Posted by: PigTech on June 30, 2003 at 15:35:42 Forum Administrator

: Can that actually happen with nitrogen since it is not flameable? Also one or two drops of oil to that many cubic feet of gas? That has to be very, very rare. If nitrogen were the gas used, then it wouldn't be such an issue. However, what most paintball players call nitrogen is actually compressed air. When the air is compressed, the partial pressure of oxygen in the tank increases. The flashpoint (temperature at which a substance catches fire or explodes) of a substance (like the oil) increases when the partial pressure of the oxygen to which it exposes increases. With the pressures involved in paintball tanks, and paintball oils, it's very conceivable to get to a situation where the flashpoint is below the temperature of the gas in the tanks - then you get the fire/explosion. Yes, it's been rare so far, but since there's no reason to put oil in the tank, and the manufacturer's say not to put oil in their tanks, there's no need to take the risk. See you on the field, -Bill Mills

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