By: Blake

If you are an avid paintballer then you know that some paintball parks like to charge big bucks to refill your co2 canisters. Some parks will charge five dollars per refill on a 20 oz tank and some will charge a certain amount for you to get “all day air”. Most people don’t realize that co2 isn’t that expensive and you can get it much cheaper. The reason it is so expensive at paintball parks is because you are paying for the convenience of having it near by, you just have to pay.

Why can they charge so much? Because you can’t get a co2 refill any where else. It is similar to buying things like food and drinks at amusement parks. You can’t just leave, get some food and come back. Charging so much for co2 is an easy way for the paintball park to make a quick buck. The alternative, that alot of people don’t know about, is to get your own co2 fill station and take it with you to the park so you can refill your own tanks.

I got a co2 fill station when I started playing paintball alot. I have a fill tank that is about 5 feet tall with the necessary valves to fill my small co2 tanks. The 5 foot tank cost me about $100 and the valves were about $40. This may sound like quite an investment now, but in the end it will save money. The 5 foot tank costs about $20 dollars to refill and will refill about 50 20 oz co2 tanks. That is $.40 a refill!

You can get a tank like this or a smaller one from the same type of store where you can get your propane refilled for your gas grill. The place I went to will trade tanks with you. For example if your tank is empty and you want it refilled you can bring it in and they will give you a different tank that is already filled. Trading tanks makes getting fresh co2 quick and easy.

Paying for the convenience of having co2 on hand at the paintball field is a waste of money if you play often. Having your own co2 fill station can save you money and will help cover the cost of buying paintballs. Overall it is worth it in the long run because if you play often you will have to refill often.