[crzyazn]

ok for starters lets go over my story(better get some thing to eat/drink)

I am an airsofter, plain and simple. But one day one of my friends gets a paint ball marker from his (devorcied) moms boyfrend and starts this whole pb craze. Some of my friends already own pb markers, others dont(including me). now everyone is starting to buy markers and im felling left out, but luckily i've just graduated Jr. High and a present is on its way, a Spyder Xtra to be exact...

Next,why i've joined this forum.

i know almost nothing about pb, i asked ppl at a airsoft forum but not all of them know much about pb too. So i've come here to bask in the glory that is paintball.

and finally, a bunch of question only some one as green as me would ask:

1. what are the types of markers and their function ex: electric, auto-cocker...ect...ect?

2. what is the difference between C02 and nitro?

3. what is the difference between C02 tanks and HP tanks?

4.what is a regulator?

5.what are nipple covers (giggles slightly) and thread savers?

6. what are O-ring used for and why are they so important?

7. Which is better to use Co2 or compressed air?

8. Are there different callibers of paintballs and barrels

9. how do game types differ ex:speed ball wood ball ect...ect

10. are electric hoppers only used for electric guns?

11. what is an elbow?

12. what are tubes used for

The ending(finnally)

if anyone can answer thses questions id be so eternally greatful,id buy you dinner if it wern't for the fact that this is the internet

ps i've seen a sale on a spyder victor II, with everything i need the xtra and the victor both cost about the same, which would be the better gun.

[Zeruel]

Ok, here we go.

1. Most paintball guns operate differently. Although low end guns like spyders/pirhanas operate the same. An electronic MARKER uses a micro switch to activiate a sollenoid which shoots the gun. THis microswitch is triggered by the trigger. An autococker is a type of gun that is basically a pump with pneumatics up front that recocks it. There are many different types of markers availabel.

2. C02 is Carbon Dioxide gas, compressed. It is VERY cold, and is stored in liquid form. It is also very "dirty." If you get liquid C02 in your gun, it can freeze o-rings, and on higher end guns it will fry your sollenoid. What you refer to as "nitro" is generally called HPA. It is bascially the air we breath compressed. It is much cleaner than C02 and isnt affected by weather.

3. C02 tanks are aluminum and are all the same. While some HPA tanks are aluminum, most are Fiber wrapped. These are light, and still strong. They all have different regulatro designs, so some companys are better than others. HPA tanks have build in regulators, while C02 tanks do not.

4. A regulator basically just controls the amount of air that is let into the gun.

5. HPA tanks are filled through a small port on the side called a nipple. Nipple covers protect that port so that dirt doesnt get it, and also so that it does not get damaged. THread savers go over the threads that are used to screw the tank into your asa, or air source adapter. If these are damaged, the tank could seize in your ASA, and be stuck.

6. O-Rings are used to seal places, so they are air tight. Withough o-rings, or properly lubricated ones, your gun will leak.

7. Compressed air is far better, for the reasons mentioned above, but the tanks are also more expensive. On high end guns HPA is required, but on low end guns they will run fine on C02. Note: Compressed air and HPA, nitro are all the same thing.

8. Well, there is generally one caliber, .68. But all paintballs differ slightly, some are slightly smaller, some are slightly larger, but not by a big margin. Most decent barrels you can choose the exact bore. The most common is .689

9. Speedball is played on a small field, hiding behind bunkers, and is fast paced, as the name suggests. Woods ball is much like airsoft, played in the woods using mostly natural cover.

10. No, an electronic gun is not required in order to operate an electronic loader. Many people get them becuase they can feed faster than gravity, allowing them to fire faster.

11. Not all paintball markers have a vertical feed, some have angled feeds. An elbow is a bent piece of plastic that resembles an elbow, allowing the hopper to be verticle, alowwing it to feed faster.

12. Tubes are used to hold extra paint in a game, you then refill your hopper with them.

Hope that helps

[Alpha]

AIM me: TheAlphaMag

I can answer any question you have

[Roadkill]

2. what is the difference between C02 and nitro?

CO2 is carbon dioxide. It has problems in the cold, can be inconsistent at times and is affected by temperature. It is also possible for liqued CO2 to get into your marker. This is not such a problem for markers such as the spyder you will be getting, but for higher end markers this can mess with the internals. The advantage is that it is much cheaper to get a CO2 tank.

Nitro is the same thing as HPA (high pressure air). It is more consistent that CO2 and is less affected by temperature. It is more expensive to buy a HPA tank

3. what is the difference between C02 tanks and HP tanks?

The difference is the types of air source they hold.

4.what is a regulator?

