Anyone else go through 100's of Bumpers in their Emag/Xmag/SFL ???

[PsychoBaller]

I dunno if it's just my insane rate of firing, or just constant use of my SFL Emag, but it feels like I chew out a couple of bumpers a month. By bumpers I mean the plastic spacer between the bolt and rest of the valve assembly.

I have to replace bumpers at least once after every 2-3days of play, depending on the amount of use per day. I have also found that I sometimes disintegrate the bumper almost intirely, whereby pieces of it will be found inside my grip frame, on and around the plunger/solenoid.

Just Wondering if anyone else has found this to happen with their Emag/Xmags .....

~da "bumpers go bye-bye" baller

[xmetal2001]

I've never replaced the bumper in my Classic, and my friend has never replaced the bumper in his emag.:confused:

[Skoad]

i think i've heard of people dabbing a little glue/epoxy on the bottom of the bumper so it doesn't move, should keep the bumper from getting the center chewed up.


i think i read someone using a classic blue bumper too...

[Blazingace]

Baller. You know that I go through almost as many bumpers as you do. In both my E-mag and my X-mag. I think it has to do with running the mid or long spring for the Lvl 10. It puts more force on the bumper than the short spring does. Also it has to do with your insane rates of fire. I have never seen anyone shoot faster than you.

[Evil Bob]

You also need to take into consideration the type of lube you use, anything with a patroleum base will eat the soft bumper.

Also when the lube dries, the bumper has a tendency to stick to the power tube base and the bottom of the bolt, so it's possible to tear it when gasing it up and firing it without lubing it up first.

I am still using the same emag bumper that it came stock with two years ago, it's starting to look a bit ragged around the edges, but it still functions, I will more then likely be replacing it in the next year or so.

-Evil Bob

[SG Avenger]

I just chucked mine out after about a 4 weekends of playing. it kept riding my bolt and causing my gun to stop firing... quite irritating.. this is on my X-valved mag.

[hitech]

I have never changed one. The one on the hyperframe level 10 classic has seen 20K plus rounds with not noticable wear. I got the emag used and it's seen 6k or so from me without any noticeable wear (it still has the bumper I got it with). Both markers have only seen Autolube or KC Trouble free oil. :D

[BajaBoy]

i have about 40k through my emag with short spring using the oil that came with it. Never replaced one yet

and i have about 100k through my retro and its showing little to no wear (used med. srping with anykind of oil)

[SIGSays]

you prolly keep getting old and dry spacer.. get fresh ones... they won't crack

[Halliday]

No. Over the 1/2 dozen various Mags I've owned I can remember changing the bumper on one once. It must be you.

[edweird]

I have seen about 6 go bad in all the guns I have serviced...

all of which are the clear ones.

Personally I noticed some wear on mine and swapped it out for the blue one on my Minimag. Since then its all good.

Also I have heard that dryfireing accelerates wear on the clear ones due to the pressure variance caused by the lack of anything to push down the barrel.

[mxracer33x]

Ive replaced quite a few on my X-Mag. And a few on my Xvalved mag as well. They wear out from the inside out. I have the medium spring on both of my level 10 setups. I just make sure I have a stack on hand at all times. Id rather change a bumper than clean a chop anyday though. So no your not alone psycho.

[LongDuckDong]

BlackVCG, who I think knows more about mags than Tom Kaye suggested this to me:

He said the reason why I went through a bumper a game was because it was moving up and down each time I fired and it wore out the iner ring of the bumper. So I needed to find a way to keep my bumper down when it fired. I first used some white grease, and, it worked! But, the grease went away after awhile and my bumper again began to wear...

So when I kept losing foamies cause super glue is too brittle BlackVCG recomended this stuff: http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=936754

IC-2000

Not only did I use it on my foamie which has stayed on for 3 cases of paint so far but I also used it on my bumper as BlackVCG suggested and it looks as good as the day I glued it on. I put a bead of glue on the base of the power tube and put my bumper on and spun it around to get an even coat and then smooched the bolt down and wiped off the excess glue before it dried. Some of the glue dried on the outside and I just used some nail polish remover and it came right off.

You can get IC-2000 at just about any hobby store, very popular stuff. it's basicly a rubberized super glue so it can take the shock of a bolt.

[pito189]

On my E-Mag, it wears from the inside out. I don't think I have ever replaced it though. To tell ya the truth I don't even know if it's still there. On my X-Mag, I haven't even taken the vavle out yet. Had it for almost two months now, two tournaments and a few weekends of play.

Thats one of the reasons why I like my E-Mag and X-Mag, wipe them off when I'm done (so they don't get everything else dirty), and when I'm ready to play again put some oil in the macroline, gas it up, and play. No tuning the reg, or adjusting the timing.

