I think I want to go with bulk nitrogen

Hi Dingfelder, I believe the 6K tanks only come in one size which is roughly 55 inches tall, 8 inches wide and they weigh about 320 pounds. Steve 

Thanks Steve. Holy cow, I had no idea they were that heavy.

Dingfelder, they don't weigh that much, closer to 137-140lbs. I've been looking at them as well, and a quick search re. weight of #300 size gas cylinders will confirm this.

K thanks balver. 

I’ve got exactly what Blue is talking about balvar is wrong about the weight. Those large tanks filled are well over 300lbs.

Heres some facts. The nitrogen is great if you don’t use too much of it. You would think a tank that large would last forever but I’m using two or three tanks a year . Doing what is suggested with the compressor? Great idea I had a long thread about doing that and it works but it’s more time and effort. 
from my experience the money is the same . I’m getting away from the nitrogen ONLY because I do NOT want to have to move that tank around and because an investment of $3100 to buy a REALLY GOOD compressor is easier as convenient to use and over the span of years will equal out.
The biggest issue for me was the size a weight of the tank. Scared the bejesus out of me. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to talk anyone out of nitrogen. Just be sure of all the facts. Advantages and disadvantages and decide what’s best for you. Six months ago I was absolutely convinced it was right for me. It’s a little like a girl you are convinced is a 10 but after you live with her a while you find out she’s not perfect. Then you have to decide how much the imperfections mean to you. It’s NOT cheap but it’s a really good way to air your guns as long as you can deal with the large tanks 

Dingfelder, I just got off of a call with my local Airgas store, and I am completely full of crap. The tank I was referring to is NOT the 6000psi model, and apparently the 6000psi tank DOES weigh 300+ pounds as mentioned above. My apologies to you and to JakeRico as well. I need to polish my Google-Fu skills before making online comments.

Bubblerboy64, my apologies to you as well. I really appreciate all your information re. nitrogen, lots of good ideas/experiences in this thread. I've decided to stay with the compressor route, maybe get an Alkin if my Benjamin Recharge decides to take a dump on me at some point.

LOL. One thing I’m reasonably certain of. Those who truly are full of crap either never realize or never admit . Now as far as being wrong? I’m wrong pretty often myself. so I’m pretty ok with that too.

One thing to consider with paying for gas, is the costs of fuels could change, contract or no contract, you’re still going to pay what’s being billed to you. Another that I’ve posted before, is when the gas business goes under new ownership, which it could, any sweet deals you had made with the previous owner is out the window. 

One need to do the math long term, with your own usage considered. Are you a competitive shooter that goes thru 3 88 cu ft tanks a week due to practice and events? Are you a pester with several accounts and having air available to you 24/7 is crucial. Are you a one tin of pellets a month kind of shooter? Does a buy 4 get one free order from pyramid only consist of four tins, to last you five years? 

Consider all of that, and if you’re any of the first two scenarios do the math not just of one year, maybe two or three. Maybe that high end $3000 to $4000 compressor would’ve been paid off by then. 

Also, keep in mind that should you invest in a high end like an Alkin, you could easily sell that and re coup a big chunk back of what that compressor cost you, but you’ll never ever recoup all those fees from tank rentals. It’s like renting a home vs buying. Same deal.



im not even going to mention the effects of Covid and the supply/demand scenarios with having to rely on a tank fill of nitrogen when you get low, but it is something else to consider.

To keep beating on the deceased horse - those 300# tanks also have a smooth exterior that is very hard to hold on to. And you do not want to drop them on their sides, once they pass the tipping point, they are extremely hard to hold on to.

That is all (for now). Carry on!

The last two posts above are SPOT ON . I had to prove that to myself. I’m some what hard headed . I still think nitrogen is a good way to go as long as you can deal with what is involved. I hope the guys that are considering nitrogen read this thread because it’s all here Again nitrogen is certainly right for some. If I was younger and in better shape I’d stay with nitrogen. It’s darned nice to make one connection open two valves. Top off the tank in no time . Close the valves release the line pressure and your done. 

Ya the biggest tanks are very heavy. Can't imagine easily moving them around without a tank dolly...

