the 20 oz. is higher or lower than the main 20 LB tank? would it make a difference in filling it? just kinda wondering because the way siphons work Edited by Snick - 06 November 2006 at 4:58pm


Rock Slide Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Platinum Member Well, my player card says I’m an <KRL> ! Joined: 10 June 2002 Location: Botswana Status: Offline Points: 6612	Post Options Post Reply Quote Rock Slide Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 November 2006 at 9:17pm
	Doesn't really matter... The 20# tank is under pressure. It will force liquid Co2 into your smaller, empty tank.
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