I always tell my teammates cleaning your equipment is for "female genitalia". ;)

[FalconGuy016]

Never for me too, but I've got the blue

[magman007]

Aslong as the ring has a ring shape, it will be fine...


also do not use the blue bumper, it is harder, and with the retrovalve, it can crack the powertube back. only use he softer clear bumper

[PsychoBaller]

First off, I always use fresh new bumpers when replacing the old ones (Thanks AGDJon for the new ones). I think I'll try a bit of lube or grease on it like some o you suggested.

Second, its not a matter of just having them wear out from the inside out... they just literally get chewed up and disintegrate... and fall into my grip frame around the solenoid.

I guess I fire too fast :( ........ o wait.. thats a good thing.. :D

[50 cal]

I've had my Emag for about a year and a half and play quit a bit. Have only replaced one bumper.
Are you sure you don't have a burr or something on your bolt?

[RetroEclipseMan]

Originally posted by PsychoBaller
First off, I always use fresh new bumpers when replacing the old ones (Thanks AGDJon for the new ones). I think I'll try a bit of lube or grease on it like some o you suggested.

Second, its not a matter of just having them wear out from the inside out... they just literally get chewed up and disintegrate... and fall into my grip frame around the solenoid.

I guess I fire too fast :( ........ o wait.. thats a good thing.. :D

The same thing has happened to my retromag as well as Blazestorm's emag. Haven't gone through more than 2 in my retromag in the past year and I lube the gun everyday before I play. Dunno, might as well give that tire glue a shot.

[sneakyhacker420]

Originally posted by SG Avenger
I just chucked mine out after about a 4 weekends of playing. it kept riding my bolt and causing my gun to stop firing... quite irritating.. this is on my X-valved mag.

if you're running your gun without a bumper, you'll crack your powertube very soon

[SG Avenger]

Originally posted by sneakyhacker420


if you're running your gun without a bumper, you'll crack your powertube very soon

[grin] doh. I didn't mean to make it sound like I was playing w/o one. I have changed it for a fresh one. But I was agreeing that mine had been wasting away as well from the inside out.

[Bolter]

don't quote me, and I didn't read the replies from others so sorry for any repetition, but I have gone through a blue spacer on my X-mag. My friend has also but certainly not as many as you say you have. There must be something up with your marker man.

I do break quite a lot of the springs though. Has anyone else done this? I go through one per tournie sometimes!!

[Strider]

I noticed a severe increase in my bumper consumption rate when I went to Level 10...

[Bolter]

hmmmm...you would have thought it would have been lighter on the spacer due to it being all aluminium.

[sneakyhacker420]

Originally posted by Bolter
hmmmm...you would have thought it would have been lighter on the spacer due to it being all aluminium.


no... its stainless steel... but with alot more space hollowed out


also, i think the theory of the longer mainsprings putting more force on the return stroke of bolt, causing it to kill the bumper faster

[Gadget]

Bolter (and any other UK based people) - for info, you can buy that IC-2000 stuff in the UK here: http://www.helibits.co.uk

It's under the 'Bob Smith Industries' section, £3.40 for a small bottle and £1.20 postage via Royal mail.

[lamby]

Ny emag with levelx chews them up pretty fast too. (only the inside ring though) I went through 6 already.

[Blazingace]

I think that it has something to do wit hthe Lvl 10 and possibly the repeated dry firing of the gun. I know that baller dry fires alot!:D So it is more of a problem for him.:D I go through quite a few of them. I think that I will try the glue this and I need something to secure my foamies.

[Dayspring]

I've run my Emag with level 10 almost consistently for almost a year. I replaced the bumper once. What are you guys doing that I'm not?

[speeddemon]

not oiling the gun? I haven't heard of people wearing a bumper out before. Even if the clear ones are softer, I wouldn't think they would wear that fast. I can't tell the difference between my year old classic one, and a new one. With the long LX spring. It can't be that much softer.

[BlackVCG]

LongDuck already showed my fix for this problem.

The main reason why it wears out is because the inner diameter of the bolt is a sharp corner and it hits the bumper with more speed when you're using LX, especially if you're using the gray springs.

Also, if it isn't securly fastened to the PT base, it drags forward for a split second with the bolt and wears out the inner ring by hitting on the relief groove that is cut in the PT.

Try some thick sticky grease and see how that does. Gluing it down should make it last forever.

I'm going to start putting a radius on the inside Dia. of the bolt to eliminate the sharp corner and that along with gluing down the bumper should completely eliminate the problem.

[Bolter]

excuse my ignorance gadget but what is it for? (IC-2000)

Thanks

[speeddemon]

Originally posted by Bolter
excuse my ignorance gadget but what is it for? (IC-2000)

Thanks

Its a superglue for rubber. It flexs, so that it just doesn't rip away when the parts its glued to bend.

[Evil Bob]

Its non brittle super glue, meaning it can withstand the repetitive shock of the bolt returning and still hold the bumper in place.

-Evil Bob

[Bolter]

cheers lads..