Used to tone down the amount of air going into your marker. Tanks have regulators on them to decrease the output pressure of the air coming from the tank, and many markers come with regulators designed to bring the pressure down further to the appropriate operating level for that marker.

5.what are nipple covers (giggles slightly) and thread savers?

Nipple covers cover the nipples found on HPA tanks. The nipples are used to refil the tanks. Thread savers screw onto the threading of your tank to protect the threads.

6. what are O-ring used for and why are they so important?

Orings create a seal to prevent air from escaping. The most commonly replaced O-rings are the ones found on tanks, especially CO2 tanks. If your tank O-ring gets destroyed air will leak from your air source adapter (where the tank screws in)

7. Which is better to use Co2 or compressed air?

Compressed air is better to use but for the marker you are getting CO2 is perfectly fine. Note that higher end markers will reccomend compressed air.

8. Are there different callibers of paintballs and barrels

Technically yes. The most common caliber will be 68, with slight variances.There are smaller calibers available but very few markers need these. Just about every marker you will encounter will shoot 68 caliber paint.

9. how do game types differ ex:speed ball wood ball ect...ect

Woodsball is played in the woods. Speedball is usually played on a feild with bunkers, and distance between the bunkers. This is the type of feild that can be found at most tournaments. There are several types of speedball feild. Two common types are hyperball and airball. Airball uses large inflatable bunkers and is the type of feild used at large tournaments such as the PSP and NPPL. Hyperball feilds are made of large tubes.

10. are electric hoppers only used for electric guns?

No, electric hoppers are used to increase the amount of balls per second that can potentially be fed into your marker. Many mechanical markers do not need electronic hoppers because they are simply incapable of shooting faster than the standard hoppers can drop balls into the chamber.

12. what are tubes used for

Tubes hold extra paint for when you run out of paint in your hopper and need to reload.

I missed a few questions but im sure others will pick those up.

[bobide]

Originally Posted by crzyazn

1. what are the types of markers and their function ex: electric, auto-cocker...ect...ect? well theres pumps, then semis- which have electric and mechanical. Electronic guns use batteries and boards, the trigger hits a switch telling the board to activate the selinoid-which then either drops the sear, or routes air to the ram pushing it and the bolt forward. The autococker is a type of semi and is unique in the way it works, the bolt is forward when it fires. Just check out various animated diagrams like the spyders and a intimidators, along w/ the autocockers, to see how they work

2. what is the difference between C02 and nitro? Check out the sticky in the air forum HPA or CO2
Air system FAQ's and Everything else

3. what is the difference between C02 tanks and HP tanks? co2 tanks are solid aluminum usually and hold liquid co2 inside. A hpa tank can be either aluminum or a carbon fiber shell. The air inside a hpa tank is compressed to 3000 or 4500psi so it can give more shots. A regulator is on the hpa tank and regulates the air inside to a more managable 800/450psi (depends on the regulator)

4.what is a regulator? how does a reg work?

5.what are nipple covers (giggles slightly) and thread savers? nipple covers cover the fill thingy on hpa tanks, thread savers cover threads to me sure they don't get bent

6. what are O-ring used for and why are they so important? they seal the marker so the air can be guided, making it work

7. Which is better to use Co2 or compressed air? HPA!

8. Are there different callibers of paintballs and barrelsyes, most paint nowadays though stay very close to .688, same w/ many barrels. Though there are barrel kits w/ ranging bores to fit any paint.

9. how do game types differ ex:speed ball wood ball ect...ect [b]well woods is pretty obvious-it has ur basics, elimination capture the flag, and the much larger scenario games. Speedball uses inflatable bunkers and is a much quicker and faster game. It has many leagues and the popular x-ball format where players try to get the most points in 2 30min halves.

10. are electric hoppers only used for electric guns? no, they can be used on any gun, they just help make sure u don't chop balls b/c they feed so fast

11. what is an elbow? elbows and feednecks simply attach the hopper to the gun

12. what are tubes used forholding paint, u put them in a harness and just fill ur hopper during the game so u don't run out

ps i've seen a sale on a spyder victor II, with everything i need the xtra and the victor both cost about the same, which would be the better gun.

a xtra would be better since it's all metal. Though i'd look into the imagine.
Here's my favorite beginner setup-
imagine $110
flex 7 (a good mask is critical splurge on this!!!) $50
reloader II (nice quick hopper perfect for the imagine) $50
20oz co2 $20

and i started this early too, just got sidetracked alot.

Welcome to paintball and PBF!!

[SpYdErGuY7080]

Aim-DopeyonaStick

If you need anything else, and welcome to the forum.

