# How many inflations out of a CO2 cartridge?



## JayGatsby (Aug 17, 2006)

Hello all, 

Love this website and it was instrumental in my decision for my bike. The reviews section is wonderful. Now I have a question. I am not sure whether or not to buy a CO2 or hand pump. I'd rather have a CO2 pump as they have less moving parts (less to break) and are more compact than a hand pump. The only thing that worries me is the pump's capacity. How many 26" MTB tires can one cartridge inflate from 0psi to 40-50psi? Thanks.


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## KevinB (Oct 5, 2004)

JayGatsby said:


> Love this website and it was instrumental in my decision for my bike. The reviews section is wonderful. Now I have a question. I am not sure whether or not to buy a CO2 or hand pump. I'd rather have a CO2 pump as they have less moving parts (less to break) and are more compact than a hand pump. The only thing that worries me is the pump's capacity. How many 26" MTB tires can one cartridge inflate from 0psi to 40-50psi? Thanks.


I don't use CO2 cartridges often, but when I have, I got only one inflation per cartridge.

I carry a hand pump with me. This is what I use: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=16060. It works for both tires and shocks.


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## Zanetti (Sep 18, 2005)

One 12 gram Co2 cartridge will barely inflate a MTB tire to 20 psi. Count on carrying at least three or four with you.


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## cdad_martinez (Nov 14, 2004)

Actually if you going to carry CO2 for an MTB don't bother with the 12 and carry 16's or 20's or better yet a "Big Air" which will do two MTB tires to 40psi.


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## Abox (Feb 27, 2004)

I use the 12's, probably takes 2 or close to it to inflate good. Get a box of em' in the paintball section of your local cheapo store. I carry five or six in my camelback. Good idea to have a small hand pump for backup if you run out of cartridges or something.


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## eddieselement (Feb 10, 2006)

*Dont use paintball co2's*

I have the ultraflaight and it takes threaded non threaded 12,16,25,bigair so thats cool. i have read that you should not use the paintball ones because they contain a small amount of oil for for the firing on the paint guns. they say its a small amount but not chanceing my tires. i have seen some good deals on ebay. also was trying to find chart for you i have on what they will do.

http://www.genuineinnovations.com/inflchart.html


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## Abox (Feb 27, 2004)

eddieselement said:


> Ii have read that you should not use the paintball ones because they contain a small amount of oil for for the firing on the paint guns.


They do contain some oil but it doesn't hurt your tubes. Or your tires.


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

One cartridge fills one tire (maybe). I've had a CO2 inflation kit for over a decade but hardly ever use it. I always carry a small hand pump with me because my experience with flat tires is that you don't always get it fixed correctly on your first try and also you need to inflate the tube to find the leak, then patch it, then inflate it again. You need multiple C02 cartridges to do this. And on really bad days you can get more than one flat in a single ride. 

I also carry a spare tube with me, but almost never us it either because you can't simply just throw in the new tube, fill er up and go. If you don't find the source of the puncture (usually thorns or small sharp rocks) and remove it from the tire, your new tube will go flat pretty quick. So I pump up the flat tube to find the hole, which leads me to the source of the puncture, and since I've already located the hole in the tube, I may as well just patch it. So my spare tube and C02 inflator are actually backup in case everything else goes wrong (can't patch the tube, pump fails, I get abducted by aliens that are highly sensitive to compressed air).


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