Nitrox Cylinder Valves

[pgfaini]

Does anybody know what the valve connection on nitrox bottles, as used by paintball shooters, are? I was thinking of using a small bottle to take to matches, in place of the K-valve SCUBA tank I'm now using, which is about 50 cu. ft. I can machine an adapter to DIN, but if they require a yoke as the small medical O-2 bottles do, it wouldn't be worth the trouble.

Paul

[David Levene]

Do I take it that you can't get Scuba tanks with fitted DIN valves in the US?

Here in the UK they are as easy to buy, and get filled, as K valve. Even getting a tank swapped from K valve to DIN is easy. They are certainly a lot more convenient for shooters.

[Richard H]

You can get Scuba tanks with DIN fittings in NA. He just wants to use a small bottle which I'm sure if he asked at a scuba shop they could get it with a din fitting too. Some people just don't ask or the scuba shop they deal with doesn't know or want to know.

[pgfaini]

I've been out of the sport for about six years. When I started with AP, none of the SCUBA shops in this part of the state serviced DIN tanks, the valve being a recent German development. As a matter of fact, most SCUBA shops wouldn't fill your tank unless you had a diver's license, and a"real" one, not the one you got at a resort. I had to put "Not for breathing" labels on my tanks to get them filled.

Now, with the popularity of Paintball, it appears the shops are doing quite a business filling tanks for non-divers. I've got two K-valve tanks, an 80cu. ft. and a smaller one about 50cu. ft., which I take with me to matches. I could get them fitted with DIN valves, but I find it no trouble using the yoke when filling my gun, and like the pressure gauge thats part of the assembly, my older 162E, not having one.

My son called me last night, stating that he'd been in a shop which serviced Paintball shooters, and they were selling and filling what they called Nitrox tanks with air. They had small tanks, about 1 and 2 litres in size for sale, and I thought about purchasing one for travel, and was wondering what type of valve it had. (Yoke or screw-in)

It's my understanding, that in the U.K., actual Nitrox diving tanks have to have a Nitrox valve, not a DIN, so that exotic diving mixtures wouldn't be confused with straight air. The threads on this valve being larger than the DIN. Is this what the paintball shooters are using?

Paul

[David Levene]

It's my understanding, that in the U.K., actual Nitrox diving tanks have to have a Nitrox valve, not a DIN, so that exotic diving mixtures wouldn't be confused with straight air. The threads on this valve being larger than the DIN. Is this what the paintball shooters are using?

Can't help on that I'm afraid Paul.

There's no problem here in the UK getting 2L or 3L Scuba tanks with DIN valves, either 232 bar or 300 bar. Apart from my 15L tank I also have a 3L tank to put in the car if I'm off to a heavy shooting session.

A word of warning, you cannot use a Steyr adaptor (not sure about others) with a 300 bar DIN valve. The adaptor threads are not long enough to seal in the valve, a safety feature to stop you trying to fill your Steyr cylinder to 300 bar.

[Richard H]

It's my understanding, that in the U.K., actual Nitrox diving tanks have to have a Nitrox valve, not a DIN, so that exotic diving mixtures wouldn't be confused with straight air. The threads on this valve being larger than the DIN. Is this what the paintball shooters are using?

Can't help on that I'm afraid Paul.

There's no problem here in the UK getting 2L or 3L Scuba tanks with DIN valves, either 232 bar or 300 bar. Apart from my 15L tank I also have a 3L tank to put in the car if I'm off to a heavy shooting session.

A word of warning, you cannot use a Steyr adaptor (not sure about others) with a 300 bar DIN valve. The adaptor threads are not long enough to seal in the valve, a safety feature to stop you trying to fill your Steyr cylinder to 300 bar.

The only pistol that I know for sure that has a 300 bar adapter is Walther.

[Richard H]

Paul is the kind of tank your looking at.

http://www.diveshow.com.au/Equipment/Pony_bottle.htm

[pgfaini]

Richard, I haven't seen the bottle yet. My son offered to pick it up for me, and I didn't know if it was what I need. I'll check it out this week, and if it's no good, I'll try to get something small, that will take a K or DIN valve, when I get my 80 cu.ft. tank filled.

Thanks for all the input, Guys.

Paul

[Richard H]

That dive site show some of the different cylinders available the pony tank 25 cu ft, the sling tank 42 cu ft (I think) as well. the problem with these tanks is the fact that you will get very few full fills off them due to there lower volume and you still have to get the annual visual and 5 year hydro on them, to me its sort of a waste.

When I travel I just take the hand pump easier to travel with than any of the cylinders and it only takes a few pumps to fill it back up after a normal shooting session. (Normally I use a Scuba tank).

[pgfaini]

I planned to make up a tank to tank high pressure connector, and refill it from my large tank. I do that now with an "R" oxygen tank that I use with a "B" acetylene tank for convenience, welding and cutting, when working in my shop, leaving my large tanks in an outbuilding.

Paul

[JulianY]

Does anybody know what the valve connection on nitrox bottles, as used by paintball shooters, are? I was thinking of using a small bottle to take to matches, in place of the K-valve SCUBA tank I'm now using, which is about 50 cu. ft. I can machine an adapter to DIN, but if they require a yoke as the small medical O-2 bottles do, it wouldn't be worth the trouble.

Paul

My dive tank is in fact a 15l nitrox tank ( no baby tank!) but is only fillable to 232 and it has standard dive fittings. in my case it is a a DIN fillting with an integral a clamp adapter. To my knowledge there is no special valve for nitrox. At lease not in the netherlands.

What I suspect is the confusion is that there may well be special valves not for nitrox but 400 bar.

What I did find was this;

http://www.air-arms.co.uk/FILLINGKITS.htm

This show an integrated top with has no diving use .

You best bet is to talk to you supplier.

I word of warning though, I have seen airgun adapters made up of mixed pressure parts and sold as 300bar in the uk. ie a 232 gauge screwed to a 300 bar block, they get away with this because 99% of guns never go above 200 but you could get a nasty surprise. yest other is a safety margin but don religh on it of anything other that safety, check you number - its the weakest link that till go.


JY

[Richard H]

I planned to make up a tank to tank high pressure connector, and refill it from my large tank. I do that now with an "R" oxygen tank that I use with a "B" acetylene tank for convenience, welding and cutting, when working in my shop, leaving my large tanks in an outbuilding.

Paul

You use oxygen, as opposed to air?

[pgfaini]

I planned to make up a tank to tank high pressure connector, and refill it from my large tank. I do that now with an "R" oxygen tank that I use with a "B" acetylene tank for convenience, welding and cutting, when working in my shop, leaving my large tanks in an outbuilding.

Paul

You use oxygen, as opposed to air?

Only for welding (Oxy-Acelylene). Just commenting that I fill my small portable "R" oxygen tank from my 220cu.ft. "K" tanks, and could do the same with air.

If I had my choice of an alternative for air for the AP, I'd pick nitrogen. I've already used it for air tools when a compressor isn't available. It would be close to CO2, with regards to the amount of shots one could get from a fill. I got quite a bit of time on my air wrench with it, and it's completely anhydrous.

My whole question regarding Nitrox tanks has become academic. I found a 6 cu. ft.pony tank for sale with a K valve, with an '07 hydro. Thanks for all the input.

Paul

[Richard H]

That makes me more comfortable, I was afraid you were using oxygen, and someone might get a surprise.

Lots of people use Nitorgen (air is 80% Nitrogen) some countries its easier to get then air (India I beleive).