CO2 Expiration?

Not sure what the pop could have been, but I wouldn't be concerned about it.

The tanks should be perfectly fine, you won't really see a tank 'go bad' unless its many, many years old or heavily abused.  However, you must get them hydrotested every three years to meet the certification needed to get the tank filled by a professional filler (by this I mean everyone except a friend who may have a CO2 tank to fill off of, etc.).  Every C02 tank needs to be hydrotested every 3 years regardless of condition, so there is a good probability you will need to have this done.  The test essentially makes sure there are no leaks and that the tank is structurally sound.  Chances are that you can have a local paintball shop either send it out or have it done there.


Edited by Yomillio - 11 June 2008 at 7:40pm

Some places will take your tank for a week to test them, you can also get it done at scuba diving places if you do not have a paintball place near you.

Newer tanks need tested every 5 years, not 3. However when the time comes to hydro a CO2 tank you might as well trash it. Hydroing costs around $20 normally so you can basically buy a new tank for what it would cost to ship it off and get it tested.

Yomillio wrote:   However, you must get them hydrotested every three years to meet the certification needed to get the tank filled by a professional filler (by this I mean everyone except a friend who may have a CO2 tank to fill off of, etc.).  Every C02 tank needs to be hydrotested every 3 years regardless of condition, so there is a good probability you will need to have this done.

Very interesting. The field that I go to frequently has got CO2 tanks that are so old, the labeling on them has completely peeled off or just faded to a whitish/yellowish sticker.  The only thing that is readable on them is the white paint around the top of the canister that looks like it was either embedded during manuf.  and it has a lot of numbers on it.  If what you say is true about CO2 tanks needing hydrotesting, I highly doubt that my field is using "legal" CO2 tanks.  Is there any way to tell if the only thing left on the tank is what is embedded or painted on it?

Edit:

Yomillio wrote: Isn't there a rule if your tank is less than 2.5" in diameter it doesn't need to be tested either?

Yea, that would explain it. They're all 8-12 Oz. CO2 tanks and they're quite long and narrow.


Edited by Sidicas - 13 July 2008 at 4:03pm

Yomillio wrote: Snake6 wrote: Newer tanks need tested every 5 years, not 3. Good to know.  I didn't know it applied to CO2 also.  Isn't there a rule if your tank is less than 2.5" in diameter it doesn't need to be tested either?  I heard about that once, and I never confirmed if it was true or not. Also, I agree that when testing time comes you should probably just buy a new tank.

It's 2"x2'-
 Any cylinder not exceeding 2 inches outside diameter and less than 2 feet in length is excepted from volumetric expansion test.

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=2059688