paintball tank problem - Equipment

overboard · 07-31-2008, 07:23 PM

I got a Red Sea paintball regulator and bought a 20 oz tank from a local sporting goods superstore. It worked great for an hour or so, then the bubble rate increased, then stopped. The pressure had been dropping- I assumed I had a leak somewhere, though I couldn't find it. I went to another store and got a second tank, same brand, and it worked great. They tried to refill the first and it was full. They exchanged it for me and that one won't even register pressure. It is like the pin isn't getting depressed. On the first one I think it was not all the way depressed maybe, and backed off somehow after a little while. Has anyone had this problem? Fussy regulator, or tanks being asked to do something they are not designed for? The one tank works great. It has a brass (or brass-colored?) valve, the other is silver. The pins appear to be recessed the same amount...

mikenas102 · 07-31-2008, 07:45 PM

I have the same regulator. First be sure you are completely screwing the tank into the regulator. Mine will get very tight and makes you think it is completely screwed in but it is not. A couple more turns and it finally makes good contact. Second, once the tank is properly attached, turn the knob on top of the regulator clockwise as if you were tightening a nut. It is a reverse thread. Turn it until the working pressure guage measures between 15-20 psi. Once that is stable then you can use the needle valve to adjust the flow rate. If you do not turn the working pressure up enough you may be trying to get a bubble rate higher than what the regulator is letting out of your tank and that's why it seems like it is running out of gas.

My bet is that the tank was not completely screwed in to the regulator.