CO2

[Pike catcher]

I was talking to a man at the weekend who uses air brushes with a co2 ait tank. I just wondered if any of you guys do the same if so does it work ok?

[68KingFisher]

Co2 tanks are popular with illustration artists that use airbrushes.....Depending on what your painting, a large Co2 tank (100lbs) or larger will power your airbrush for quite awhile....they are completely silent....and the air is clean....no impureities.

The down side is the tanks are very heavy and must be transported back and forth to get them filled.....You can get them filled at welding supplies and sometimes dental supply houses. Most folks rent the tank and regulators setups, but you could purchase you own if you want.

[VARick]

I had a paintball retail store and used CO2 tanks to refill the smaller tanks for the markers.

I have to disagree that the air is clean, we found the filters on the higher end markers would clog after about a season of use with CO2.

I would also be concerned about passing liquid CO2 thru my gun. If I were to go that route I would put something to capture any liquid (we called them expansion chambers on the paintball markers), then also get a good regulator as CO2 tanks will vary in pressure as the amount decreases and the temp of the tank changes.

Refilling a 50lb tank use to cost me about $9, and then the tank rental was $50 a year, might be more if you only have one tank, I had 10 in the store.

You might also consider a scuba pony tank or a used scuba tank, that air is filtered before filling the tank. The pressure is much higher than CO2 (usually about 3000 psi for a standard tank), but a good regulator should put you down to where you want to run the gun.

[68KingFisher]

Using a good regulator on a Co2 tank is a MUST, since normal tank pressures run around 860 psi at normal room temps(72.fahrenheit).....as surrounding temps go up so does the internal tank pressure.....No airbrusher in his right mind can use that much air pressure so it must be regulated down.

When used for airbrushing, tank pressures do not fall off as you use from it.....instead the pressure remains constant until the tank is right at empty and then the pressure drops suddenly.

Getting liquid past the regulator and into your airbrush should never happen as long as the tank is sitting upright, since the draw tube inside the tank is in the vapor space of the tank and not in the liquid area.....turn the tank on its side and all bets are off.

I don't know about filters in paintball guns, but the average combo regulator/water trap will catch 5 microns or larger......I know alot of airbrushers that use Co2 tanks to power their brushes for outdoor carshows and fairs and such and these guys swear by them....no complaints of dirty air or icing problems from liquid.

Most illustrators use the smaller scuba sized tanks....they aren't as heavy and are a bit easier to handle.....I suppose if your refilling at a scuba center your probably getting a better quality of filtered Co2 then the stuff ya might get from the welding supply guys....I dunno......I just know alot of airbrushers love their Co2.