CO2 tanks are used are ball propellant in the paintball markers. They are less costly and usually last longer if kept with care. But many players have confusions about the fact if their old CO2 tank is still suitable to be used or if it’s expired.
Well, the straight answer to this question is YES, CO2 paintball tanks do expire and they can not be used beyond their expiry date. But it’s not exactly the expiry of the tank itself. Rather it’s the expiry date of hydro testing of the tank which is usually between 3-5 years. Every standard CO2 or compressed air tank is hydro-tested by the manufacturer and its testing expires after 3-5 years. All the CO2 tanks need to be retested after the expiry of the first test in order to ensure their functionality.
How to Know if My CO2 tank is expired or needs rehydro-testing?
Every new CO2 tank comes hydro-tested by its manufacturer or seller and the date is mentioned on the body of the tank along with its manufacturing date if the mentioned date is of past years then you need to retest your tank by any hydro testing agency as the new owner of the tank.
Here you need to keep in mind that the date of hydro testing might be different than that of the manufacture date. Another important point to note is the date when the first hydro test was done and sending your tank for retesting is the responsibility of the tank owner.
How hydro testing of the CO2 tank is done?
Hydro testing of paintball tanks is done by a set system where water is filled in the tank at a much higher pressure than it functions normally. After filling the tank with water at high pressure it is observed if it can handle that pressure. Tank is also observed for any leakages.
If the tank can not handle the high water pressure or there is any leakage, you will need to discard your tank and buy a new one.
But if there is no leakage and the tank can handle the high pressure, it’s restamped as hydro-tested with the current test month and year and the stamp is sealed under resin to ensure it stays there in place.
Every CO2 tank needs to be tested after a maximum of five years and a standard tank has a working life of around 15 years and can not be used beyond that time.
How much does it cost to rehydrotest your paintball tank?
It cost around $20-40 to rehydrotest your paintball tank. The testing cost also depends on how much is the distance between you and the testing facility. Some facilities also provide an online service where you can send your tank and they will ship it back after testing with details of testing results. Here you can add an extra $10-15 in shipping charges.
And if your tank has been found with any leakages or poor pressure handling, you would have to buy a new tank at an average of $70-100. (If you need to buy a new paintball tank for yourself, please go through my buyer guide on the best paintball tanks or hoppers)
How to read hydro test labels on paintball CO2 tanks?
Reading paintball tank labels is simple but might be tricky for some new players. But here I am going to make it easy for you too. So grab your paintball CO2 tank in your left hand and continue reading to know the upcoming expiry date of your paintball hydro test.
Usually, steel and aluminum paintball tanks have their manufacturer dates stamped directly on the body of the tank at the bottom. But carbon fiber tanks have their manufactured details stamped above the paint coating of the tank. The month and final two digits of the year are mentioned on the body separated by certain symbols (arrow etc) or letters (CL, TUV, L, C, etc).
For example in the picture below a compressed air tank label is shown with all the details. Here 07 shows the month and 21 shows the manufacturing year that is 21 and both the figures are separated by the symbol “CL”.
It means the tank needs to be retested after five years in July 2026.
In the second picture below is another paintball tank with a hydro test time limit of five years. The tank was tested and manufactured in May 2020 and both the digits are separated by an arrow symbol. This tank needs to be rehydro-tested in May, 2025.
It is also important to note that for some companies or tanks manufacturer dates may be different from the hydro testing date which will b be mentioned on the same stamp and you should not buy any tank which was manufactured a year ago or more.
Now that you can read your paintball tank label and know the date of the first hydro test, you must plan the rehydrotesting of your tank in time.
