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Propane and carbon dioxide have almost the exact same molecular weight. The differences that I know of is that propane boils off at -43 degrees F and carbon dioxide boils off at -108 degrees F. Propane, however, has 3 hydrogen atoms that cause combustion while carbon dioxide is not flammable. Carbon dioxide is usually stored as a liquid, and when it boils off into a gas and expands, it absorbs heat and gets very cold, which freezes water vapor in the air and causes problems. Propane is also stored as a liquid, and if you've ever felt a propane tank as it vents off, the pressure drop makes it really cold. In fact, both carbon dioxide and propane have been looked at as alternative refrigerants (even have their own names, CO2 is R-744 and propane is R-290) because of this.
Combusting propane as a propellant most likely eliminates the freeze up problems found in most CO2 markers, which will possibly make the C3 a very awesome woodsball weapon during the winter. I think Tippmann's experiment with propane is to try and find a different gas with better consistency. CO2 murders your marker during the wintertime because the gas and liquid inside the tank is at a lower pressure, thus more has condensed into liquid and less will expand upon exiting the tank and entering the marker. But when you combust a flammable propellant and use that explosion to drive the paintball, you will probably get better consistency than even HPA during the wintertime. That consistency comes from a controlled combustion rather than relying solely on the gas's own ability to expand by itself.
From a scientific point of view, I think it's kinda cool to use propane. And plus, the amounts the C3 uses is probably very minimal. If the C3 can get well over several thousand shots off a few ounces of propane compared to a few ounces of CO2 getting a few hundred shots, the design of the marker is probably not utilizing much propane at all. What I want to know is how often you need to clean out all the carbon residue inside the combustion chamber, how the byproducts of the explosion are vented (I doubt the paintball is exposed to the actual gases as they explode, there has to be some physical piece that pushes the paintball out by using the force of the explosion behind it), and just how the propane is ignited to begin with. How much is it compressed inside the marker before it's ignited? The idea of the C3 is interesting, if anything.
But at the same time, it's pump action, which means I doubt we'll see any semi-automatic propane markers anytime soon. Also, I understand the concern with it being a considered by definition a firearm, and there's always potential for some jackass to take it apart and modify it into an actual weapon and disguise it as a marker. That would be retroactive to all the people who want paintball to be viewed less like a violent activity and more like a sport.
Still wish I knew why they called it "green gas."
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"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." ~George Orwell
"I have no mercy or compassion in me for a society that will crush people, and then penalize them for not being able to stand up to the weight." ~Malcom X
Tippmann 98 Custom, CAR stock, Evil Pipe Kit, Double Trigger, Response Trigger, Flatline Barrel (bleh).
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The Tippmann C3 and the concept of propaine in paintball
