What brand CF tank ?

What size and are you planning on filling them yourself or using a dive shop?

I'm happy with the 2 years I've had a Tuxing 6.8l and valve that has a one-way port on it. Pretty easy to set it and forget it when filling it up. Zero leaks so far. I even got an HPA braided fill whip extension, 60 inches, which has also been a fantastic decision. I should get an edgun easy fill too...

I have a Great White with slow fill valve and dual gauges, one gauge for tank pressure the other for fill pressure, dual gauges make life much easier and I myself like the slower fill air restrictor, easier for me to get a more accurate fill pressure.

...have a look..

I have two Great Whites and a Guppy. All have slow fill valves and 2 gauges for each tank. Airtanksforsale can't be beat for quality. I don't want to buy any Chinese junk if I don't have to.

If you're looking at inexpensive/reasonably priced you can buy used fireman tanks. You can get some very nice ones that are dot approved and within the certification date with time remaining on its '' service life''.

For me it comes down to who fills the tank.

If it is someone like a Dive Shop, and in US/Canada, you have to have a DOT certified tank.

If you are filling yourself then the first question is how big a tank can your compressor support. Low end single cylinder compressors are limited to 1-2L. (they can fill larger tanks over multiple sessions but time spent at high pressure is hard on them).
Mid priced compressors like GX or Tuxing Dual cylinder can fill 6.8L and larger. GX are slow and Tuxing need 2 sessions for tanks over 6.8l.
High end compressors can fill all your tanks.
Once you determine how big a tank you can support your options are DOT and CE certified tanks. CE being the European standard. The difference in safety or quality is non existent. The actual difference is in the price. DOT certified tanks are 150% to 200% more costly.

Tuxing 6.8l CE tank is $168 on AliExpress. You would need a fill valve too. Valves are $50 on up. Slow fill valves are fairly pricy and really are not necessary when your main tank use is topping off or tethering a gun. But there are those that feel any heat expansion is detrimental to the tank.

Ratzy said:

For me it comes down to who fills the tank.

If it is someone like a Dive Shop, and in US/Canada, you have to have a DOT certified tank.

If you are filling yourself then the first question is how big a tank can your compressor support. Low end single cylinder compressors are limited to 1-2L. (they can fill larger tanks over multiple sessions but time spent at high pressure is hard on them).
Mid priced compressors like GX or Tuxing Dual cylinder can fill 6.8L and larger. GX are slow and Tuxing need 2 sessions for tanks over 6.8l.
High end compressors can fill all your tanks.
Once you determine how big a tank you can support your options are DOT and CE certified tanks. CE being the European standard. The difference in safety or quality is non existent. The actual difference is in the price. DOT certified tanks are 150% to 200% more costly.

Tuxing 6.8l CE tank is $168 on AliExpress. You would need a fill valve too. Valves are $50 on up. Slow fill valves are fairly pricy and really are not necessary when your main tank use is topping off or tethering a gun. But there are those that feel any heat expansion is detrimental to the tank.

Click to expand...

"GX are slow" is a very subjective quantity. I can take a 9L tank from 3200-4500 psi in an hour with a CS4, and about 20-25 minutes with an E-5K2.

Objectively my TXEDM042 will fill a 9L from 0 to 4500psi in 75 minutes.

"Anything else I should look at ?" Yes, a compressor & used SCBA tank! You can get BOTH for less than one of those new Great White tanks.

The faster you fill, the more the bottle will heat up and you’ll lose some pressure to cooling. My Alkin fills fast enough that I will typically fill 3 bottles, and come back an hour later to top off. I’m never in such a hurry that a slower fill would be a problem. Nothing wrong with slow.

I dont bother topping up a full bottle. 3 9L, 2 6.8L, 2 3l and a 2L. Smaller bottles are usually tethers and the big ones are for night time when running a compressor might be annoying for the neighbors.

I bought from Talon Tunes / Omega Air Cylinder. See if he has any in stock. He might work with you on price... Don't know until you ask..

I think you should consider the fill set price when considering the bottle price. I did not. I bought a used, out of date, Scott airpack. 45 minute. I thought I could use an inexpensive fill set from Amazon. I bought one. Didn't work. I tried simple O-ring changes but it still didn't work so it went back. I then went the other direction and bought a very nice fill set from Air Tanks Plus. I think a CE rated bottle with a fill set would have cost less. But I also think a Scott airpac is better made than the average CE rated bottle. So I am not really displeased with the end result but I didn't save money like I thought I would. I still think used firemans airpacks are a reasonable way to go but I also think knowing what you will do for a fill set before you buy the bottle is a good thing to do. If my bottle ever starts leaking I can replace it inexpensively with another used firmans bottle. I am confident the fill set will be fine. I don't know about longevity of the less expensive fill sets. They may last just as long.

This has been at least hinted but don't buy a CE, non-DOE bottle or a DOE rated but more than 15 year old bottle unless you have your own way to fill it. It is not legal for dive shops or fire stations to fill it. I don't think that is appropriate but I don't get to make the laws.