Low Pressure Vs. High Pressure Paintball Tanks
By Anthony Sakaneeny, Thu Dec 8th

Should I get a high pressure or low pressure N2 or HPA tank formy gun?

That's a good question. Let's get a few things straight first.The terms "nitrogen tank" and "high pressure air” (HPA) tankmean the same thing. Fields and stores use compressed air tofill the tanks because air is more easily accessible. In thepast, nitrogen was more readily available to fields than moreexpensive compressors. Today if you walk into a store and askfor a nitro tank or a nitro fill they will know what you mean.

Second, "high pressure" or "low pressure" refers to the actualoutput pressure of the regulator on your tank. The regulatorcontrols the pressure that your tank will use in your gun. Highpressure tanks usually output 800 to 850 PSI. Low Pressure tanksusually output 450 PSI. Preset tanks have a fixed outputpressure from the factory which cannot be adjusted. Both HP andLP tanks have preset outputs. Adjustable tanks like theNitroduck X-stream or the Empire Adjustable don’t have a fixedoutput pressure and can be adjusted by the player to any outputpressure they need. This article will focus on preset tanksbecause you can use adjustable tanks for any gun.

Now is HP or LP right for your gun? There are a few things tokeep in mind when considering this. First, what pressure doesyour gun need to cycle and shoot a paintball? (This is calledthe operating pressure.) Tippmanns, Spyders and other entrylevel guns need 800 PSI or higher to operate, so you would needan HP tank with these guns to generate enough pressure to allowthe gun to operate. So if you have a gun that needs 800 PSI towork and you hook up a 400 PSI LP tank to it, you are notputting in enough pressure to allow the gun to work. This is whyyou would need a high pressure tank.

Mid- to higher-end guns typically operate with less than 300 PSIinput pressure and come with a high pressure regulator. Highpressure regulators go inline (in between) the tank and the gun.These regulators can accept an input pressure of up too 850 PSIand regulate it down to a user-adjustable setting to meet themarkers’ LP needs. LP guns can use LP tanks. Using an LP Tankwith an LP gun will result in better shot consistency over thechrono because you are not putting as much stress on the inlinehigh pressure regulator. Having an LP tank with an LP gun willalso prevent or minimize hot shots

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if your inline regulatorfails. It will minimize the high pressure air spike going intothe gun which will typically cause your velocity to spike up aswell.

So in short, if you have an HP gun or an LP gun with an HPregulator, you can use an HP tank. LP guns can also use an LPtank. Some guns, like the Angel Speed 05, come with a built-in,inline LP regulator so they can only use LP tanks. As technologyadvances we are seeing more and more entry level guns becomingLP, so it’s always best to check with the manufacturer of yourmarker for their tank recommendations. And never buy a new tankbefore you buy a new gun.

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About the author:Anthony Sakakeeny founded Sak World in 1998. Sak Worldprovides state of the art products online, featuringguns, barrels, nitrogen tanks and apparel. Visit Sak WorldPaintball today at http://www.sakworldpaintball.comto purchase new and used equipment and gearat affordable prices.