If you're not opting for delivery, figure in the cost of a $100 tank dolly.

This is one of the cheaper tank cart dollys my shop has, iirr its a Kirby.

Blue you and I have talked. The Alkin IS the way to go. BUT ran across that deal with the tank rental. It basically short term or long. I assume there are people who only need the tank for a short period. If you don’t shoot a lot and if you don’t mind fooling with a 320 lb tank the nitrogen is fine. Those tanks at 6000 psi are only “good” for our use down to about 2500 PSI so you end up trading tanks more often then you think. Nitrogen can work.
Consider this. I bought a daystate 110 and it didn’t work for me because it failed was rebuilt and I don’t believe it’s up to hard continuous use. Then I went to nitrogen. I’ve explained the issues. I’m now using an Alkin. Do you really want to repeat my mistakes or just jump to the head of the class?

Here is what you need for a tank dolly. Works vertical or horizontal 

It amazes me how this hobby can make us lose perspective on costs. I used to be a powder burner shooter for decades. Reloading saved lots of money compared to commercial ammo costs and it was entertaining to develop custom loads for particular situations. Airguns first interested me because I had a squirrel infestation on my property and they were a quiet, safe means of pest control. The PCP bug bit me and now the powder burners are gathering dust in my gun safe. How is this relevant to this thread you ask?

Is it practical to even consider nitrogen with an $800 annual cost? Even with major issues like weight, hassling with tanks, etc. aside, that is $67 a month sunk cost for compressed air. At some point we miss the forest for the trees. Bigragu said it perfectly in his post and made all of the points I second. Nitrogen tank rentals are a sunk cost whether you use it or not. A name brand dive compressor is headache free if you just do annual oil changes and desiccant as required. There is no denying that a $3000+ compressor is an expensive up front cost, but consider it relative to your PCP costs and value. If anyone considesr $800 in annual nitrogen rental expense, a GOOD compressor is a no brainer cheaper alternative. Five years of $800 nitrogen rentals is $4000 of non refundable costs. A name brand Bauer, Alkin, Coltri, etc. well maintained is easily worth $2000 or much more after 5 years. Therefore the $3000 plus compressor actually costs $1,000 after five years factoring in it's residual value That's $200 per year vs. $800 for nitrogen rental. Anything beyond five years makes the cost difference even more. I'd much rather use a compressor for the convenience alone than hassle with nitrogen tanks.

In my experience the cost for owning compressors is more like $75 per year, but I've been very fortunate in timing several compressor upgrades. In 18 years with 7 compressor trades, my total depreciation losses on compressor trades totaled around $800. I' recently bought an Alkin W31 and expect it to be the last one I buy.

It amazes me how this hobby can make us lose perspective on costs. I used to be a powder burner shooter for decades. Reloading saved lots of money compared to commercial ammo costs and it was entertaining to develop custom loads for particular situations. Airguns first interested me because I had a squirrel infestation on my property and they were a quiet, safe means of pest control. The PCP bug bit me and now the powder burners are gathering dust in my gun safe. How is this relevant to this thread you ask?

Is it practical to even consider nitrogen with an $800 annual cost? Even with major issues like weight, hassling with tanks, etc. aside, that is $67 a month sunk cost for compressed air. At some point we miss the forest for the trees. Bigragu said it perfectly in his post and made all of the points I second. Nitrogen tank rentals are a sunk cost whether you use it or not. A name brand dive compressor is headache free if you just do annual oil changes and desiccant as required. There is no denying that a $3000+ compressor is an expensive up front cost, but consider it relative to your PCP costs and value. If anyone considesr $800 in annual nitrogen rental expense, a GOOD compressor is a no brainer cheaper alternative. Five years of $800 nitrogen rentals is $4000 of non refundable costs. A name brand Bauer, Alkin, Coltri, etc. well maintained is easily worth $2000 or much more after 5 years. Therefore the $3000 plus compressor actually costs $1,000 after five years factoring in it's residual value That's $200 per year vs. $800 for nitrogen rental. Anything beyond five years makes the cost difference even more. I'd much rather use a compressor for the convenience alone than hassle with nitrogen tanks.

