Tac-1 leaks. Help!

[stompdown]

Ok I already posted before but I am still unable to stop the leak. I am using a preset 800psi 68/4500 crossfire hpa tank. Here's the scenario... Whenever I screw the bottle in the gun charges with no leaks. I am unable to fire when I pull the trigger. Then about 7 seconds after I screw the bottle in a huge leak starts from the asa. It's almost like the pressure of air has nowhere to go. So of course I unscrew the bottle and everything stops. Then I screw it back in and a huge leak shoots down the barrel and i'm still unable to shoot the gun. I purchased my gun with the lvl 10 upgrade installed as well as the ule trigger installed. I have tried using different springs for the bolt I even tried different carriers but with the same resutls as before. The carrier that was installed at factory seems to be the best fit. Lvl 10 also currently using 3 shims. I havn't messed with the shims yet but I have a feeling thats not even the problem. Iv'e been tinkering with this gun all week and gone through several bottles of air. I am at my wits end please help. :mad:

[aznmarkofdafiji]

Ok I already posted before but I am still unable to stop the leak. I am using a preset 800psi 68/4500 crossfire hpa tank. Here's the scenario... Whenever I screw the bottle in the gun charges with no leaks. I am unable to fire when I pull the trigger. Then about 7 seconds after I screw the bottle in a huge leak starts from the asa. It's almost like the pressure of air has nowhere to go. So of course I unscrew the bottle and everything stops. Then I screw it back in and a huge leak shoots down the barrel and i'm still unable to shoot the gun. I purchased my gun with the lvl 10 upgrade installed as well as the ule trigger installed. I have tried using different springs for the bolt I even tried different carriers but with the same resutls as before. The carrier that was installed at factory seems to be the best fit. Lvl 10 also currently using 3 shims. I havn't messed with the shims yet but I have a feeling thats not even the problem. Iv'e been tinkering with this gun all week and gone through several bottles of air. I am at my wits end please help. :mad:

I'm not sure what the air leak could be from the asa... but if it won't fire when you pull the tirgger crank the velocity up a bit, that might be a problem. For one thing, when tuning your level 10, do it without any shims. Sometimes having too many shims 'causes it to leak or give rise to other problems.

When I got my Mag, the factory carrier size worked, but it was NOT the largest carrier that did not leak. What you want to do is find the carrier that doe not 'cause the marker to leak down the barrel when you gas it up. The way I tuned it was as tunaman described:

DO NOT USE SHIMS while doing this, it comes much later in the tuning process.

1) Gut your level 10 down to the carrier
2) Arrange all your carriers from largest to smallest.
3) Starting from the largest carrier and working your way down in size, you want to put the white o-ring inside the carrier and slide it over the bolt. Hold the carrier and see if the bolt falls. If it does the carrier is too loose. You want the carrier that bolt does not fall down from. note: ALWAYS use the same white O-ring
4) Once you have the right carrier, put it all together and gas it up and check for leaks. If you just got this mag new, you probably need to set in the carrier o-ring so fire your mag a tank or so and it should leak again 'cause the O-ring got set in. So you would go down a carrier size.

If you already knew this, maybe it'll help someone who didn't... But good luck with your problem

[stompdown]

Thank you. Your instructions are clear and concise. I can definately handle this task. When I was swapping carriers I wasn't messing with the shims. I have 3 installed currently. When it comes to the velocity adjustments I have no idea if it is set too high or too low. I know what direction to turn it, but do I gradually increase/lower velocity when the gun is charged or do I do it before charging the gun? I need to get more air before I can make adjustments but I'll post back with my results. Again thank you.

[aznmarkofdafiji]

Thank you. Your instructions are clear and concise. I can definately handle this task. When I was swapping carriers I wasn't messing with the shims. I have 3 installed currently. When it comes to the velocity adjustments I have no idea if it is set too high or too low. I know what direction to turn it, but do I gradually increase/lower velocity when the gun is charged or do I do it before charging the gun? I need to get more air before I can make adjustments but I'll post back with my results. Again thank you.

Air.. man... when I finally finished tuning my mag, I had gone through 6 4800psi 68ci tanks with an output pressure of 1000. Of course, most of that was to set my internals in. And by finished tuning, I mean I can easily find the sweetspot on my RT and get 17bps without a hitch. But you don't need air to do the carrier to bolt-weight test.

