Tom--warp feed design problems

[chuck]

Tom...I don't think that I could be the only person in the world to be having problems with the warp feed....and nothing hurts worse than to have one of the other team in your sights and pull the trigger a bunch of times only to hear pop..pop..pop with nothing comming out. It can cost you the body, the game and the tournament. The two major problems are the stupid "rubber band drive"(I know that it's not a rubber band) and the incredibly short life span of the batteries when used in 12 volt mode.
For the first one, rather than depending on a smooth drive o ring that has to be replaced every 4 to 6 weeks(or less)because the slippage can eventually fail to feed, how about a minature gilmer belt? Fot the second, a permanent 12 warp modification or model with an on/off switch so that you can turn it off between games and save the battery. Finally, a small or misshaped paintball can get jammed between the case and the metal feed guide (outgoing). A wide edge (like the top of a "T")on the paintball edge would prevent the ball from jamming in the "gap".
I asked the techs at your place about this and they said that the modifications would run up the price of the warp and make it too expensive. BULLFEATHERS !!!!!! Make two models if you must. But...I submit that when there are people out there willing to shell out almost 2 grand for a gun and 600 bucks for an air system and 100 to 200 bucks to play for a day (paint), an extra 50 bucks to make the warp even better is chicken feed. I know I would be the first in line to upgrade. Thanks---Chuck

[Load SM5]

First of all welcome to AO.

I've never had an issue with the belt and most of the other warp users that I know of have'nt either. What exactly is yours doing? Stretching or wearing?


The plate you described sounds like one of the old metal ones and could jam. The new warps have a wider plastic plate that can be bought in the AGD store under warp parts.
*edit* Direct link http://store.airgun.com/acb/showdetl.cfm?&DID=17&Product_ID=72&CATID=6

[IcantBelieveit]

dude your rollin oldschool...update yourself a bit, and get the new diverter plate...and i have never had a porblem with belt wear problems.. and as for the 12volt mod runnin the batteries down..maybe turn the dwell down...and also most will tell you 12volts is a little overkill.. these things can keep up with 16bps with the stock 9volt. oh and the belt.. go to the hardware store and see if you can find an o-ring that is just a little smaller than the stock warp belt and try that

[chuck]

It does both, you know how when you first put on a new belt the wheels will "overspin past" the paintballs? But with time you hear the motor run but the urethane wheels don't move? Eventually, they don't move the paintballs with enought pressure to ensure a fast,positive feed. The result...ball chop and the no feed at all. I order belts by the half dozen and change them about every 5 to 6 days of heavy playing. I've seen miniature gilmer belts used in remote control models to eliminate this very type of problem. I would think it would be a vast improvement here.
PS..I just ordered the "new" guide....Thank You...Chuck

[chuck]

I've tried different "belts"...too tight and it pulls the axel assemble out of the case and disengages the drive gear.

[lamby]

Chuck is right on a few points here:

One) 9vdc is too slow to keep up with me and my emag. I had to go to 12 volts to just to keep up. I also did all the mods that he was talking about.. the switch, led, ect..

Two) the belt drive is CRAP look at this picture I posted on the tech pages
http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67144
No one was interested, and I do not have access to a lathe to make the parts, so dead concept for now. Temp fix action... Go to Home Depot and buy the 0-rings by the dozen and replace them every 5 or 6 cases.

I dissagree about the battery life though, I have never had a problem with battery run down, and I use rechargeables. I agree that his dwell must be too great. I am just over 1/4 turn per pull and it works great for a case easy. (I keep spare batterys though)

[IcantBelieveit]

well the o-rings are cheap just buy a few of them

[Evil Bob]

I've had my warp since they were first introduced, the one with the metal diverter plate....

I have never had any problems with it not feeding paint. I also don't put crap paint through it, I either buy RPS marbs or Diablo Hellfire.

I have never had to replace the rubber band, or oil the surface of the friction discs, or sacrifice a chicken for good luck before the game.

I have no problem with 9v keeping up with 16bps. I do currently run 2 9v rechargeables in parallel for longer battery life, but even with 1 9v, I can easily put two cases through it before it even starts thinking about slowing down. On two rechargeables I'm good for a full day of tourney play (5-6 cases of paint).

It sounds like a good percentage of your problems are directly related to the paint you play with. If the balls are too big, you'll have problems with them jamming on the diverter plate and too much friction on the friction discs causing abnormal wear on the rubber band drive.

-Evil Bob

[ChucktheMAGician]

Ahh, finally the guy that has my name has posted! Sorry about your warp probs. If this has been your first problem since 11-01 I think you're doing pretty good!