Hi all, Has anyone tried using airsoft gas instead of CO2? and if so, what was the difference? edit, for fast guns.
you mean HPA? else CO2 is CO2. both work but HPA bottles tend to be larger and most guys already have a CO2 fill station not an HPA.
Airsoft gas (aka Green Gas) is Propane with Silicon Oil. I don't know if anyone has tried it or if it would even be legal to use in fast gun. Propane has a significantly lower vapor pressure than CO2, you'll have trouble getting 150PSI on a chilly day. Guns would need to function on lower pressures or you'd need to heat it (might be a tad risky) in order for it to work as reliably as CO2. If it's all you have I'm sure you could make it work, but if CO2 is readily accessible I'd say stick with that. HPA isn't worth the hassle in my opinion. (HPA compressors are $$$$, a 50lb tank of CO2 isnt.)
My problem is that I'm the only battler reaqy, with 2 ships ready for spring. If I buy co2 I have to buy everything. I have a supplier of co2 bottles as used in fire security doors, but the connectors are not compatable with the guns. They have to be opened with a pin and cant be switched off. The connectors I found all leak a bit as theyre used to open windows and thats all. In france I can buy bottles of airsoft gas cheaply (green gas i believe) so I was hoping someone might have tried it.
Thanks, Nick. I dont have room for a giant bottle of co2, and just for my 2 ships It looks like I have little choice... Maybe the school where I work might have room.
20# cylinder makes good corner decor. Better than those silly vases full of dead sticks that people like.
Haven't tried Airsoft gas, but I have used HPA. It's good if you're burning through gas rapidly (ie paintball guns on rapid fire, or 12x Big Gun cannons firing every six seconds). It doesn't have a phase change, unlike CO2, so it won't freeze your regulator under heavy usage conditions. But it lacks the energy density of CO2, I could fire AT LEAST 2x as many shots with a similar-sized (and similar weight) CO2 bottle, as long as I didn't freeze the system. As for airsoft gas, you never know until you try but I do not expect great results. The vapor pressure of propane, the most common airsoft gas, is just 124psi at room temperature, significantly lower than our allowed pressure of 150psi. Because of that, you won't be able to use a regulator, and that in turn makes it extremely susceptible to pressure changes due to temperature changes due to use. Fire your cannons a few times, and some of the liquid gas will boil to replace the gas you use, which cools the system, which drops the pressure of the system. Keep firing and pressure will drop until the cannons jam. CO2, by comparison, has a much higher vapor pressure, so even at low temperature we can use a regulator to maintain a constant 150psi to the cannons.
