Thread: Switcheroo Air powered prop

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My Group and I are wanting to do a air powered prop. Thing is we're not wanting to use an air compressor as much as we'd like to try using a Co2 cannister, some plumbing from a paintball marker, an electric sprinkler head and a switch.

Now, the problem is this. We've got everything figured out the only step in the process that's killing us is the Reservior fill. We need the Res. to be filled with 80-90 PSI for our prop. We have figured a switch mat when stepped on will trigger the electric sprinkler head to release the trapped air. However, the fill of the Res bothers us. Any suggestions?

Yes. You need a Compressor. Co2 Cartridges dont have enough PSI. I was noodling along time ago about using a large truck tire as a reservoir but never tried it.

Co2, when compressed into a liquid is well over 1000psi. You can run props off of paintball tanks either in co2 or nitrogen (available in 5000psi models), you have to regulate it down to a normal pressure, and the appropriate regulators are available from the same places that sell the tanks. What I normally do is use a 5000psi nitrogen tank, regulate it down to 100 psi into a 10 gallon resivor tank, and then regulate out of the tank to whatever pressure i need for my prop.

You may also want to send a note to Scary Jerry... I know he has used scuba tanks with great success in the past.

I think your concept needs some serious rethinking. A paintball Co2 bottle (even the large ones) with air at 80psi wont drive much for very long.

you can drive pneumatics using liquid Co2, but its advisable to use an expansion cylinder to reduce the Co2 pressure from bottle pressure to an intermediate pressure, and then regulate the expansion tank pressure down to line pressure at about 50-100psi.

the thing that strikes me though is that this is a lot of effort to avoid using a compressor, especially since there are plenty of cheap compressors available that will easily outperform your Co2 Bottle of air.

I used CO2 to power a prop last year and it worked great. I didn't use a reservior or a separate step-down regulator but then I was also only putting 30-40 psi into a single 24" stroke small-bore cylinder that was activated once every minute or so via remote control. I agree with Phoenix that a paintball CO2 tank might not power your prop for very long. Also, watch out for small air leaks! You can drain a tank pretty quickly if your fittings aren't sealed. (Not that I know anything about that...)


Using a compressor wasn't an option for my prop. It was 200+ yards from the nearest outlet and the sound of a generator and compressor would have ruined the suprise.

Hi
Yes, scuba tanks work great. They hold 3000 cubic feet of air and are stepped down to 150 psi by the first stage regulator. That 150 stays constant until the tank is empty. You can add another regulator after than to step down to 80. Compressors have a very wide range of pressures before they turn back on and refill. If you need a true constant pressure scuba tanks are the answer.