# airline vs co2 tubing



## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

looking on setting up a makeshift paintball co2 system, ive looked around and the verdict seems to be mixed on using standard silicon airline tubing vs the co2 polyurethane tubing , any thoughts? what do you guys use?


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Should use the one meant for co2, Pat(mykiss) sells them.


----------



## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Fish rookie said:


> Should use the one meant for co2, Pat(mykiss) sells them.


Co2 tubing is best when using an injected system. DIY, I cant see there being a difference in the tubing.

Once you go DIY Co2, its only a matter of time before you make the switch to proper injected Co2.  Its a fun learning experience.


----------



## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

yeah still weighing all the options , the more i look the less i think im going to go with paintball, going to try to find a cheap 5lb co2 tank i think


----------



## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

Really you should have other things to worry about aside from which type of tubing you should be using for your Co2. Silicone tubing is just fine and you are not running high pressure through the line anyhow and you are not going to be running a very long line from your paintball Co2 regulator to your tank. Once you get the hang of it, you may want to upgrade to a 10 lb Co2 tank system later on.


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

You will need a check valve with pressurized co2, which I believe Pat also sells. He also sells pressurized Co2 system. I know it is more money but you get much better control of the amount of Co2 you inject, much more stable supply of Co2, and you can turn it off at night very easily with a timer. Also, you can always sell the set later for a much more decent price than a DIY system if you dont want it.

About how much Co2 each material may leak, which one has better chemical resistance...etc, here is a table I have found for your reference.
http://www.coleparmer.com/TechLibraryArticle/700

Looks to me like polyurethane tubing is much less permeable (polyurethane:395 vs silicon:20,132) and has stronger resistance to acid (polyurethane:A vs silicon: B).


----------



## fishface (Apr 29, 2012)

The specialized tubing has nothing to do with pressurized gas so much as the fact that CO2 is corrosive and will eventually erode the line as it's typically the "weak link".


----------



## nigerian prince (Mar 8, 2013)

fishface said:


> The specialized tubing has nothing to do with pressurized gas so much as the fact that CO2 is corrosive and will eventually erode the line as it's typically the "weak link".


so that why the people who said standard airline tubing is fine as long as you swap it yearly


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Standard tubing is ok unless you're going to run one of the bazooka diffusers or other systems which require higher pressure (I'm running at 40 psi or more on mine). The vinyl or silicone tubing wouldn't last long at those pressures before they burst or leak. I do run standard tubing but only after my one way check valves and only on the portion in the tanks. From the regulator/solenoid to the check valve, especially on the long runs, it makes a big difference to run CO2 rated tubing.


----------



## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

I use these ones -


----------



## Shary (Nov 6, 2014)

Do you use the Home depot Poly tubing for Pressurized CO2? Is it working ok for you? what about the width of the tubing does it fits on a standard co2 needle valve?

I have to run co2 tubing for almost 25 feet as gonna place the cylinder out side and then dose the co2 to my two tanks. Just wondering if I could go with some thing affordable as if I order from the fish store the prices gonna be much higher.


----------



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I used to work manufactureing machinery using air and hydrolic fittings and lines.

I found the smc push lock air line fitting for Polly pype alowed me to configure things to fit any combination of fittings.
https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/AGIPortalWeb/agi/_/N-0?Ntt=smc+air+fittings


----------

