Air compressors are known for their reliability and for doing tough jobs easy. Therefore used for so many tasks. But can you fill a paintball tank with an air compressor?

The answer is Yes! In this article, we will discuss a complete step-by-step guide about refilling a paintball tank with an air compressor.

Can You Fill A Paintball Tank With An Air Compressor

Paintball tanks need heavy-duty air compressors to get refilled because paintball tanks require at least 3000 PSI to 4000 per square inch (PSI).

A small home garage air compressor with average PSI and average tank size will not be sufficient to fill a paintball tank.

Which Paintball Tank Do You Have?

Before proceeding to the steps of filling your paintball tank, let’s first understand the type of paintball tank you have.

There are two types of paintball tanks.

1- High-pressure Compressed Air (HPA) Paintball Tank

2- Compressed Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Paintball Tank

Both paintball tanks are used for the same purpose; shooting dye-filled paintball capsules through a paintball gun. But there is some difference mentioned below:

High-Pressure Compressed Air (HPA) Paintball Tank:

An HPA paintball tank stores oxygen or breathable air after getting compressed.

The major difference between the HPA tank and the Co2 tank can be noticed easily, as the HPA tanks have a regulator and gauge.

The regulator allows you to control the air pressure, which you want to be delivered to your paint gun. And the gauge shows the amount of compressed air left in the tank.

The control on air pressure gives you better control and accuracy, resulting in better performance and game experience than Co2 tanks.

Many electronically-triggered paintball guns only accept HPA tanks and will not work with CO2 tanks.

HPA tanks are also preferred over Co2 tanks because they are not affected by temperature.

Compressed Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Paintball Tank:

In the Co2 paintball tank, Carbon Dioxide gas (Co2) is stored in a liquid state after getting compressed.

Co2 tanks are compatible with mechanical paintball guns. The new paint guns are now electronically-triggered and only accept HPA tanks.

Co2 tanks are more likely to get affected by the temperature. A sudden high or low temperature can increase or decrease the pressure in the Co2 tank respectively.

Another issue that the paintball players face with a Co2 tank is the pressure of the Co2 tank.

When Co2 from the tank gets consumed, the space in the tank turns the Co2 from liquid form into gas form.

It results in a decrease in pressure, which keeps on getting decreased over time. As you play, you will notice your shots will not travel as far as they traveled in your first shots.

How To Fill A Paintball Tank With An Air Compressor

Paintball tanks operate with compressed gas, which needs to be refilled when ended.

Filling a paintball tank is similar to filling a tire with an air compressor.

It is easier to fill a paintball tank because it comes with two gauges, making it more convenient to fill the compressed air in the tank.

If you’ve ever filled a flat tire, then refilling the tank should not be a problem. Refilling a tank is easier to fill because of the convenient gauge with the air compressor.

This article will discuss a complete step-by-step guide about how-to refill a paintball tank.

Easy Steps To Fill A Paintball Tank With An Air Compressor

Step 1 – Verify your Paintball tank quality

Step 2 – Know your Paintball tank PSI rating

Step 3 – Use the right fittings

Step 4 – Drain your Paintball tank

Step 5 – Use a high-pressure air compressor to fill your Paintball tank

Step 6 – Start filling your Paintball tank

Step 7 – Keep an eye on gauges

Step 8 – Fill the tank slowly to prevent “Hotfill”

Step 9 – Turn off your air compressor

Step 10 – Detach the Hose

Step 1 – Verify Your Paintball Tank Quality:

First, you have to make sure your paintball tank is in perfect shape and condition to be refilled. Look for a hydrostatic testing number printed on the side of your paintball tank.

What is Hydrostatic Testing?

Hydrostatic testing is a process that is required by US law. In Hydrostatic testing, the gas cylinder is checked for multiple factors such as strength, leaks, condition etc.

How is a hydrostatic test performed?

Hydrostatic testing involves multiple steps. First of all, the tank is drained completely. When all the gas is removed, and the tank gets empty, it is filled with water.

After that, the tank is pressurized up to 1.5 – 2 times more than the rated pressure to ensure the paintball tank is in good condition and can handle the air or Co2 pressure.

If the tank is old or has some issues, the water starts leaking, which uncovers all the damages and issues. The aluminum gas cylinders require this hydrostatic testing every five years. A date stamp is engraved/printed on the cylinder after testing. (as shown in the image below)

If you have a new paintball tank and have done the initial inspection, then hydrostatic testing is not needed for this new tank.

But if your paintball tank is old, and you can’t find any hydrostatic testing number on your tank, don’t proceed further and stop at this stage because it is crucial to observe each safety measure to prevent any unwanted incident.

Step 2 – Know Your Paintball Tank PSI Rating:

It is very crucial to know the PSI rating of your paintball cylinder.

