Did I mess up my air tank?

[VintageZoomer]

Short story; I bought a few 13 ci tanks, my dad has an HPA compressor.

On the first tank, I didn't realize that the water/oil filter is part of the line, so I didn't use it...do I have a potentially dangerous oil situation, or is it likely that I just have a bit of water in the tank (still bad, I know, but not explosive)?

[NONOBLITUS]

Could just empty the tank with screwing on an asa and open it up so it drains the tank then if your concerned pull the reg off and have a look

[XEMON]

Oil won't explode in compressed air tank, nitrox is where you don't want oil.
open the tank up and let it dry, if there is oil and the inside looks greasy it's not a problem 👍
If there is pool of oil inside you can just dump it ...
I'd be more concerned about moisture corroding components inside the gun.

PS: we used to keep oil in scuba tank and never had issues

[VintageZoomer]

I just emptied it. Refilling with the filter on now. Thanks!

[Tarsun2]

xemon, why is that? is it because the type of oil used?
diesel engines only make about 500psi of pressure to ignite the fuel whereas a HPA tank is 4,500psi.

a quick google search says that Nitrox is any mix of N2 and O2 but, the caveat being scuba tanks are more O2 than atmospheric air. Does the higher concentration of N2 prevent it from combusting?

[XEMON]

Nitrox is is enriched in oxygen 👍
O2 is an oxidizer and under high relative pressure it can self ignite.

[Shane-O]

Xemon: Oil in a compressed air tank can combust. Oil is the fuel, compression makes it more volitile, and if you introduce enough heat it can combust. Its rare, but it can and has happened. Scuba tanks are filled very slow, and much less heat is introduced. Modern HPA fill stations fill way too fast and can introduce enough heat to combust if there is oil in the tank.

[martix_agent]

Xemon: Oil in a compressed air tank can combust. Oil is the fuel, compression makes it more volitile, and if you introduce enough heat it can combust. Its rare, but it can and has happened. Scuba tanks are filled very slow, and much less heat is introduced. Modern HPA fill stations fill way too fast and can introduce enough heat to combust if there is oil in the tank.

This is the correct answer. If you think you have oil in the tank, remove and clean the regulator, and also clean the inside of the tank. You do not want to risk an explosion.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Just clean it out with some dawn soap let it dry. It will be fine.

I would clean your reg and re grease it with the proper stuff.

Just to be safe. Pressure heat an fuel is not a good combination. Clean it good to be on the safe side.

[Toestr]

TBH if you're talking about using a cheap Chinese compressor with a foam 'cigarette' filter on the fill whip then I don't think that will make very much difference. That's really more for particulate filtration. I have no idea how actually dangerous the situation is. Using the compressor itself can't be particularly safe as I doubt any meaningful safety testing was put into it or the fittings. If in doubt clean it out.

[XEMON]

As a global response to the risk of self ignition with oil:
the compressor has oil, oil will makes it through, if your compressor fill fast enough to worry about the gas hammer igniting the tank were not talking about paintball tanks anymore ... The burst disk will do its thing, that's why they're there. A 3kips tank is tested at 4.5kips but the distance is 3.5-4kips ... You'll never get where there is a risk ...

A proper hydrocarbons filter for HP will be more than every field will ever spend on the entire compressor system 😅

Bit you do you ... Whatever you're comfortable with.

If you do want to clean the oil, as Chuck E Duckysaid, mild soap and lots of rice 👍

[Shane-O]

As a global response to the risk of self ignition with oil:
the compressor has oil, oil will makes it through, if your compressor fill fast enough to worry about the gas hammer igniting the tank were not talking about paintball tanks anymore ... The burst disk will do its thing, that's why they're there. A 3kips tank is tested at 4.5kips but the distance is 3.5-4kips ... You'll never get where there is a risk ...

A proper hydrocarbons filter for HP will be more than every field will ever spend on the entire compressor system 😅

Bit you do you ... Whatever you're comfortable with.

If you do want to clean the oil, as Chuck E Duckysaid, mild soap and lots of rice 👍

Paintball tanks have ignited exactly as I have described. A burst disc will not keep the ignition from happening if conditions are right for it. If the compressor is working properly and properly setup, no oil gets through from the compressor, or scuba shops would have alot more problems supplying breathing air. Ever seen an HPA tank filled so fast you cant handle the bottle from heat? I have, many times. It isnt just copressing oil that can ignite the tank, but slam filling tanks can create enough heat to finalize the recipe. Thats why Scuba fills are filled at a slow rate to not heat up the tank and to not lose pressure due to cooling.

[Grendel]

Yes, volatile oils can be a problem and cause "Dieseling" when compressing HPA bottles. The OP would have to be clear but it sounds like the oil is coming from his dad's HPA compressor. If that is the case then no this will not combust because it is, I assume High Pressure Compressor oil, which is designed for this. Now that is assuming Dad put the correct oil in his compressor. Regardless getting compressor oil in your bottles regulator and into your marker (depending on the marker) could be problematic on its own. Best to keep the inside of your bottle clean and dry.

[VintageZoomer]

The OP would have to be clear but it sounds like the oil is coming from his dad's HPA compressor.

It's a SMACO oil-free and water-free unit. I read that some oil is generated from compressing air to that degree, so I was worried. It has a little drain that spits out some water when I open the bleed valve, so I don't know what (if any) internal filtration is happening.

[Toestr]

Oil? No. Water yes. It's just the ambient humidity that condenses at those high pressures.

[XEMON]

Also note the term "oil free" is mostly used a marketing term ...teh large majority of "oil free" compressor are oil lubricated with a oil filter on the back end.
filters are not perfect, something always makes it through, the question how much ...

[Tarsun2]

i know there are different oils with different physical and chemical properties. using the wrong oil in the wrong application can be disastrous in many different situations. (not just paintball).
growing up, i was always told to not add oil to the asa threads or the tank threads. this was back in the day where the operating pressure was 800psi though. and maybe it was a different oil that was used... idk.

modern markers use much less psi to operate but the tank pressure has increased. id imagine a Chinese air compressor would use the cheapest oil possible too.

i just dont know enough about it all and oil in the tank would make me nervous if nothing else.