[Alpha]

CO2 tanks: Its CO2, not C-Zero-Two. One atom of carbon, two atoms of Oxygen. When you compress this gas, it is in a liquid state. TEmperature affects the pressure. For example, at 100 degrees, the pressure in the tank may be 5000PSI. At 75 degrees, it may be 1500PSI. As temperature increases, the pressure increases exponentially, meaning the more temperature, even more pressure.

Keep your CO2 tank out of the threads. Theres two parts to any tank. The regulator (on a CO2 tank, its just called a pin valve), adn the tank. The tank is in essence, a piece of metal (in some cases, metal with carbon fiber wrapped around it), open on one end. Much like a normal bottle.

Then you have the pin valve. This screws right onto the bottle, but must be installed and removed ONLY by a qualified technician. If you don't have the right tools and use the right stuff on the threads, you CAN kill yourself or others. Theres a story that went around a while back about a 12 year old kid that kileld his mom becuase of an improperly installed antisiphon tube.

An antisiphon tube is just a bent tube that you can attach to the pin valve in the inside of the tank. It bends upwards, so when your tank is screwed in, it sucks up only gas. Liquid CO2 is very cold, adn can freeze your O-rings and cause them to crack. O-rings keep your marker sealed up so it only releases gas when you activate the trigger. If you have a cracked or broken O-ring, your marker will leak.

Liquid CO2= bad.

Some markers can't run CO2 at all. EVen with the use of expansion chambers (a special foregrip that has a bunch of diamond shaped chambers that create greater surface area for hte CO2, forcing it into a gasious only state), or anti-siphon tubes, liquid CO2 can and probably will still get in your marker.

These markers (Shockers, DM4.5's, RT Automags, etc), are usually higher end tourney markers. They reqire Nitro. Nitro is more commonly known as compressed air, or simply HPA, which stands for High Pressure Air.

HPA tanks store air anywhere from 3000, to 4500, to 5000PSI. Unlike CO2, these are not readily affected by temperature. Nitro tanks are NOT NOS, Nitrous or NO2. These are all different substances that have nothing to do with paintball. HPA is more consistant, meaning your velocity (the speed at which your paintballs exit your marker. Most fields allow anythign under 280fps, rentals are usually lower to reduce wear adn tear on the springs, and speedball fields usually allow up to 300fps.

HPA is essentially taking the air we breath, and compressing it and storing it in the tank. ITs 78% nitrogen, and 21% Oxygen, and about .1% CO2. Some fields used to fill 100% nitrogen, but that has since faded away becuase we paintballers notice no difference between compressed air and 100% Nitrogen. Compressed air is much cheaper too, becuase fields can just get a big compressor.

Mind you a normal shop compressure only works to around 200PSI, not even enough for one shot on most markers.

[crzyazn]

wow you guys are...are...my hero's.Thanks

[JG.]

Originally Posted by crzyazn

(better get some thing to eat/drink)

Is a lunchable ok?

[paintballer4e]

Originally Posted by JG.

Is a lunchable ok?

oh dude one of those sounds so good right now lol

[JG.]

No Spamming!!!

[crzyazn]

I just got back from church and on the ride home I thought of some more questions(I can just picture all of you sighing at your computers right now):

1.I remember hearing that a ball that dosent break don't count, is this true? and if so what is a good brad of paint that will break on impact.

2. is it ok to keep Co2 in your tank for an extended period of time.

3.do you really need a regulator?

4. Are electric guns ok to use in tournaments

ok thats it for now don't want to overwhelm you.
and ty again

[Born2Drive3]

Well if it doesnt brek, it doesnt show hes hit, hes not out. Most walmart paint wont break that much, including whitebox big ball and such. Problem is, more fragile paint might break in your marker. Bonus Ball is pretty good, but if you pay an extra few dollars for paint you'll definetly notice an increase in accuracy, and also, it'll break easier. Talk to the guys at your shop about the paint they carry, they'll help you out.

Depends on what you mean by extended. I ad co2 in my tank for two months, no ill effects.

You dont need one if you have a spyder or a gun that runs of high pressure. When you get a lp gun, the pressure going into the gun will need to be lower and will neccesitate the need for one. All highend guns come with a regulator, and might even come with a low pressure regulator.

You'll actually see 99.9% of guns uses in tournaments are electric. Thats because theyre faster for the most part.

If you need help AIM me at T3h winn4r111

[prostock05]

it depends on your money situation. if you have the money to go out and spend $80 on 1 case of evil paint, or $40 on a case of draxxus.

[WDP FREAK]

lots of questions wow but ill answer some of them

1: orings are so important becasue if u dont have them ur gun wont fucntion properly and they are air tight so if u dont have an oring on ur tank itll leak(same thing with ur gun)

2:no u dont need a regulator unlesss u want better air consistancy

3:yes electric guns are allowed in tourneys and u most likely want to have one in a tourney

4k that is true bout the paintballs and u wanna buy good tournament brand paintballs cuz if u dont and u get ****ty recreational grade or something like that itll break or chop in ur gun so yea get like draxxus or evil. (just so u know draxxus has different brand paint like for instance they might have draxxus paintballs but the box will say midnight paintballs because its a different brand.