Paintball tanks are rated for 4500 PSI and 5000 PSI in most cases. PSI rating is printed on the side of the tank.

The PSI rating is written in this format: (LNNN) or (LLNNNN) etc

PSI rating always starts with a letter, followed by numbers.

The letter in this PSI rating indicates the specifications of the regulatory authority. The following numbers are the actual PSI ratings.

Step 3 – Use The Right Fittings:

Always make sure to have the right size fittings before you start filling your paintball tank.

If you own an air compressor, you may already have various types of fittings for your air compressor. But it is very important to know the required fittings to refill the paintball tank with an air compressor.

You will need the right fittings that will fit the purpose to fill your paintball tank.

So always read the seal on your paintball tank to know the thread size and diameter of your paintball tank so that you can use your fittings accordingly.

Step 4 – Drain Your Paintball Tank:

Before you start refilling your paintball tank, make sure it is empty. It is an important step because you never know how much gas is still present in the tank.

To drain your paintball tank, you will need an air compressor hose along with proper compressed air fittings.

Attach your air compressor’s hose fitting to the paintball fitting. Now tightly screw the other end of the hose fitting into the paintball tank.

There is a valve at the top of this fitting to bleed out the gas. Unscrew this valve. It will let the excess gas out from the tank. (See the image of the bleed valve below)

If you have an adapter, it will make the draining work easy.

Simply hook up your adapter to your paintball tank. Now tighten the adapter with a wrench.

Now unscrew the bleed valve. It will let the excess gas out from the tank.

Once all gas is bleed-out, screw back the valve at its earlier position before filling the tank.

Draining the tank gives you better accuracy and understanding when refilling the tank.

Step 5 – Use A High-pressure Air Compressor To Fill Your Paintball Tank:

Before starting the refilling process, make sure your air compressor matches the required PSI rating of the paintball tank because a high-pressure air compressor is required to refill the paintball tank. Smaller air pumps will not suffice for this task.

There are some air compressors available in the market dedicated to paintball tank filling. These compressors match the PSI rating required to fill the paintball tank.

Also, they have an easy-to-drain set up to empty the tank before refilling. Also, these compressors auto-stop when the tank gets full, avoiding the danger of extra pressure build-up, and in some cases, chances of explosion.

But in commonly used high-pressure air compressors, you have to handle all these factors manually.

Step 6 – Start Filling Your Paintball Tank:

Once you are fully satisfied with all the above-mentioned factors, proceed to the main step.

It is very important to know how much air pressure is required to refill a paintball tank and how much time?

It is easier to fill a paintball tank because it comes with two gauges, making it more convenient to fill the compressed air in the tank.

If you’ve ever filled a flat tire, then refilling the tank should not be a problem. Refilling a tank is easier to fill because of the convenient gauge with the air compressor.

There is very little margin of error when refilling a paintball tank.

A slight mistake can result in overfilling, which can damage your paintball tank your air compressor fittings, and in the worst case, one can get seriously injured if the tank gets blown.

Step 7 – Keep An Eye On Gauges:

As discussed above, there are two gauges which you must keep an eye on. One gauge is on your air compressor, while another on the paint gun.

Both these gauges show the pressure of air.

If you have an HPA paintball tank, then there will be gauge on your paintball tank as well.

This gauge shows the amount of compressed air left in your paintball HPA tank.

Step 8 – Fill The Tank Slowly To Prevent “Hotfill”:

One of the most important step to follow while filling the paintball tank is to fill the tank slowly.

Many people commit a mistake of filling the paintball tank too quickly.

Pushing the compressor lever at full will push the compressed air or gas in the tank with a burst.

You will see a sudden rise in the gauge after the quick burst of compressed air in the tank.

This will fill the tank quickly, which is called “hot fill”.

But this “hot fill” can damage your paintball tank. It can also make it difficult for you to estimate the amount of air/gas filled in the tank.

Because this “hot fill” makes the air in the tank hotter, resulting in losing some pressure from the tank, or sometime results in tank explosion.

If you don’t prevent a “hot fill”, you will see the gauge will drop down even if you haven’t used the tank at all.

So, always fill the compressed air or gas in your paintball tank slowly.

Step 9 – Turn Off Your Air Compressor:

This seems to be an obvious step, but the reason to mention it separately is to remind you to turn off your air compressor first, before removing the fittings from the air compressor or the paintball tank.

Step 10 – Detach The Hose:

Before detaching the hose and removing the fittings, make sure you’ve turned off your air compressor.

Before removing the air compressor hose, unscrew the bleed valve for a second to release the built-up pressure.

Now remove your air compressor hose from the paintball tank.

You are all done! You’ve successfully refilled your paintball tank with an air compressor.

