One type of paintball gun elbow connects the hopper to the gun.
Paintball guns are designed with inputs for CO2 cartridges (compressed air) for propellant and paintballs for ammunition. As part of the overall setup, different adapters known as "elbows" are used to connect hoses and paintball feed systems (hoppers) to the gun.
What Are Paintball Hopper Elbows?
Most paintball hoppers are not permanently attached to paintball guns. The adaptors used to connect hoppers to guns are called "elbows."
Different Kinds of Elbows
The original hopper adapters were referred to as "elbows" because they bent in the middle, allowing the hopper to be offset from the center of the paintball gun. However, "straight elbows" are now sometimes used for "centerfeed" guns to hold the hopper directly above the center of the gun.
Elbow Materials
Elbows originally were made from PVC plumbing pipes. Today elbows are made from different kinds of plastics, in different colors (opaque or semi-transparent), and occasionally from such alternate materials as brass or aluminum. Some come with assemblies that allow the elbow to be tightened in place using thumbscrews or other mechanisms.
Exceptions to Elbows
Some paintball guns do not use feed elbows at all. Stock-class guns require that the feed tube be connected directly to the gun body, running parallel. Tippmann-brand paintball guns equipped with the Cyclone feed system have a larger directly mounted assembly that feeds paintballs through a port into the gun body.
What Are Gas System Elbows?
Pressure-rated metal elbows are used to allow proper installation of the hoses that feed gas from the paintball gun's tank into the valve system. These come in 90-degree or 45-degree angled versions.
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