Efficiency

You'll get less shots off of an equivalent size HPA tank, since the HPA is a lot less dense gas than CO2, along with some other factors....Also, what were the temperatures you were dry firing in?  Was it cold out, warm out?  Most importantly, though....you were dry firing.  First, I'm suprised you aren't complaining of recocking problems.  That will sometimes go with dry firing, especially if you have a regulator that is set down a bit.  Also, since there is no paintball and no hopper (I assume the hopper was off the gun, too) in the marker, there is less blowback to get the bolt reset which means it will reset a tad slower, allowing more gas to escape from the open valve.  At CO2 pressures, it only takes a few milliseconds difference, to spend a lot more gas.  Try loading up with paintballs, I'll bet you get your 1000-1400 shots.  I wouldn't worry about the guy not filling the tank all the way.  I have no doubt it was because you were dry firing, especially if you dry fired 500 times.   Happy firing!!!!

Edited by spudcrazy

Jackal14 wrote: As for what i said about expectations. On 98 custom for a 20oz you should only expect about 900-1000 shots. With an expasion chamberadd ***MAYBE** another 80-100.

That's probably very true.  I only played once on a 20oz. tank WITHOUT a Palmer Stabilizer.  I get about 1350 shots average with my Palmer set at roughly 680psi for 280fps.  You might want to think about getting a Palmer, too.  It definitely helps. 

Also, the thing about not chilling the tank before filling.  That's absolutely correct, also.  I make it a point to make sure they do that before filling my tank.  I may be wrong, but theoretically, they're supposed to do that to purge the tank, but alot of the younger employees at the pro-shops do not.

Well, the only thing I can think of, is get a 1000 box of Wal-Mart Scorch paint (~$20) and see if you can shoot through the whole box.  (BTW, I found that Scorch shoots pretty decent.  It's not the best fit in the world, but it will suffice for a cheap test.)  Tippmann markers are real hard to mess up.  If your valve was leaking, you'd probably here it.  Anything else, you could test for yourself.  Screw on a full CO2 bottle and mix a few drops of liquid Wisk and 1/2 cup of water and bursh it over all the CO2/air joints.  If you see bubbles, you have a leak, if you don't then you're fine.  That's when I would suggest just trying to shoot through a box of cheap paint.  BTW, I wouldn't spend the extra $$$ on Marb's.  Atleast for me, Draxxus Blaze shoots outstanding and you can get it for $42 a case from www.countypaintball.com.  That's where I get mine....

TippmanHotshot wrote:  After about 5 minutes of shooting, my tank is empty. I only shot about 500-700 shots.

Thats quite a bit of shots in a short time for a 98C. Is that how much/fast you shoot during a normal game? Could you have been pulling liquid CO2 instead of gas? I know with my 98c the faster I shoot the more likely I am to draw some liquid through. Try spacing out your shots to be closer to what you shoot during a game and see if there is a difference.

I live in South O.C.

To trulyoldnavy: that actually is how fast I shoot during speedball games (I play back and I shoot a ton in some games)