If you are a frequent paintball gamer, these simple steps will make your gaming life easy, and you can refill your paintball tank yourself at home or at paintball field free of cost.

How Is The Paintball Game Played?

The paintball game is mostly played in an open area populated with trees and hills. It also includes artificial obstacles such as inflatable and wooden bunkers, barricades, and fortresses.

The players hide behind these obstacles. When the dye-filled pallets hit a player, it is marked that the player is now eliminated.

The last remaining player’s team stands the winner.

What Is Paintball?

Paintball is one of the fastest-growing competitive team-shooting sport.

In the paintball game, two teams try to capture each other’s flag while defending their own.

The players of both teams try to eliminate their opponents by shooting the round dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs.

How Paintball Gun Operates:

Paintball guns are used to shoot these paintballs, filled with compressed air, with the help of a paintball tank.

These dye-filled paintball capsules burst when touched by any hard object or body.

The compressed air inside the paintball tank pushes the dye-filled pallets from the gun with pressure towards its target.

These paintball tanks need to be refilled when empty. So it is very important to know how to fill your paintball tank with an air compressor.

Where Can I Refill My Paintball Air Tank?

Most paintball players fill their paintball tanks either from the paintball gun store or the paintball playing field.

In most cases, they charge a minimal fee if you have an HPA tank, which only requires compressed air to be refilled.

They let you use their high-pressure air compressor to fill your HPA tank.

Whereas, if you have a Co2 tank, they will charge you more as the paintball field management must purchase the Co2 from the outside Co2 provider company.

So if you have an HPA tank and a high-pressure air compressor, you can easily fill your HPA paintball tank at home.

Cost Of Refilling Paintball Tank

The cost of refilling a tank is always an important aspect to keep in mind before buying one.

The majority of paintball fields offer both types of refills.

In most cases, the HPA tank refill is free of cost because they have high-power air compressors arranged in the paintball field refill center, and filling the HPA tank only requires compressed air, so there is no cost involved.

On the other hand, you have to pay money to get your Co2 tank refilled because the paintball field management purchases the Co2 from the outside Co2 provider company.

Therefore, we always recommend you go for an HPA tank.

An HPA tank is initially expensive to purchase compared to a co2 tank, but if you are a frequent paintball player, this investment will save you good money for years to come.

Look at the chart below to better understand:

 *Prices may vary from field to field. Please contact your field for their CO2 and HPA fill rates.

You can see, after every refill, the cost of refilling makes it clear that refilling a Co2 tank will be more expensive, and over time, the Co2 tank will result in a more expensive option.

Whereas the HPA tank may look expensive initially to purchase, over time, it will result in an economical choice after every refill because it is almost free to refill the HPA tank.

Safety Measures To Follow When Filling The Paintball Tank:

If you follow all the above discussed step carefully, it will be very easy for you to fill paintball tank with an air compressor.

But having said that, it is necessary to follow some basic precautionary measures before starting to refill the paintball tank.

Don’t keep the Paintfall tank on an uneven surface:

Don’t keep the paintball tank on an uneven surface while refilling. If a paintball tank drops down to the ground during the filling process, it can result in serious damage.

Keep the sick and children away:

When refilling the paintball tank, always make sure no sick person is near you. Also, keep the little children away from the refilling place for additional safety measures.

Wear safety goggles and safety earplugs:

It is advised to wear safety goggles and safety earplugs to prevent your eyesight and hearing if any unwanted incident happens because these are the most vulnerable parts and have the greatest chances of damage.

Make sure the tank is not punctured:

Before starting to refill your paintball tank, always ensure that the tank is not punctured or have even the slightest leakage.

Keep the tank away from flammable materials:

Keep your paintball tank away from heaters and any flammable material. Any such carelessness can result in a heavy fire or an explosion of the tank, which can cause serious injuries.

Keep an eye on the gauges:

Always keep an eye on the gauges during the refill process because there is very little margin of error when refilling a paintball tank.

A slight mistake can result in overfilling, which can damage your paintball tank or your air compressor fittings, and in the worst case, one can get seriously injured if the tank gets blown.

Most Important Advice:

If for any reason, maybe due to lack of safety measures, or surrounded by many people, or if you can’t find a proper place, if you are not feeling confident about how to fill a paintball tank with an air compressor, then DON’T fill the paintball tank yourself.

Just go to the refill station or to your nearest paintball field, and get it refilled by a professional person. Always remember safety should be your highest priority.

Conclusion:

As discussed above in detail, paintball tanks need to be refilled with compressed air or Co2 when it gets empty. You have to follow all the steps mentioned above to easily refill your paintball tank yourself at home or the paintball playing field. If you are a frequent paintball game, you will need the tank to be refilled very often. And now, as you’ve learned how to fill your paintball tank with an air compressor, you can save lots of money for sure.