De-gas every time?

[Trbo323]

I am comfortable keeping air in a hpa tank for quite some time. I even have a co2 tank with vintage co2 from the 90's.

For your consideration on this evening I have 36 year aged CO2 in a classic jt bottle. This vintage was bottled at Bob's house of pain in late 1990 and is no longer available today due to Bob's unfortunate confinement in the Louisiana State prison. It seems authorities frown on using gators thrown through house windows as an effective messaging system.

For an appetizer I have lealand 12g in chrome which was fresh picked this very morning

Our main course tonight is an all original ICD puma which has been tastefully restored

(@DocsMachine have you ever done a TWB strip using "vintage" as a wine term when it comes to old paintball stuff?)

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

[Glovebox Operator]

For your consideration on this evening I have 36 year aged CO2 in a classic jt bottle. This vintage was bottled at Bob's house of pain in late 1990 and is no longer available today due to Bob's unfortunate confinement in the Louisiana State prison. It seems authorities frown on using gators thrown through house windows as an effective messaging system.

For an appetizer I have lealand 12g in chrome which was fresh picked this very morning

Our main course tonight is an all original ICD puma which has been tastefully restored

(@DocsMachine have you ever done a TWB strip using "vintage" as a wine term when it comes to old paintball stuff?)

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

That sounds lovely and what is being served for dessert?

[XEMON]

I was told to always leave them filled. The pressure will keep out moisture. I was told this by a paintballer that was also a scallop diver, who said the same thing goes for scuba tanks.

I confirm 👍

[Trbo323]

That sounds lovely and what is being served for dessert?

Fresh marbalizer with classic hater sauce

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

[SignOfZeta]

I don’t have any theories or opinions on any of this…but a couple of times I’ve read in this thread that keeping the tank full keeps the water out. Can someone explain the logic there? That makes zero sense to me.

[Chuck E Ducky]

In short, the claim isn’t nonsense—it’s based on how real tanks behave in practice rather than ideal physics. Keeping them topped off (or at least partially pressurized) is the safer default for most users. However it’s not really relevant in real world paintball situations. Having a lil air keeps the reg seats in place and helps keep them from drying out. Also a perfect pressure vessel shouldn’t exchange air with the outside but paintball tanks aren’t perfectly hermetic over long periods, and temperature/pressure cycling plays a roll.

Moisture is introduced regularly on fill ups and pressure / heat cycles way more then emptying your tank completely.

Only time I completely empty a tank is to tec a reg / leak or to remove the reg to fly. For me it’s Not due to safety, it’s due to convenience.

[RPP]

I don’t have any theories or opinions on any of this…but a couple of times I’ve read in this thread that keeping the tank full keeps the water out. Can someone explain the logic there? That makes zero sense to me.

Ideally, because your field takes care of their compressors.... the air that goes into your tank has been filtered to remove oil from the compressor and the humidity/water that naturally exists in the air. That leaves the dry and clean compressed air in your tank.

[Chuck E Ducky]

lol yeah right most old compressors bulk fill is full of water and debris filters are yanked off to help compensate for older tired compressors. Maybe at a new field but go to one operating from the 90s you get what you get and you don’t get upset.

There is tons of water in the system sure separators help if they are drained regularly. But if you play in a humid area like Florida with Sand 😬 you are getting tons of contaminants. Pull your reg off take a look inside if you don’t believe me. That gray film is contamination and left over minerals from the trapped moisture build up from expanding and contracting of pressure and heat cycles. It’s not a problem till the tank throws flakes that mess up the seal of your tank reg. That’s when your burst disks blow off to keep over pressure situations on your expensive paintball markers. Tanks and Regs way more robust than people make them out to be considering how much abuse they take. That’s why we test them regularly so DOT can be happy.

[SignOfZeta]

Ideally, because your field takes care of their compressors.... the air that goes into your tank has been filtered to remove oil from the compressor and the humidity/water that naturally exists in the air. That leaves the dry and clean compressed air in your tank.

Um…ok…

Please forgive me…how does the water supposedly get into an empty tank? I can’t imagine any way that water or air would be getting into an HPA tank as they are normally used except when filling it.

How does the water supposedly get into empty tanks, according to this theory?

[Chuck E Ducky]

Compressors build up moisture because they draw in ambient air, which contains water vapor. When this air is compressed, it heats up and then cools down, causing the water vapor to condense into liquid water inside the compressor and its lines.

[SignOfZeta]

That’s not a complete hypothesis…

All the water that comes into the tank came in with all the air that came in. At the same time. It’s impossible to control this other than making sure the compressor input is as dry as possible.

Now: how does filling the tank to 4500psi keep it from absorbing moisture as opposed to 200psi or 0psi? It’s a sealed system. It only gets went when you feed it moist air. Once you’ve done that the air can only leave at the same time as the air.

Yes, water will condense when cooled. That’s doesn’t mean it will disappear, it’s just a change of state. Every single H2O molecule is still there.

[Chuck E Ducky]

That trapped moisture goes both ways I believe it has to do with the heating of the tank under pressure then cooling in the bottle.

As temperature rises, water molecules gain more kinetic energy. This makes it easier for them to stay in the gas (vapor) phase rather than condensing back into liquid droplets. Cooler air slows the molecules down, so excess vapor is more likely to condense.

Ever see the water vapor like fog you get on some cooler days of play? It gets passed through your marker as well. I have a cool photo my friend took of me playing that you can see the vapor trail and paintball coming out of the barrel.

[coyote]

A full tank is more useful to me than an empty one

I top off at the end of play.

[JeeperCreeper]

Sometimes I forget to de-gas my PGPs for a couple weeks. The seals hold up though.

[OpusX]

Been there 😂

[Cunha]

Zeta the moisture thing has more to do with scuba where the valve opens opens and the air is actually clean.

In any case the tanks we use are extremely robust and carefully designed not to fail catastrophically. Within 15 years they can take any paintball use that doesn't go out of its way to be destructive. Outside of that it becomes a gamble.

But there is no reason to empty your tanks at the end of the day.

[The Hobbit]

I really wish I had some air as my lack of it is holding up a deal I’m working.