Need help with paintball air tanks?

Question

Can someone explain what HPA tanks mean when they are labeled 45/4500 and such. Is the highest number you can buy the best tank?? What is the difference between 45 c/i and 4500 psi?? Or is one measurement for N2 and one for HPA??

Answer 1

Measurements for compressed air and N2 tanks are the same -- cubic inch/pound per square inch.  A full 45/4500 tank contains 45 cubic inches worth of gas (air) at a pressure of 4500 pounds per square inch.

General rule for determining shots from a compressed air/N2 tank:

10 x cubic inches for 3000 psi

15 x cubic inches for 4500 psi

The number of actual shots you get will be determined by the efficiency of your marker set-up.  

Typically, you are going to get more shots out of a 4500 psi tank than 3000 psi tank, but when you are determining which size tank to buy, keep in mind that not all paintball fields/shops have the capability to fill 4500 psi tanks.

Also if you plan on filling your tank off a scuba tank for private/"outlaw" games, you will only be able to fill the tank to 3000 psi.

Answer 2

A number ending in 'ci' is the size of the tank, it means 'Cubic Inches'. This is the physical space and ultimately size of the tank/bottle and only refers to HPA systems.

3000 and 4500 psi refers to the pressure rating. This means that the tank can either be filled up to 3000 psi or 4500 psi. This will affect how many shots you will get out of a tank. A 45 ci tank at 3000 psi will get fewer shots then a 45 ci 4500 psi tank because there is 1500 psi less in the 3000 tank compared to a 4500 tank. Whether you get 3000 or 4500 is up to you.

Very quickly on sizes, there is a 45, 68, 70, 72, 88, and 92 respectiably. There are some odd ball sizes out there but those are the most common sizes you will see. Please note that the 72 ci size is more common for metal tanks, not carbon fiber tanks.

When you put these numbers together you get something like this, 45/4500. This means 45 cubic inches and 4500 psi capacity. Now when shopping for one you will see HP 45/4500 or LP 45/4500. What does this mean? Hopefully you've been paying attention. One is an HP (800 psi output) tank at 45 cubic inches and 4500 psi capacity while the other is LP (400 psi output).

And for the love of Paintball, these sizes don't mean that with an HP tank you're only getting 4 shots out of a 3000 psi tank because you're using 800 psi per shot

Answer 3

High Pressure Air