One thing to note: If you change your spring, you will have to adjust your velocity because of the tension difference. If it's just for tuning and I changed the springs: I do it when it's charged, so I know if I have enough velocity just to get the marker to fire. I crank it in quarter turns until it fires, then I tune my mag. If it's too high, you will definately know because it's gives off a REALLY loud boom. If I remember correctly one full 360º turn is 100fps. So keep that in mind when you chronograph your mag.

[stompdown]

Can you give me a little tut on when to add shims. I'm under the impression that if I find the right carrier I will probably still have a small leak therefore add shims right? When changes will the gun make to let me know that I found the right carrier?

[aznmarkofdafiji]

Can you give me a little tut on when to add shims. I'm under the impression that if I find the right carrier I will probably still have a small leak therefore add shims right? When changes will the gun make to let me know that I found the right carrier?

Adding shims are to help the bolt reset, not to fix leaks.
The only time you add shims, is when there is NO leak when you gas up your mag.


note: Hold your trigger before you gas up your mag, this helps set in the o-rings
Another note: If you have a ULT trigger, take it out and tune your mag without it. This way you only have a few factors to worry about.

When you find the right carrier from the bolt-carrier weight test and you gas it up one of two things happen:

1) There is no leak - Fire the marker for a tank or until it leaks. If it leaks that means you set your o-ring in and you need to go down a carrier size.
2) There is a leak - Move down a carrier size. Gas it up and check for leaks again.

If by chance, you're on the smallest carrier(no markings on the carrier) with no shims and there is a leak, then you need to change the white o-ring that goes into the carrier and start the tuning process all over again.

If you followed the directions from the beginning to the letter and there is no leak, then you know you have the right carrier size.



So now, you hopefully have the right carrier size. Lets move on to shims:

1) Gut your mag to the power tube tip.
2) Add one shim Make sure it sits flush by pressing down on it with a blunt end of a object(i use the back end of my dental pick)
2a) If you haven't done this already, oil up the o-ring lightly on the power tube tip.
3) Reassemble your mag, and gas it up. One of two things happen;
3A) It does not leak - Repeat steps 2-3.
3B) It leaks - Remove one shim and go to step 4.
4) Dry fire your mag firing slow/fast and check if it leaks when you pull the trigger. If it does, remove a shim, gas it up and dry fire test it again. If the leak still occurs remove another shim, and dry fire it again.

If you don't have any problems with your mag dry firing, you should be now tuned. Now chronograph your mag using the proper technique:

1) Hold down the trigger.
2) Release the trigger and hold it again as quickly as you can.
3) Repeat as necessary

When firing fast, the X-valve is most consistent. Hence why you use this technique.

With a tuned x-valve and high out-put pressure, you should be able to sweet spot your mag to get it up to nice BPS. The highest I've gotten mine to is 17, a rate I don't plan on shooting often. You can check BPS on specific chronographs. I have one by X-radar that tells you the fps on your shots if you fire slowly, but if you fire at 5BPS or higher then it tells you your FPS.

By the time your finished tuning, you could probably time attack gutting and reassembling your mag (sounds like a video contest we could have :p). It takes a bit of patience, but it's WELL worth it in the end.

Good luck tuning! If you have any problems, don't be afraid to ask again :).

[stompdown]

Thanks again, your top notch.

[DBC]

I almost hate to ask, but in all my reading I still don't know the following:

1) How does one tell the different carrier sizes?

2) How does one remove the carrier? I tired and could not (I was afraid I would break or scrtach something).

BTW, the previous post on tuning is very helpful.

[MANN]

each carrier has dots and lines. A line is worth 1, and a dot is worth .5. You will see that you should have 9 carriers. 0, .5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4

I use a thumb screw to remove the carrier. Screw it into it a few threads, and pull.

:cheers:

[stompdown]

UPDATE!!!
Ok, so I'm currently tuning my tac-1. So far I found a carrier that does not leak when I charge the gun I am able to dry fire fine but it seems that the lvl 10 is kicking in between shots and the bolt would stick forward. I have added up to 3 shims now and the gun dry fires fine for about 15 shots then nothing. I can tell that the gun is still charged and I have no leaks but I am unable to fire the gun. What could be causing this?? Should I add another shim or move down a carrier?

