How does paintball regulator work

In most cases, the pressure should be equal from the air tank, through the regulator and within the paintball gun. At times, this can change - especially if the channel through the regulator is too small - however a valve will allow you to release any build-up. Most often, this happens when shots are fired in quick succession with too small a channel.

PSI is one of the most common ways of measuring pressure or stress, not just with air but in a number of areas. As mentioned, this affects how your paintball gun performs. There is an element of risk, however with the right equipment and protective gear, this is reduced by a large amount.

While having fun is important, anything that increases the risk to yourself or others should be kept in mind. Using pressurised air tanks and paintball guns is one of these factors, and pressure build-ups can cause blockages or faults that change how the paintball gun works. If you use something not designed to work together properly, it could cause damage to your equipment. Ultimately, controlling the air pressure results in more accuracy while shooting.

Regulators are great if you are running either CO2 or Nitro. They are universal and only require that your marker has a standard vertical adapter or can accept a standard size valve thread into the receiver. The air enters the regulator and flows through the valve into the chamber. In the chamber the air pressure exerts a force on a piston that is supported by a spring pack.

To properly answer that question you need to know how a paintball marker works, how CO2 behaves, and how these things affect where your paintball goes when you shoot. All markers require a certain amount of air at a certain pressure in order to propel a paintball out the barrel at a given velocity.

An increase in pressure or the amount of gas used per shot will increase the velocity of the paintball. In Spyder style markers, when you adjust the velocity screw to increase your velocity, what you are really doing is increasing the force with which the striker will hit the valve. The harder the valve is hit up to a point , the longer it will stay open. The longer the valve stays open, the greater the amount of air passes into the bolt to fire the paintball and thus the increase in velocity.

Keep this in mind. Markers designed to operate on CO2 can operate at very high pressures with some exceptions. CO2, as we deal with it in paintball, has two forms. The first is a liquid. The second is as a gas. It is the CO2 gas that we use to operate our markers and shoot the paintball. However, in our tanks it is in its liquid form. CO2 is more condensed when it is in liquid form. Thus a small amount of CO2 liquid can expand into a much larger amount of CO2 gas.

Since our markers are designed to operate on a gas and not a liquid we have to have the CO2 change from the liquid form we store it in to the gas form we can use. Just how is this done? Two things are needed and can cause CO2 to change from a liquid to a gas. One is an increase in area and the other is heat. The first of these may be a bit hard to understand at first. When you have your tank filled, they will only fill it to somewhere around 17oz.

This leaves a small 3oz area in the tank that will allow a small portion of liquid to transform into a gas. However, since we usually mount our tanks horizontally on our markers this gas bubble is usually not near the valve of the tank until the tank is about half empty. This is why some CO2 bottles are equipped with an anti-siphon. And anti-siphon is a small tube installed in the valve that goes from the valve into the tank then makes a 90 degree turn upwards towards where this gas bubble will be when the tank is mounted on the maker.

This helps, but does not eliminate, the possibility of liquid CO2 entering the marker. An expansion chamber can be installed on a marker to help keep the liquid CO2 from making it up towards the valve. Without an expansion chamber, the liquid CO2 only has a very small airline in which to try and expand into a gas.

With the larger area offered by an expansion chamber, the liquid CO2 has a much easier time making the transition. If you use a remote line, it also acts as an expansion chamber by giving the liquid CO2 more room in which to change into a gas. Remember we also mentioned heat has a big role to play in the transition from a liquid to a gas too. You see, in order for a substance to change from a solid to a liquid or a liquid to a gas it must have energy added to it in order to make the change.

With CO2, that energy is heat. Also, if you were to measure the temperature of the air around it you would see that the air temperature around it would drop. The carbon dioxide can quickly produce a minimum of psi, and the regulator can decrease the gas pressure. Many paintball players choose two different regulators or have a two-regulator system for better performance. The first pressure regulator might decrease only half the pressure, and the second regulator can lower the pressure again for proper operation of the paintball gun.

It will not fire the gun as fast as you would like, so have two regulators be the maximum for your setup. Generally, the regulator you choose and the setup for your equipment comes down to personal preference. Technically, the only paintball players who need a regulator shoot paintball markers that cannot work under high pressure. Additionally, some markers have a regulator on them already. If you use high-pressure air HPA tanks rather than carbon dioxide, the HPA is stored as a gas, so the pressure remains constant because there is no energy taking place as the liquid converts into usable gas in your tank.

HPA tanks already have regulators in place on tanks, from fixed high pressure, low pressure, and adjustable pressure, which gives you the customization to set the pressure to where you would like. Decide if you will be running a carbon dioxide or HPA setup as it will determine which paintball regulator will suit your system. Besides the regulator you choose, it is highly recommended to invest in a pressure gauge just if you need to take a quick look to troubleshoot or assess your system.

Also, less expensive paintball gun regulators might not be able to shoot fast enough for your preference, so invest wisely. Regulators are a great addition to your paintball equipment to improve your performance.