How do you refill the co2/air canisters for paintball guns?
My son will be 14 soon and I am wanting to get him a paintball kit for christmas. I know nothing about paintball. Do the canisters come pre-filled, a...
My son will be 14 soon and I am wanting to get him a paintball kit for christmas. I know nothing about paintball. Do the canisters come pre-filled, are they disposable, do you refill them? How?
To fill a CO2 tank, you need to be trained for the task. You can get a CO2 tank filled at your local paintball store, paintball field, or in many cases your local sporting goods store.
Just my two cents… Do yourself and your son a favor. Invest in a compressed air tank, especially if the field he will be playing at has the capability to fill them (and most do.)
Compressed air will work with all markers — from low-end, entry level to high-end tourney markers.
Now you do not have to buy a fancy carbon fiber tank for $150+. There are aluminum compressed air tanks for sale for prices that are very comparable to CO2 tanks (check ANS Gear or Action Village.)
Typically entry-level or lower-end, mechanical paintball markers use (or even come with in a package) CO2, which is fine and does the job. Some mid-level, lower-end electronic markers will also operate on both CO2 or compressed air. Most of the mid- to high-end markers will only operate (recommend) using compressed air.
There is a noticeable difference in performance between using the two sources…
CO2 is inconsistent. It is affected by weather and the pressure will have a tendency to spike.
With compressed air, it is consistent. You will not have those issues.
By buying a compressed air tank now instead of a CO2 tank, you will have one less upgrade to purchase, should you son get more serious about paintball and start looking at eventually upgrading his paintball marker.