Fill Your Paintball Tanks At Home With A Personal Paintball Air Compressor
(DL) — Do you want to be air’d up before the next paintball game? Why not fill your paintball tanks at home with your own personal paintball air compressor? It’s not a knock-off! Yong Heng is the original from which the knock-offs are made!
If you live a long distance from a field like I do, personally you know that running out of air while tuning or repairing can be a major pain. Thankfully, there is a low-cost solution that is out on the market and made for paintballers.
It’s the Yong Heng 4500 psi Air Compressor, made so you can fill your paintball tanks at home! I have put it through the paces, and this is how it has performed.
Basic set up of the Yong Heng Compressor with the Oil/Water Separator. This is a small air compressor that was made to fill air tanks at home without the need for a secondary compressor or any form of air tanks. I got the highest end 110v version with the auto shutoff.
Initial Set Up
When the compressor arrived, it came with minimal assembly required, and a handful of parts bags. The largest thing in the box was obviously the compressor itself. It also had the two tubes used for the water pump.
The water pump itself was also in a separate box, as were spare consumable parts. Those parts included extra filters and o-rings. Rounding out the box where the air pressure release screw and the air hose/quick disconnect, along with a pressure release plug.
Assembly took about five minutes and was really simple, even with the very basic manual written in the manufacturer’s second language. The air pressure vent screws go on each side of the compressor’s long sides and just screw right in.
The pump hoses slide onto the barbs with the lower tube going into the submersible water pump. That little fella is crucial to the setup, as it cools the air compressor and keeps it from destroying itself with heat.
The last thing that you’ll need to put on is the pressure relief plug. It goes in the front area above the oil meter and is what you take on/off to fill the compressor. You’ll also have a line with an in-line filter. Screw that puppy in, and the actual compressor is good to go.
Extras You’ll Need
You’ll need two things before you can use the pump/compressor. You’ll need a 5-gallon bucket (or bigger). This will be for water that you’ll be cooling the unit with.
It will absolutely be warm and need a switch out after 30 minutes. I really wouldn’t recommend going smaller unless you’re cool with refilling the bucket during use.
The other thing that you’ll need is anti-friction hydraulic oil #46. This is the oil you’ll use for the compressor. When you first get the compressor, you’ll need to change out the oil more often, since it’s cleaning out shavings and dirt. Going forward, you’ll change it out as it gets dirty. After the first few uses, you’ll be able to stretch out how long you go between oil changes.
Set Up for Use
First things first, fill up the oil tank up to the top of the red dot. Find some space where you can fit the 5-gallon bucket and the machine, and that you are okay putting out a lot of noise. Fill up the bucket with water, make sure that both your vent screws are tightened down, and screw in your whip with the air filter. Plug in the water pump and the air compressor.
Turn on the water pump prior to turning on the compressor. You should notice it flowing almost immediately. You’re ready to start filling your tank!
Air Compressors Piss-Off Neighbors
Hey, do your neighbors annoy you? Great! I have filled 90/4500s, 100/4500s and a 68/4500 with the Yong Heng. I will say this. This home-based paintball air-compressor is not quiet. I would say it’s probably as loud as a gas lawn mower or a leaf blower. Know that when you are filling your tanks, your neighbors will hear that puppy roaring.
It took about 10 minutes to fill the 100/4500 from 0 pressure and less time with the smaller tanks. With the automatic cut off, it will stop pumping as soon as it hits the cut-off point in the gauge, which is adjustable. It’s fast and ridiculously easy.
When I’ve filled multiple tanks and reached the 30-minute mark, I had to swap out the water. It was warm to the touch at that point, and you don’t want the machine to run hot as it can damage it. You can see the temp of the system on the digital readout on top of the compressor, and you don’t want it over 50*.
When you’re done, unscrew your bleeds, turn off the compressor, and then disconnect the tank. In that specific order, as the pressure in the system can damage the compressor if you leave it pressurized when you shut down.
Clean Up
Turn off the compressor. I have let the water pump flow for a little bit after turning off the compressor itself. The water pump does a heck of a job cooling the system, and an extra couple minutes can really help with this part. Once it’s cool, unplug the water pump, dump the water, and check the oil.
If it’s dark, drain the system by unscrewing the screw directly below the oil window. Dispose of the oil safely. Reinstall the screw, and fill ‘er right back up.
Observations
With just the stock filters, you need to either change them every 2-3 fills or do what I did and buy an oil/water separator (and still swap out filters often!). If you do not, you will get water and oil in your tank. You really, really don’t want that, as it can damage your tanks!
The oil/water separator seems to put a stop to it, but beware of it, and make sure to check your gear after filling. I could notice the smell when it happened to me, as it is easily noticeable.
Conclusions
For people like me, this thing is extremely helpful. I don’t have a field or store that’s closer than an hour away without traffic, so I’m looking at a two-hour round trip at best. Now, I can fill a tank or two pretty quickly while just checking back in and out with it, with really low maintenance, and I don’t need to break the bank to do it or need a scuba set up.
While it’s not expensive in the paintball world, it’s not super cheap either so you need to make the decision on how much it’s worth your time and money to always be able to fill your tanks on-demand. For me, it’s worth it. It’s also loud, so I wouldn’t use it in a basement or enclosed space with the compressor venting as it does.
I would also say that you really should get the oil/water separator and expect that is part of the costs in the setup. Not having one is really risking your tanks to damage that the $100 filter can help prevent. Build it into your costs when considering the system.
All in all, while it’s not perfect, it sure checks an awful lot of boxes for me, and I recommend it to people who want to be able to fill tanks without waiting overnight, spending a ton, or needing scuba tanks. I can’t see being without an at home air compressor to fill my paintball tanks after having taken the plunge.
If you hate running out of compressed air and don’t have an air source nearby, it might be worth finally getting your own at home air-compressor. We suggest not falling for a knock-off and go with the original. Only fill your paintball tanks at home with personal paintball air compressor from Yong Heng.
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