balls breaking !
Printed From: Tippmann Paintball
Category: Paintball Equipment
Forum Name: Gun Maintenace and Repair
Forum Description: Important info for keeping your marker in top shape
URL: http://www.tippmannsports.com/forum/wwf77a/forum_posts.asp?TID=163534
Printed Date: 31 March 2026 at 2:16pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.04 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: balls breaking !
Posted By: GrilledCheese33
Subject: balls breaking !
Date Posted: 12 January 2007 at 8:43pm
| ok i just bought a new ion and it was about 17 degrees out today and mostly all it did was break balls any ideals of the prob. could be or is it cause it was so cooled |
Replies:
Posted By: hybrid-sniper
Date Posted: 12 January 2007 at 9:25pm
| The problem is that it's seventeen degrees. |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 12 January 2007 at 9:52pm
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about the only paint that will work when it is that cold is polar ice, Everything else, even the other winter paints, tend to shatter at that temp. ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: GrilledCheese33
Date Posted: 12 January 2007 at 11:34pm
| ok i didnt know if it was the paint or not thanks |
Posted By: TrivialBeing
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 12:52am
Acctually, here in Canada  , I played outdoor at my local place with a bunch of friends, broke maybe one or two balls, and the place I go uses the worst paint I have ever seen, often times they hand me bags of assorted crappy balls, some even broken. When I played out there most recently it was -30 Celcius (= -20 farenhiet -or however its spelled-). That may not be the case, unless Ions brake balls like crazy when its cold (I was using a tippmann custom pro with compressed air)------------- 
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Posted By: hybrid-sniper
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 1:13am
| The type of paint is the variable here. Most paints can't take the cold. |
Posted By: TrivialBeing
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 1:15am
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I was using worthless paint.
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Posted By: hybrid-sniper
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 1:19am
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That is very vague. Worthless can have many meanings. If the paint is too brittle, it will break more easily. For some reason I doubt that they sell brittle paint when it's as cold as you say it is. At that temp, no one could shoot Hellfire or Inertia Pro or anything like that. So, they sell cheap, rubbery, hard shlled "worthless" paint. (This is speculation on my part.) We do not know what the poster was shooting, so assuming that the gun was at fault is erroneous. Most people wont shoot "good paint" under 40 degrees farenheight anyway. |
Posted By: TrivialBeing
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 1:43am
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I dont claim to know more than any other poster on this site, especially about paintballs, I think they were filled with anti freeze.
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Posted By: hybrid-sniper
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 6:57pm
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I never mentioned anything about anyone knowing more than anyone else. I said "we do not know what kind of paint he was shooting" or something to that effect. Most, if not all, paintballs will not freeze. This is all really a moot point, so I don't know why this is still going. |
Posted By: Seashell06
Date Posted: 16 January 2007 at 11:29pm
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Ion? I dont know much about them but I shoot a Tippmann 98 Custom and it was snowing outside during a game and it wasnt chopping or breaking balls at all.. ------------- Tippmann 98 Custom 14'' Barrel Tippmann Expansion Chamber Tippmann Double Trigger BT Collapsable Stock BT Adj. Sight Rail Halo Backman TSA LCD Agitator Total spent= $495 |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 17 January 2007 at 12:36pm
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Alright, since just about everyone who has posted in this thread knows
absolutely nothing about the process of making paintballs and their assorted compnents, I'll set the record straight. Paintballs are composed of Gelatin (Shell) Polyethylene Glycol (Fill) Dye (Fill) and then other substances (all water soluable) to thin down the fill so that it actuall spills out of the ball when the shell breaks. Polyethylene Glycol is a non-toxic substance that is found in virtually every aspect of manufacturing, food preparation, and medicine today. It is the main ingredient in most cough syrups (it is what makes syrups thick so they coat your throat and mouth) and is also found in laxatives, sexual lubricants, spandex, lithium batteries, and even Dr. Pepper (anti-foaming use). It is extremely stable and has a very high boiling point and equally polar freezing point. The major difference in paintballs are the grade of shell (determined by how much gelatin is used in their composition as well as the gelatin's purity) and the thickness of the fill. Most of your cheaper rec-sport kind of paintball uses a fairly impure and thick shell (which allows for more manufacturing defects without severe deformation or breakage in transit/play) which is tougher, meaning more bounces, due to the fact that it is less brittle. Some see these qualities as an advantage for both winter play and woods ball as the thicker shell means that the paint won't shatter in cold weather as easily and it won't break as easily in underbrush/grass when playing in wooded areas. The fill for these cheaper paintballs tends to be very thinned out and easy to "wipe" as it absorbs into the clothing quickly (due to high concentrations of water and less PEG) making the break look like an "old hit". Tournament grade paintballs tend to have a thinner, more pure gelatin shell so that the rounds break at even the slowest speed on their intended target. The fill is also extremely thick (owing to a higher concentration of PEG) which not only brings up the specific gravity of the round (making it heavier, giving it the potential for better accuracy due to weight) but also makes it extremely hard to "wipe" as it globs-up on whatever object is hit, making it extremely hard to rub into clothing or wipe clean off of a solid object. These rounds tend to get a bad reputation with woodsballers as they do not hold up to small twigs/ underbrush/grass very well. They also become extremely brittle in cold weather (below 50*F) which means they don't work as well in cold weather. Many companies also make "winter paint" which has a thicker shell but maintains the thick PEG filling to provide tournament players with the consistency that they are seeking. The formula for the shell is precicely calibrated to make the shell (even though it is thicker) break as easily ON TARGET as normal tournament grade paint does in nominal condidtions. I hope this settles all the questions you guys have. Oh, and trivial, I'd love to know how you kept from getting frostbite playing at -30*C, or was that the wind-chill that day? ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: michaela2z
Date Posted: 21 January 2007 at 5:47pm
| Id agree with what tallen said. At fields when they give you cheap paint the company would rather make balls that is less brittle. Its not as much of an issue if a ball doesnt break on the target as it is balls breaking in the hopper and in the gun. Whereas ppl who buy expensive paint want paint that they know will break on target even when travelling slow so the company will research to find out just how brittle you can make the paint so it doesnt break before firing but breaks on contact. Thats why there are different expensive paints for different conditions as the ball will react differntly. |