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View Full Version : just about to give up... (technical help needed)



TippmannMan
11-15-2002, 09:44 PM
sorry but in an effort to present this to all AO members i have posted in both paintball talk and technical help. this will be the last time i do anything like this but i desperately need a solution.

ive only had my e-mag for a week and i already feel the gun is screwed. maybe nobody knows. maybe nobody cares. but i am going to try to post one last time in hopes someone can identify and solve the problems i am experiencing. this is going to be a fairly long post so take a breather.

my new e-mag has been in my possession for just about a week. its number 01685. it came packaged seperately with the level 10 kit to give you the sense that it is one of more recent ones. to power my e-mag i purchased a 88 ci 4500 psi flatline system (the regulator and tank). the regulator for the flatline is black/purple to give you a sense of when it was made. to connect these two i used a non-specific brand macroline using 90 degree adapters which connected the e-mag (retro) valve to the flatline regulator. in terms of maintenance i have completely disassembled and reassembled the e-mag with the exception of the e-mag (retro) valve. for the flatline i have only unscrewed the regulator nut so the only flatline parts that have been exposed are the regulator nut/lock nut and spring pack. in hopes of a better analysis i will now list some things that i think might have been harmful to the gun and might have caused some of the problems i am experiencing: to degas the system i sometimes would remove the valve from the e-mag. i have had the on/off pin blow off at me once but observed no damage or missing parts. and sometimes i would slowly unscrew the regulator nut out completely to degas my system. this worked well but i remember someone telling me it could damage something.

ok that was the background. i hope you could understand it. if you have any questions what so ever please ask and i will gladly clarify. at this point i will take any help.

the problems i am experiencing seemed to have originated after the installation of the level 10 bolt but could have been persistent ever since but i may not have noticed it.

problem one
i typically set the output psi (pressure going into the marker) at 800-900 psi. some people have been confused by this. i can think of no other way to clarify. its the pressure indicated by the gauge farthest from the tank. anyway when i fire the psi drops down to about 600 and sometimes stays there but if it does recharge back up to 800-900 it takes about 1-2 seconds (which is a long time) and usually resets at a higher psi such as 950-1000. this is a major problem since i cannot shoot more than 2 or 3 balls consecutively. i have no idea what might cause this. as i stated before the only exposed parts of the regulator have been the regulator nut/lock nut and the spring pack. in no way have i operated on the inside of the regulator and the system is brand new. on a less severe note my output gauge is at 200 even when the system is completely degassed. this has been only a recent problem. so there is a chance my output gauge is off by 200.

problem two
when live firing in my backyard i noticed the e-mag was very inaccurate at ranges of 30 feet (much less accurate than my tippmann model 98). i had a typical shot spread of about 3 feet at a distance of 30 feet. im no marksman but i do not consider myself so bad that i would cause such a spread. this was acheived prior to my installation of the level 10 bolt. another problem i experienced was being unable to fire quickly. i have a ricochet 2K loader and at most was able to pull 2 shots in quick succession. not sure if its the bolt not recharging fast enough or the loader.

problem three
this is probably the most correctable of all my problems since it deals with the level 10 bolt. my setup is the longest spring, size 1 carrier (i lubricated the black o-ring) and two shims. when introducing air to the system i hear the familiar cocking noise and there are no leaks. to test the setup i taped some string onto a paintball and slowly lowered it partially into the breach. i got the satisfying fssssssh noise as the bolt stopped on the ball. and the bolt resetted itself. however when i fire on the ball in an attempt to break it several times my bolt stops and fails to reset and i have to push it back in with a squeegee.

thank you for taking the time to read this. i really hope someone with the knowledge will be able to answer all or most of these questions. i have posted these things before but usually received an incomplete or irrelevant response. this will be my last try if i dont get any responses ill have to resort to sending this whole thing to AGD. thanks again and you will definitely get a huge thanks if you can figure any of this out.

sniper1rfa
11-15-2002, 10:22 PM
problem one: this is a common bug in flatlines. call AGD and send it in to be fixed.

problem two: i guaruntee this is because of the tank. or at least most of it.

problem three: add a shim or two.

speedfreak233
11-15-2002, 11:18 PM
I agree, i would be willing to bet that all of these problems are caused by the tank, to be certain I would test your marker with a known good tank. good luck and dont give up, I almost gave up too but once i got my problems fixed i could not be happier. persistance is a virtue, dont ever give up.

Gotcha3
11-15-2002, 11:22 PM
Yo Tippmannman--DON'T give up! Like Sniper... said it definitely sounds like it is your tank! I don't know if you have ever called the AGD tech line and dealt with them over the phone but...THEY ARE EXTREMELY HELPFUL, AND VERY FRIENDLY! They may be able to help diagnose your problem over the phone--and if worse came to worse--you may have to send it in---but you'll be up and running either way before you know it!
Wish I could be more of assistance,
Aaron
Good Luck!

TippmannMan
11-16-2002, 07:48 PM
problem solved im lucky enough live relatively close to pevs so i stopped by and got RobAGD to work on it. i dont know why i had so many problems but it was solved really quickly. yes i was aware that putting the spring pack in backwards causes the psi to rocket upwards but that wasnt the problem. some of it had to do with improper level 10 installation i think and then all he did was crank up to psi to something like a 1000. but now another problem exists. occasionally my bolt will "stop" on nothing. i will be dry firing and then the bolt just goes fsssssh as if a paintball were in the way. this only happens once every many of shots but it still could be annoying every once in a while. RobAGD couldnt say what it could be. but nevertheless im more than pleased at the results. if you are fortunate enough to live near pevs give RobAGD a visit

athomas
11-17-2002, 10:35 AM
If the bolt stops on nothing, maybe the longest spring is operating too close to the upper edge of performance. Any variation in force caused by a piece of dirt in the breach or a low fluctuation of air in the chamber will cause the gun to not fire. You can solve this by moving to the cut spring until the power tube o-ring gets broken in. Then move back to the longest spring.

Load SM5
11-17-2002, 10:53 AM
I agree, move to the cut spring. It's gentle enough for 99%of the paint out there and works more reliably than the long spring.

TippmannMan
11-17-2002, 12:52 PM
its on the medium (cut) spring right now. ill try wearing down the o-ring like athomas said but RobAGD said it might be catching on the sear occasionally in which case he will have to lower it in some way