Paintball propellants are used to power markers. It contains an expanding gas that is responsible for shooting paintballs down into the barrel of a marker. The two most commonly used are carbon dioxide and HPA or high pressure air.
High Pressure Air (HPA) or N2: When HPA is compressed it retains as gas. It cools the tanks when it expands because of the Joule-Thomson effect but a lower rate as compared to carbon dioxide. With this kind of transition it makes shooting more accurate which is why it is said to be the best source of propulsion. Though, tanks using HPA are quite expensive because it is stored at higher pressures and it is also heavier as compared to tanks using carbon dioxide.
Most paintball propellants today that carries HPA makes use of carbon fiber to provide thinner walls which results to a lighter tank. The propellants can contain pure N2 or 79% N2 referred to as compressed air. These are usually used by players who have tournament-grade markers and those who play often. But today, these kind of propellants are now popular to casual players.
Most players prefer to use HPA because it is easier to fill. It is filled through a nipple and not through an ASA valve which means that HPA paintball propellants can be refilled while connected to the marker. And it also does not need to be weighed to know if it is full unlike propellants that make use of carbon dioxide. A gauge is present to indicate if it is already full.
Carbon Dioxide: When it is compressed it turns to liquid and it must be turned to gas to be used by paintball markers. Transforming it to gas needs energy and the tank cools as it expands to gas. But this can be difficult to do during cold weathers because ice crystals can form outside the tank. If there is no anti-siphon fitted into the tank and it is accidentally shaken the liquid carbon dioxide can enter the marker. When this happens the liquid evaporates and freezes the marker. This incident can cause damage to the marker overtime because it can destroy electrical parts of the marker. Carbon dioxide paintball propellers must not be placed under the sun because it can expand at a very dangerous level.
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