[stompdown]

Ok so I kind of confused myself with the previous post. Here is whats going on as of now. I am able to charge the gun fine. I get a hopper load of paint and fire the gun. The gun shoots great for about 10-15 shots then nothing. I have to make slight velocity adjustments to get it to fire again. It seems the faster I fire the gun the quicker it "goes dead" then I have to make another velocity adjustment. I am working with the next to smallest carrier and about 4 shims. If anyone has experienced this can you please help me remedy this. Thanks

[Coralis]

First of take a look at this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0mvr30jKhw .... It sound like you might still have too tight of a carrier if you are still having alot of bolt stick.

[secretweaponevan]

^ what he said. Also, remember to put a couple drops of lube in the ASA and down the power tube.

Mags are all o-rings and they love lube. Be sure to remove your barrel before gassing up and shooting a couple dozen shots to get most of the oil out so you don't lube the inside of your barrel. :p

[stompdown]

Good stuff. I'm very impressed with how helpful you guys have been. Keep up the good work. Thanks again. :)

[stompdown]

UPDATE!! Ok so I went to the field this morning to play a few games. I showed up early and did some more tuning. I tuned up pretty good where I have no leaks. The gun was shooting great on the field but I started chopping paint like crazy the last few games. This is my first time using a mag with a lvl 10 so I'm not sure how gentle the bolt should be when you stick your finger down the feedneck but when I did the bolt wasn't exactly gentle. If my finger was a paintball it would have exploded instantly explaining why I was blending so much paint. My velocity is set around 280-290. My question is what adjustments should I make to keep the lvl 10 from slamming forward even if my finger is in the way simulating ball jam?

[Coralis]

the level 10 will be the most gentle on paint when using the longest spring.

[secretweaponevan]

Edit: ^ good point Coralis. A longer spring would reduce forward thrust.

If you are using really brittle paint, you can tune it by using a smaller carrier. The risk is bolt stick, but it can help with brittle paint.

Also, if the hole in the side of the bolt's tube is clogged with crud or something, that could explain it, but that would be really rare.

I did the "finger" testing with a squeegie down the barrel (not as brave as you to use a finger, as anything mechanical can, and will, eventually fail). So, I did the hang a paintball from electrical tape deally. It worked amazing, until I dropped it down a little too far and shot a paintball into a box of comics on a shelf in the garage. :eek:

It was a bounce though.

[athomas]

I am able to charge the gun fine. I get a hopper load of paint and fire the gun. The gun shoots great for about 10-15 shots then nothing. I have to make slight velocity adjustments to get it to fire again. Most likely, you are getting bolt stick. That means you have a carrier that is too tight.

Another possible cause of bolt stick like this is the ULT tuning.

[aznmarkofdafiji]

UPDATE!! Ok so I went to the field this morning to play a few games. I showed up early and did some more tuning. I tuned up pretty good where I have no leaks. The gun was shooting great on the field but I started chopping paint like crazy the last few games. This is my first time using a mag with a lvl 10 so I'm not sure how gentle the bolt should be when you stick your finger down the feedneck but when I did the bolt wasn't exactly gentle. If my finger was a paintball it would have exploded instantly explaining why I was blending so much paint. My velocity is set around 280-290. My question is what adjustments should I make to keep the lvl 10 from slamming forward even if my finger is in the way simulating ball jam?


You can try changing the spring to a larger one. That's about it.

When I do the finger test I put my finger right next to the bolt before firing, and it has always chuffs->reset this way.


2 questions:

1)What's your tuning set up?
2)What kind of hopper are you using?

[secretweaponevan]

When I do the finger test I put my finger right next to the bolt before firing, and it has always chuffs->reset this way.

Yep, aznmark is correct. If the bolt encounters a ball that would chop, it will do it within the first 1/8" of travel or so. That is when it will reset.

I should have re-read my post for clarity, because I left something important out.
This would have been more clear:

I did the "finger" testing with a squeegie down the barrel (not as brave as you to use a finger, as anything mechanical can, and will, eventually fail). The bolt would slam into the squeegie really hard so I decided to test with a paintball dangling from electrical tape like on one of the AGD videos I saw. It worked amazing. (until I dropped it down a little too far and shot a paintball into a box of comics on a shelf in the garage. :eek:)

[stompdown]

Thanks guys I will change to a larger spring. I understand now about the bolt. I think the problem also was that I was using old paint and I got stuck using a cheap gravity hopper cause the vl eye force loader I ordered came in jacked up so I had to send it back. This gun really seemed a little too compicated at first but with all the great help I've been recieving I'm sure to be pro at this soon enough. I've got a good understanding now on troubleshooting. It's nice to know your gun inside and out so you know exactly what you should do to correct any problems. Thanks again :cheers: