How to Fill Air Tanks for Paintball Guns | Updated Guide (Jan-2023)

Are you new to paintball pistols? If yes, then you must have a lot to learn still. One of the things that we struggled with during our starting days was the refilling of air tanks. If you have gotten to that point, you already know how tricky it can get, especially if you have not done anything of the sort before. However, not to worry. We are here to help you out with our expertise in the matter.

To begin with, how to fill air tanks for paintball guns is an important question you need to ask yourself before buying a paintball pistol. We suggest that you go through the paintball tank refill guide explained below for your information. Since it is not allowed to transport filled air tanks, you will have to take responsibility and get into action. It might take a while before you get perfect at the job, but you will surely reach that point soon.

Types of air tanks

Before we move on to explain the different methods of filling your air tank, we need you to familiarize yourself with your particular tank. The filling of tanks highly depends on what is inside of them. There are three types of air tanks available in the market. You can check the tank description to find out which ones are yours. You need to know that you cannot simply shift between the air tanks upon your will.

If you have been using a certain air tank, you need to use the same one for the gun you started using it on. If you change the air tank, it will not work and increase the chances of the gun not functioning properly. If you plan to go from a High-Pressure Compressed air tank to a Compressed Carbon dioxide air tank or vice versa, you will also have to change your pistol. Otherwise, you will not be able to enjoy the pistol like you used to.

The first tank is the Compressed Carbon dioxide tank. Since the gas has been compressed, it is present in a liquid state in the air tank. The second tank is the High-Pressure Compressed air tank, where Oxygen is the gas being used to provide enough force to shoot your paintballs to their targets. Finally, we have the Pure Nitrogen air tank, which is highly unlikely to be in your possession because it is a rare thing. We do not recommend having it as well, for it will only make the process more difficult than searching for a paintball station that facilitates it.

How to fill air tanks for paintball guns at a paintball station

If you are lucky enough to have a paintball station near you, you should avail the benefit. You will still have to carry out all the procedures by yourself so read the following instructions carefully.

1. Know your tank limit

First of all, you need to be aware of your tank’s capacity. If you do not know this before filling out your tank, it can result in leakage or a tank that is not filled to its capacity. From our experience, 4500 PSL is usually the limit, so you should consider that before taking any action. If you are going for accuracy, you can check the PSL in the indicator that must be present on your air tank.

2. Join the air tank to the fill nipple

Once you take the capacity into account, you can move on to the next instruction. Before you attach your air tank to anything, ensure that there is an O-Ring present there. The basic purpose of an O-Ring is to prevent any leakage of gas. Therefore, if you cannot locate the O-Ring, then you must contact a supervisor who could help you out, or else all the gas will escape instead of entering the air tank.

When the O-Ring problem is resolved, all you need to do is plug the central needle through the filling nipple available. You can move the pipe around to be confirmed its proper connection.

3. Fill your air tank

Now comes the main part of the whole process; filling your air tank. You need to make sure that the air enters your tank gradually so you can keep good track of it. Check the air compressor to find out if it works with a lever or buttons. Either way, work with it to fill your air tank. One thing to note here is that you cannot allow your air tank to be overfilled to the extent that gas leakage is inevitable. Stick to a decent 4500 just to ensure a safer and more reliable experience.

As mentioned, you need to fill your tank gradually, or else you will have the chance of encountering a hot fill. A hot fill is when you fill the tank quickly, and the air turns super hot. Your air tank will lose gas from itself even when it is not in use. If you do not want this to happen, you need to be patient with the filling. We suggest that you carry out this task when you have enough free time at your hand or else the consequences can be dire.

4. Release the pressure

Once you are done filling your ar tank, it is time to ensure that the items used are not affected. For this, use the release valve in the air compressor to remove any remaining air present in the compressor. By doing so, you prevent the pressure from being built inside the air tanks when you remove the hose. If you do not do so, this will result in the fill nipple being damaged. If you are doing this for the first time, you might get startled by a sudden sound that might come from the release valve. However, there is no need to worry as the sound is just an indication that excess air is being released.

5. Remove the hose

When you are done removing the possibility of having a damaged fill nipple, it is time to follow the last instruction. You need to remove the hose from the fill nipple carefully and put it back to where you had picked it up from. Your air tank should be filled now, and you will be ready to play your next paintball game with your friends.  

Important Points

There are certain things that you need to keep in mind while filling out your air tank. First of all, if you own a Compressed Carbon dioxide air tank, then you must refrigerate it before taking it out for refiling. By doing this, you will make sure that there is no difference in temperature to cause a problem with the pressure of the air tank. When we first tried to fill our tank, we did not refrigerate the tank beforehand, and it only wasted our money. So, you need to be careful about this thing.

If you are confused about either getting a High-Pressure Compressed air tank or a Compressed Carbon dioxide air tank, we would recommend that you go for a Compressed Carbon dioxide air tank. The reason behind this is that today most paintball guns use it to power themselves. Moreover, it is much easier to find Compressed Carbon dioxide air tanks and their stations. If you do not want to get into the struggle of finding the paintball station or the right air compressor, you should just stick to the good old Compressed Carbon dioxide air tank.   

Another thing you need to consider is that you should buy a Scuba Tank. It will be helpful for a High-Pressure Compressed air tank. You should also think about purchasing an air compressor. If you have these things at home, you will be able to refill your air tank whenever it needs a refilling without the trouble of carrying it to the nearest paintball station.

These mentioned points are essential to know before getting ready to fill your tank for the first time. If you have been filling it out before as well but never get it right, you should consider rechecking everything to ensure that the next time you refill it, you do the job correctly. If you face any problem on the way, then you can always contact an expert to help you out. There are people available at the paintball station who can tell you what it is that doing wrong.     

Conclusion

Hopefully, this answers your question about how to fill air tanks for paintball guns. By following these simple steps, you will be able to become an expert in filling your air tank. It does not matter if you are new to this or are interested in refreshing your memory; you should find the above details to be helpful. However, you cannot know for sure what you are lagging in until you try to fill the air tank yourself. Therefore, we encourage you to try accomplishing this task as soon as possible and refer back to the article for pointers.