Strange problem with a clasic valve.

I have a strange problem on a minimag valve.
It seems the regulator creeps and it is very slow to recharge. I have replaced all the o-rings as well as the reg seat, pin and piston. I did notice something strange on the spring pack and im wondering if it could be the cause or if anyone has this happen to them.

My spring pack seems to be all loose. I will take a picture to better show it later, but for now it just seems like the rod is about 1/16" longer than all the washers. I compared mine to a picture of a new one on ebay and it seems to have all the disks in it, just loose.

So the question is:

Could this be a defective spring pack that is causing me the issues?

Thanks for your input!

Do you have another valve? swap out the part.

It could be a lot of things doing it

Velocity not high enough

Grip or thumb screws too tight which is causing the valve to misalign

Starving your valve
-with another reg in the line
-bad tank and on/off combo
-using a LP tank

Creeping is a reg seat problem so you might have it installed upside down.

My classic valve had this issue the last time I played, when I took it apart the shim stack looked just like you described yours. I thoroughly cleaned the valve, re lubed it and replaced the shim stack and still had the same problem. Come to find out the asa on/off wasnt opening the tank all the way. I switched out asa's and now it shoots like a champ again. Sometimes its best to try the easy fixes first, that just isnt as fun.

I dont have another mag to swap parts with so im limited to what i can do there. I have tested the tank ant it is putting out almost 900psi so that is not an issue. I havent checked the ASA though so I will swap that with one from another gun that I know works with this tank.

Arstron - you mentioned yor sring pack is all loose as well but works fine?

Bhaaa...that's what I meant by a "bad tank and on/off combo". The ASA pushing the pin on the tank reg too far and cutting off the air flow to the marker.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by redlaser666

Arstron - you mentioned yor sring pack is all loose as well but works fine?

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To be honest, I never put the old one back in, but since the problem still existed with the new shimstack. When I get back to my shop monday I can try the old one and see.

The regulator will creep only if the regulator seat oring leaks. Its the only path for the air to enter the front of the valve. The regulator seat must be fresh (no indentation due to the regulator pin assembly) and installed in the correct orientation. The larger end of the seat must be pressed into the back section of the valve. An older regulator seat that is misshaped can also cause a slow recharge.

The regulator spring assembly will be a bit loose. It tightens up when the air pressure hits the piston and pushes it back against the spring.

Well, I replaced the reg seat and reg pin and it no longer seems to creep. It isnt very consistent though. Im getting variations that go from 240 to 280 fps. Using fresh paint, no dimples or deformities on an over bored barrel.

I FOUND THE PROBLEM !!!!!

Yay, I'm not as stupid as I though! I remembered I did something to this valve. Last year I had added one of Hill's de-volumizing inserts to this valve and had reported inconsistent chrono reading as well as no improvement to the shot count. Hill asked me to re-check the valve before thoroughly reviewing the insert, but at the time I didn't have the time or the parts to do so. This valve sat and I forgot that the insert was in there until I read Athomas's post about the air entering the valve.

So in summary, don't mess with the perfection that is an AGD product!

I removed the insert and now the valve is shooting 298-306 fps. Not perfect, but more in line than the 240-280fps that was before.

Its good to hear you got it going. Once you break in the orings, it will probably get more consistent.