Paint Ball High Pressure Filling Kit

Can anyone help ?....I need to make a filling kit, like the one we use at the Roaming Robots events.Comprising of ; a short pipe, a dump valve, another short pipe and a male adaptor which will screw into my paint bottle adaptor, supplied by Mario. This adaptor is basically the same male thread as the one on the large gas bottles used at the events.Alternativly, a male to male adaptor would be OK for the events as I can screw the adaptor into the filling loop used by the other roboteers.I have been round my local welding suppliers but they all seem to struggle when it comes to the male to male thread.HELP !!!
P.S. The reason I need this bit of kit is to enable me to weigh the bottle on the scales as I fill it up.

Most paintball suppliers produce paint ball bottle filling kits like http://www.hamburgerhill.co.uk/splat...ation.aspthis.

Also, it is not important what your gas bottle weighs while filling. It is only an indicator of what is going in.

It is most important that you check the weight of your full bottle on the scales to ensure that you do not exceed the gross weight stamped on the bottle. If you exceed this weight (which is very easy to do with a cold bottle) you are liable to blow out the burst disc once the bottle warms up a little.

Andrew, I weigh the bottle empty first, then after filling i weigh it again. a 12oz bottle like yours is good for 340 grams, so if your bottle is 700 grams, your total weigh should be around 1000 to 1050 grams after filling. if it is too much just open the bottle a litte and release some CO2 and weigh again.

Thanks Kane, looks like just what I need as long as the adaptor on the end of the pipe, fits my bottle.

Thanks Leo, the instructions Mario sent me with the adaptor are as you say. I was advised at the
last event by a few roboteers that it unsafe to fill directly from the bottle without weighing as this might blow the burst disk also that this requirement will sooner rather than later be a neccessity.So I am just trying to get ahead of any new regulations coming in.
As you know, I know nothing ! I am relying on all your expert advice.:)

When overfilling a bottle , the first minutes are no problem. Then the CO2 is equalising in temperature and pressure. But it is important to be sure of the weight.

And, strangely enoug, I use the same filling system since Team RCC went featherweight. And nobody ever said to me its unsafe.
Its not entirely userfriendly, but its the cheapest, safest setup I can make.

I wonder what roboteers had an issue with it...
Those who dont like to get launched I presume.

no, I think people who helped Andrew the first time to fill it up dont understand the way you safely take off the pressure from the bit in between the 2 bottles.

A CO2 bottle doesnt blow the second it is overfilled, it can take well up to half an hour to finally build up enough pressure to pop de burstdisk. Thats why you must look at the weight before and after filling. Weighing in between is only a nice guideline to see how far you are but does not add to safety.

Thanks Mario :)
I think I will still buy the filling kit... as it makes it a bit quicker to fill then dump then re fill.At my last event I was holding up the other guyes,never having filled a bottle before I ended up with bottles not properly full.I then noticed a reduction in the amount of flips...
Its reasuring to know that its not an unsafe method to fill your way...next time I will be more confident... fuller bottles...and biger flips :proud:
Thanks again...:)

Thanks Leo.
Because i dont know,i listen to all the advice you guyes give me.

Thanks every one!!

Question for Mario and Leo....
If I get a 20oz bottle, will I be able to connect it to the collecter via a stainless steel hose or possibly using two elbows screwed together so that I can move the centre point of the existing collecter connector ?
I notice that in paintballing world you can get various pipes, bends, couplings etc.
Thanks lads, Andy.

The secret of the non liquid venting, even with the bottle nose down sits in the collector.
If you remove the current nut as part of the collector, the use of the 20 oz bottle will be disappointing, as you will vent about half of the gas in the form of a BIG white cloud in the first 2 flips.

The H II system is just the best I could do inside the weight and size, and not ment to be upgraded without replacing serious parts.

