Two Types Of Paintball Tanks
The first type of paintball tank is a cylinder that stores air, carbon dioxide, or nitrogen under pressure; this tank is used for fueling the paintball guns. The other type of paintball tank is a mobile firing platform used to protect the occupants while they are advancing on the competition.
Carbon Dioxide, Nitrogen and Air Cylinders
The most common sizes used by paint ball enthusiasts are 9 oz., 12 oz., and 20 oz. cylinders. Purchased new, they are usually accompanied by a three-year warranty. There does not seem to be any distinct advantage to using one gas over the others.
Mobile Platform
This type of paintball tank is actually designed from other vehicles such as quads, all terrain vehicles, boats, golf carts, and even helicopters. It usually consists of some sort of armor to protect the players inside plus some type of weapon to fire at opponents.
The weapon is made up of gun ports cut in to the sides of the vehicle or a cannon or a gun mount with a Gatling paint gun or automatic paint gun. Some types of paintball tanks have rear grenade launchers to handle the enemy that tries to sneak up from the rear
Accessories
Camouflage clothing, in a variety of colors, is used by a majority of paintball players during competition. Protective hats with built-in goggles are mandatory to protect the eyeballs. When struck with a paintball pellet, a stinging feeling instantly occurs. No real damage is done unless you are struck in the eye with a pellet, which could result in losing the eye. Gloves are worn to protect the player from skinning his or her hands while diving to the ground while trying to avoid being shot.
Tactical paintball vests are worn to carry paintball pods, magazine, standard MP5 magazine, and all sizes of cylinders. The vest pouches are interchangeable and can be configured to the player's requirements. Each pouch can be moved left to right, or front to back.
New or Used Equipment
I would not recommend buying a used paintball tank cylinder unless you know and trust the owner. Even a very small hole in the tank could prove to be dangerous. You really have no choice other than to buy a used protective platform, because most are a creation of their owners and are used to begin with..
Good luck to all you paintball enthusiasts out there. Have fun using both types of your paintball tanks in competition.
