Xvalve consistency question

[Covjek]

Im a newb with painball but have been doing a bit of research as Im planning to get into it soon. My question is does an automag like the tac-one shoot at a consistent velocity only after firing off lots of rounds or is it consistent from the first shot(Im of course referring to xvalves that are sweet spotted and broken in already)? It seems to me after watching some x valved automags firing the first shot is way off and then as u keep the burst going they become more and more consistent.

[pierce]

Generally what you stated is true. My valve (X-valve) will give me a first shot hotter than normal, but not all of the time (at 850PSI). At 575PSI it shoots very consistant with no first shot hot. I'm not one of those who likes to try to shoot 15BPS anyway so shoot down is not a problem for me. Every valve is different so pressures will differ. Hope this helps.

[maniacmechanic]

on my valve's ( X & R/T Pro) they are consistant the first 3 or 4 then fps seems to start climbing ( air heating up going thru the valve ) if you shoot it slow they stay down & near the same , when you start ripping off strings then the fps starts climbing

[athomas]

Generally what you stated is true. My valve (X-valve) will give me a first shot hotter than normal....

The first shot should never be hot on any mag. If it is, then you most likely have a leaking regulator seat oring.

[athomas]

Covjek, X-valves are quite consistent if you use good quality paint. That holds true for any good gun. The xvalve regulator is top notch so you are always getting the same pressure in the chamber, which directly translates into a consistent velocity.

Shooting single shots, you will get good shot to shot consistency which will be the same as your chrono velocity. If you rail on the gun, the velocity may creep up due to the heated charge air not having time to cool before the next shot, but that is usually only an effect noticed if you have a high input pressure. The few fps increase generally doesn't even affect the distance accuracy. You typically lose any accuracy when you start to hit the trigger hard anyway. A slight increase in velocity during rapid firing is better than drop-off when rapid firing. There is nothing more frustrating than watching your balls fall short of the target.

In my opinion, the classic mag valve is the most consistent mag valve. Mine is rock solid and always within +/-1 fps with good paint. My retro valve is good but not quite that good, typically +/-2fps with the same paint.

[Covjek]

Covjek, X-valves are quite consistent if you use good quality paint. That holds true for any good gun. The xvalve regulator is top notch so you are always getting the same pressure in the chamber, which directly translates into a consistent velocity.

Shooting single shots, you will get good shot to shot consistency which will be the same as your chrono velocity. If you rail on the gun, the velocity may creep up due to the heated charge air not having time to cool before the next shot, but that is usually only an effect noticed if you have a high input pressure. The few fps increase generally doesn't even affect the distance accuracy. You typically lose any accuracy when you start to hit the trigger hard anyway. A slight increase in velocity during rapid firing is better than drop-off when rapid firing. There is nothing more frustrating than watching your balls fall short of the target.

In my opinion, the classic mag valve is the most consistent mag valve. Mine is rock solid and always within +/-1 fps with good paint. My retro valve is good but not quite that good, typically +/-2fps with the same paint.

Then what would be the velocity range for an x-valve and how long does take to "break it in".

[athomas]

Then what would be the velocity range for an x-valve and how long does take to "break it in".

The x-valve is identical to the retro valve. The break-in period depends on the orings. A good quality oring won't vary much from when it is installed. Generally, if you shoot around 5000 shots, the orings should be broken in. If you have access to all you can use HPA, dry fire your mag for 5000 shots. It will yield great results. For all intensive purposes, I wouldn't worry about breaking in the orings. The inconsistencies of most paint creates more fluctuations than the new orings will cause.