Powerlet

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A box of vintage Crosman CO2 powerlets.
A box of vintage Crosman CO2 powerlets.

A powerlet is a small disposable metal container holding 12 grams of liquid CO2 and often a small quantity of oil, used as a power source for certain air guns, paintball markers, and a few airsoft guns. Originally developed by Crosman and introduced to the market in 1954, the powerlet has become the dominant source of power for inexpensive, rapid fire air guns from many manufacturers. Powerlets typically last between 20 and 40 shots depending on the gun and environmental conditions. You normally get about 10 average shots from a new bottle, then every after shot after that becomes inaccurate with guns using this system. For paintball markers, you can expect around 20-40 shots because of the increased weight of the paintball compared to an airgun projectile.

Today, for paintball markers, this technology is out dated. However, some still use powerlets for stock paintball, because they cannot fire as many shots as a modern CO2 tank can.