5:electric hoppers are for any gun it doesnt matter they just feed paintballs faster and the best electricf hopper is a halo b or empire b

6:nitro has alot of names ex: nitro,hp,compressed air....all of those are nitro tanks they just have different names hp= high pressure tank

7:an elbow is a different type of feed neck

8:nipple covers cover the tip of ur tank weather its nitro or c02

9:woodsball is in the woods with tackticks like capture the flag and the games are alot longer and more stealthy........speed ball is when there is like a 100x150ft feild (or bigger/smaller) and there are big air filled bunkers and they have to just eliminate the other team it goes very quickly............you also might see wiz ball and thats just like speed ball but closer

10:tubes are tubes that hold paintballs so if u run out of paintballs on the field u have a tube that u pull out and pour in ur hopper so its full again!

11:and u also might wanna know if ur a newb try playing woodsball then move up to like speedbal and stuff cuz if u play speedball for ur first time its kinda scary (well for me it weas but know im an addict)

12: they also have major pro serious paintball were teams compet to get prizes and the leages (some of them,) are the nppl,psp,nxl i like nppl cuz it doesnt have gay rules like xball (nxl=national xball leage) (nppl=national pro paintball league) (psp= i have no clue)

so there u go and welcome to the forum if u have questions im me at AIM=notoriouzrob57 MSN=legoz71@optonline.net

WELcOME

[Alpha]

1. Balls that bounce do not count as hits. They usually hurt more though. Any brand that costs more then 45 dollars is usually good. STay away from anything sold at walmart, sports authority, or kmart. Those all suck.

Typically, anythign you buy at a pb specific field or a pb store willb e okay to use. Good names are PMI, RPS, evil, Empire, Diablo, Draxxus, and WGP are all brands sold at most fields nationwide. I've used all kinds, and I prefer empire fuel, and evil mideval balls.

You can keep CO2 in your tank for an extended period of time, but it will leak out. Ever fill a baloon with helium then keep it in your house? It sinks after a while. That's because the helium actually leaks out of the skin of the baloon. Like that, CO2 will leak out of a tank if stored for a while. But if you leave a tank filled for a month, your probably only going to lose about 50 shots. Not very much. Besides, CO2 is very cheap.

You don't need a regulator, but it will make your marker more consistant. When I say this, I mean there will be very little pressure fluctuation (which translates into velocity fluctuation). In the long run, it makes your gun more predictable. Your shots will have a closer grouping.

Electric guns are perfect for tourneys. Tourney paintball is much faster paced then normal recball, and you need to be putting ou a lot of paint to compete well. Accuraccy by volume. Electric guns have lighter triggers. Most electric guns (tippmann e-grip, spyder e-frame, piranha eforce, and just about any electric gun under $200) only have electronics in the trigger frame.

Usually, they are only sear trippers, which means there is a small switch that is depressed when you pull the trigger. That small switch completes a circuit, and an electromagnet is activated, forcing a piece of metal to move a sear. The sear is connected to the hammer. The hammer is on a spring, so when the sear is moved, the hammer is let loose.

The hammer flys forward, and hits what is called a cup seal. The cup seal is just a small valve. When the cup seal is hit, the valve opens, and allows a small amount of air to enter. The air then pushes the hammer forward.

During all this, a bolt is attached to the hammer by a small pin. So whenever the hammer moves, so does the bolt. Excess gas used to push the hammer back exits out of the bolt. The bolt is above the hammer. So when it moves forward, adn the excess air is released, the paintball sitting in the breech is shot out the barrel by the force of the bolt adn the air.

This is just how one type of pb gun works. These types of markers usually will only be able to hit on or around 13 balls per second.

Other types of markers which are called electropneumatics (the action I just described to you is called an "electro sear-tripper stacked tube blowback", more commonly called an e-spyder clone). .. Electropneumatic markers have electronics not only in the trigger frame, but use another kind of solenoid (the electromagnetic device I mentioned), but the electromagnet directly controls the valve, instead of tripping a hammer that controls a valve. IT has less moving parts (but maybe more parts in the long run), and is usually more efficient, and much much faster.

Electropneumatic guns usually cost in excess of $300 and go right on up to the DM5 and high end timmies (which can and will run you $1500).

I think you'd be happy with a spyder from www.xpaintball.com

ok thats it for now don't want to overwhelm you.
and ty again[/quote]

[Brockocoli]

i think you just did overwhelm him alpha...