quick lvl x question

[madcrisis]

i know it must be broken in but can this be done effectively by dry firing? are there any downsides to this?

[xero28]

Yes, you can break it in by dry firing. As far as I know, the only drawback is that there is a MUCH greater chance that the foamie will come off. Though this is not really a big problem. Mine was off for a long time and I never had any problems without it.

[Newt]

Just trim the lip off the foamie on the barrel side before you superglue it in. That's what the turbulence catches and rips it off. We tested this with a mag which would blow off it's foamie constantly. Still rocking the same cut foam.

There's no real downside to dry firing with air. You'll get slightly worse efficiency according to Punkworks testing, but that's not a big deal.

[factoid]

Yes, you can break it in by dry firing. As far as I know, the only drawback is that there is a MUCH greater chance that the foamie will come off. Though this is not really a big problem. Mine was off for a long time and I never had any problems without it.

I will attest to this. I lost a foamie dry firing trying to break in my new x-valve.

In theory dry firing should be fine for break-in, but I had much better luck when I switched to using paint. The back-pressure from the paintball might have some effect on the tuning process.

[madcrisis]

I will attest to this. I lost a foamie dry firing trying to break in my new x-valve.

In theory dry firing should be fine for break-in, but I had much better luck when I switched to using paint. The back-pressure from the paintball might have some effect on the tuning process.

when you switched did the break in process continue tho? and was this before you played a game with it?
i guess my real question is is it worth it to just sit there and dry fire? will i notice it next time im out? and whats the typical break in period?

the efficeiency is no big beal as i have access to HP air

[factoid]

when you switched did the break in process continue tho? and was this before you played a game with it?
i guess my real question is is it worth it to just sit there and dry fire? will i notice it next time im out? and whats the typical break in period?

the efficeiency is no big beal as i have access to HP air

I can't scientifically conclude anything from my sample size of 1, but here's the process I went through breaking in a new x-valve the last couple weeks.


Arrives in mail. Open giddily and install immediately.

Leaks a little. To be expected.

Spend 3 hours screwing around with carriers, o-rings, springs, etc...

Bang head against wall.

Leaking brought to a minimum (or possibly hearing loss due to indoor dry firing)

Go out to play

Leaks like a sonofa***** as soon as I gas it up outdoors with the intent to play.

Swear profusely.

Wrench-tightening the field strip screw gets it to mostly hold air. Run about 1000 rounds through it.

Bring it home, put on different rail and tighter carrier. At some point the foamie flies off and I don't notice. Could've happened while playing, I'm not sure.

Suddenly it's working great, the o-rings all seat nicely and it's holding air consistently. Some of this might be the new rail, the tighter carrier definitely helped, but I suspect a lot of it was that the o-rings needed to wear in, especially the on/off o-rings and the power tube o-ring.

Now I can finally focus on the important part of owning a mag...customizing it! Until I swap out the body with a ULE I suspect all I'll need to do with this mag from here on out is keep it lubed.