An option is to block off the inlet, and put a paintball hose and push locks between bottle and collector. This means youll need a bottleholder. (again a few grams)

Thanks for the info Mario, there is no chance of me taking apart any of your good work.All I am looking at doing is trying to fit a bigger bottle by fixing a new bottle holder and then joining it via a short length of pipe to your original bottle connector.So in theory everything is the same.So all I am looking for is a short length of pipe with a male thread on one end to screw into your collector and a female thread on the other which will attach to the new paint bottle.Sounds easy to me....but there again, what do I know ?
Andy.

Actualy there are more solutions and upgrades possible, if you have the machines available.

More options I see atm:

The buffertank is also a 12 oz bottle, but with another kind of direct connection.

So, by making a second direct screw in connector with liquid stopper and fitting it on the existing buffertank inlet, you carry 2 12oz bottles. But then youll have to move the buffertank, and that can be done with an hydraulic 3/8 bsp hose.

Other thing you can think about, now the 13.6 kg limit is there. The 12 oz buffer has only 2.2 times the volume of the ram. Normaly I advocate 3 times as a minimum. So, a 20 oz buffertank would increase the speed of the flips too.

Best option according to me, is to replace the collector with a wider version, were you fit a 20 oz bottle and 20 oz buffer.

Morning Mario,
Thanks for your advice.I think for me the top priority is more flips,Although as it is now there is nothing wrong with the amount of flips if my driving skills improve:)
The speed of the flip and power of the flip are fantastic!... So why am i thinking of changing things?..... I guess you know the answer to that one.
I like the idea of two 12oz bottles,keeps the bot the same width.What would the effect be of not having a buffer tank?and just two bottles,in my simple mind i have two bottles now,so the flow should be the same or is the hole size on the buffer larger.
Looking at the weight of a full 12oz bottle say 1kg and the weight of a 20oz bottle say 1.6kg.. if I have two 12oz bottles and a buffer will the weight be higher than a 20oz bottle and a 20oz buffer.I think i will get a bit more co2 in the 2x12oz combination and technicaly for me a simpler modification.
My choice would be a new 20oz bottle keeping the existing 12oz buffer as im happy with the speed of the flip and it would save a little weight.

The only reason your robot has such powerfull and fast flips is the buffertank. If you take that out, you will not have sufficient gas to flow to your cilinder and therefore loose momentum. A paintball bottle only has a very small hole where the gas comes out of, the buffertank is needed to supply the cilinder with sufficient readily availabe gas.

2 paintball bottles will not improve it. 2 paintball bottles AND the 12oz buffertank will give you you increase in flips and maintain the same power and speed. But you might also consider dosing the flips, only opening the valve for half a second and make it close automaticaly. that way you also save on gas.

(Message edited by leorcc on October 21, 2007)

Morning Leo,
The buffer tank is here to stay!
Silly question but is there no way of making the co2 hole bigger?.. you know like changing the valve.I know the burst disk is a part of the valve,so i guess its not possible.
i already have a timer circuit set at 1 second works well and a dc-dc converter to fire the valve at 36 volts,as you recomended.

The paintballvalve cannot be altered in a dependable or safe fashion.

And the timer is a bit long if you ask me. .5 sec sounds more like it.

I wanted a quicker one,but thats what i got for under £10 from maplin.
I think a diferent variable resister will give me a quicker time.at the moment it ranges between 1 sec and 60 sec.Thats something i can do:)
Another question!
If i where to buy a short flexible hose,what pressure will it need to work to..70 bar/1000 psi,and what is the type and size of thread on a paint ball bottle?
Thanks again Mario/Leo

Paintball shops sell a 1/4 outer diameter hose with fitting push locks. Those have a 1/8 NPT foot.
And yes, that material has the official rating for CO2 use.

Thanks Mario,
I will have a look!

The buffertank in your system is changed compared to a normal 12 oz tank. The hole in the neck of the bottle is enlarged to 3/8 bsp.

We tried the paintball hose/push locks in Hannibalito III, they work, and are safe. But I dont like them.
So Hannibalito III will get the orginal system from I and II , direct screw in.