Improving the efficiency of the E-mag (gas and battery life)

[secretweaponevan]

First off, this idea came to me while drinking, but as a member on MCB, I'm comfortable with that.

Has anyone tried the idea of using the solenoid to hold the on/off closed at rest and only open the on/off when the trigger is pulled (with a controlled dwell of course) and completely eliminating the sear from holding the bolt?

As long as the on/off is in the off position, the bolt should be at rest with its stem seated in the powertube. With a trigger pull lowering the noid and opening the on/off, the bolt will go forward with a regulated pressure now flowing through the valve as opposed to just dumping the chamber.

Flow dynamics could be improved with a different powertube/bolt interface but would this idea work? I'm thinking that since the solenoid no longer has to move the sear that is holding back the bolt with ~400 psi behind it, that battery life would improve and with a modified dump chamber and bolt-to-powertube-interface, that air efficiency would improve as well.

Is anyone aware of anyone having tried it?

(Commence laughing/ridicule, I'm grabbing another beverage. )

[211]

A RT valve recharges the air chamber at full input pressure (and I run mine at about 1100 psi input) so I dont think this would work right
It would shoot super hot, and would probably wind up less consistant than a regular mag because you would basically be bypassing the reg
and I think the power drain might be worse, although you are getting rid of the extra drag from the bolt on the sear (which really isnt that much when you consider the leverage of the sear) you would have to have the solenoid powered whenever the gun was on, and only turning off when you fired

I could be wrong, so Im going to get a beverage also

[secretweaponevan]

Thanks for sticking your neck out on this one. I knew that there was another crazy drinker out there!

Although the RT valve system recharges the air chamber at full input pressure, the RT's reg shuts off the gas supply once the desired pressure of the system is reached. Set it to a low enough pressure and even excessive dwell will have a limited end fps.

The on/off would need to be redesigned from being an "up=off, down=on" to a "up=on, down=off" design like a tiny Sheridan(autococker to those under 30 )-style valve so that while the solenoid is at rest the on/off is off. (this is where the battery efficiency comes in)

All y'all have a drink (coffee, milk, kool-aid, grape soda, whatever) with me and let's brainstorm!


Disclaimer: I'm just having fun thinking. Be gentle.

[blackdeath]

The on/off would need to be redesigned from being an "up=off, down=on" to a "up=on, down=off" design like a tiny Sheridan(autococker to those under 30 )

Some of us are under 30 yet have played long enough to know a autococker as a Sheridan product.

You cant flip the direction of the on/off without screwing with the sear that holds the bolt can you? or am I really missing something with the mech design of the mag?

[secretweaponevan]

Some of us are under 30 yet have played long enough to know a autococker as a Sheridan product.

You cant flip the direction of the on/off without screwing with the sear that holds the bolt can you? or am I really missing something with the mech design of the mag?

With a current mag, correct. I was thinking of eliminating the front part of the sear that holds the bolt (since there would be no pressure with the on/off now defaulting to "off") and then using a solenoid to push up on the on/off pin (now a sheridan-esque design) to propel the bolt and discharge a ball.

[MANN]

use a lvl 7 to get better efficency. stock agd batteries will last ~10k shots. you should not be shooting that much in a day.

[secretweaponevan]

use a lvl 7 to get better efficency. stock agd batteries will last ~10k shots. you should not be shooting that much in a day.

Good point. However, I was thinking more along the lines of changing a few things around so a smaller solenoid could be used so that the battery pack could be replaced by a 9V in the grip.

I also think a "flow" design would be more efficient than a dump chamber design.

However I gave up beer until Easter and I don't have my shop set up to start this project. Maybe sometime in the future.

[blackdeath]

With a current mag, correct. I was thinking of eliminating the front part of the sear that holds the bolt (since there would be no pressure with the on/off now defaulting to "off") and then using a solenoid to push up on the on/off pin (now a sheridan-esque design) to propel the bolt and discharge a ball.

Gotcha. Thanks for filling in that part of it. Im by no means new to the mag. Been using them and tinkering with them for 13 years now. So that was the first thing that hit me as odd with your plan.