In my experience the cost for owning compressors is more like $75 per year, but I've been very fortunate in timing several compressor upgrades. In 18 years with 7 compressor trades, my total depreciation losses on compressor trades totaled around $800. I' recently bought an Alkin W31 and expect it to be the last one I buy.

Click to expand...

Sound logic, but the up front cost for a top shelf compressor isn't easily doable for everyone. Sensible yes, but maybe not possible. Like many things, all relative.

Points well taken and I agree with 95% of it. However the reason I went with nitrogen was primarily because the Alkin compressors had not hit the streets. Well not the streets we air gunners lived on. After poor results with the daystate I was convinced the only solution was Bauer and when you consider the cost of a new one and the limited availability of used ones it seemed that nitrogen was the way to go. What I did not know and therefore could not calculate was that a 6000 psi tank was not going to last all that long shooting a good bit and having a friend or two occasionally filling his 90 cf tank . Had it been one tank a year and a reasonable rental it could have been closer to $275 . That sheds an entirely different light on the dark corners of this. I had no way to know (well I guess that is not true) how much nitrogen I’d use or just how difficult it was handling the 320 lb tank. Should I have know better? Ya probably. I was figuring if I found a used Bauer it would cost $4000 and might need fixing. No one in my area and reports are they ain’t cheap to fix. Air dryers age out and can be real expensive to replace. SO?? There was some sense to my arithmetic. Meaning the numbers added up ok it’s just I had the wrong numbers. So yes in retrospect I’ve found about a hole to sink money in. BUT it goes with out saying my loss is your gain ( meaning all you guys reading this and trying to decide). Buy the Alkin first . Nitrogen can work well if your situation is just right. If you don’t shoot a lot and you can manage the tank you might spend $300 a year . What will repairs and depreciation average out to on the Alkin? Devils in the details. Obviously I am with humdinger on this FOR ME. Rest of you guys figure for yourself and send me a couple bucks as a thank you for my help  

And I’ll say this with an obvious lack of personal experience if you aren’t going Alkin you probably should go YH . The Alkin is ball park $3000 be real careful that you don’t spend $1500 to $2500 and end up not getting what you paid for . There might be other compressors to compete with the Alkin but I’m not aware of them.

And I’ll say this with an obvious lack of personal experience if you aren’t going Alkin you probably should go YH . The Alkin is ball park $3000 be real careful that you don’t spend $1500 to $2500 and end up not getting what you paid for . There might be other compressors to compete with the Alkin but I’m not aware of them.

Click to expand...

LOL "You" (Non-targeted, I am quoting you and I mean no offense, I am expressing general feeling on this forum in the last 3-4 months) all are pushing Alkin like Amway. Don't get me wrong, I realize time is money, money is time, and all things mechnical break. Instead we get a whole lot of Chuck Yaeger's up who like to experiment and push the limits. I like it and I learn from it; both from the aspect of what to do and what not to do. Some ideas succeed and some fail but I gather most of us frequent this sub-topic because we enjoy the journey.

There's a whole lot of "buy the best" going on and you know, if folks would slow down a bit, and let the compressor work for them instead of working the compressor I suspect the failure rates would be down significantly. Instead I see a lot of folks forking out a chunk of change and loading up the compressor with a large fat tank and thinking they can scoot up the mountain. If not for marketing, folks should have to pass a "Charles Law" and "Boyles Law" test before purchasing a tank, compressor, or PCP airgun. We could almost do a educational section on the forum.

Glad the folks have what works for 'em What we should really be livid about is all the folks that got duped with the Air Venturi compressors

I agree. It’s never over until it’s over. Six months from now the story may change . Each of us has to make the best choice he can for himself . I feel that I’m improving my situation. My story is mine but I’m not alone . I’m not always right. Proof of that is how much money I’ve spent . I’ve offered my opinions only because I’d like others to benefit from my mistakes. While my solution is not going to work for many due to the amount of cash involved I think the members need to hear it. And then use it or not their call.Thinking that this is marketing hype is reasonable. That we are spending more then needed also reasonable. As I said it’s never over until it is. At this point I’m convinced it’s not either but I also respect skepticism