Maxflo Regulator Conversion

[river031403]

Called Gog

OK so i called GOG today they dont have any parts to convert the inline maxflo LP reg to HP crap crap crap I'm stuck with a nice LP reg i guess

[hill160881]

why not just try a heavier spring anyway? Nothing to loose but the cost of the spring.

[river031403]

spring

i will try heavier spring found a company near by.
But according to ZDSPAINTBALL /ydna
i would need to get all the parts that i had listed previous. im gonna try the heavier spring and see what happens you posted

[athomas]

The HP assembly has a different regulator body which uses a smaller diameter piston. This reduces the amount of force supplied to the spring and adjustment knob. By using a stiffer spring, you would be accomplishing the same effect. If you double the pressure, the force acting on the spring and adjustment knob will be twice as much as well. I mention the adjustment knob, because they are quite stiff as it is. It will be hard to adjust, but it should work fine.

[Ando]

Did you call GOG?

[river031403]

spring

ando-yeah i called GOG but he only has poppetts and poppet springs and a view other items that wouldnt help me with the conversion ie:hp regulator body housing,hp piston etc.etc.
dthomas-going to try spring see what happens

[Spider-TW]

The HP assembly has a different regulator body which uses a smaller diameter piston. This reduces the amount of force supplied to the spring and adjustment knob. By using a stiffer spring, you would be accomplishing the same effect. If you double the pressure, the force acting on the spring and adjustment knob will be twice as much as well. I mention the adjustment knob, because they are quite stiff as it is. It will be hard to adjust, but it should work fine.

In the short term this should be fine. Since the inline is (was) a balanced regulator, I think you will be increasing the pressure on the piston seat over the high pressure piston design. Idk how much difference it will make, but the designer thought it enough of a difference to change the piston.

Here's the tech link...

http://www.zdspb.com/tech/mguide/regs/main_inline.html

It looks like the only difference is that the lp piston has a recessed seal, letting the poppet sit up higher. Let me know if you find a spring. If the LP piston doesn't work with it, I would be willing to compare it to my HP piston and maybe cut a brass spacer to go in the LP piston to push the seal out to the HP dimension.

You would probably need to at least find a hard (90 duro) o-ring for the LP piston as well. I would think you could get away with the fatter size of the LP o-ring.

[Ando]

Your spring

http://www.darkstarpaintball.com/Smart-Parts-Max-Flo-Rebuild-Kit-p/a1815.htm

[river031403]

thanks im working on it thanks again bud

[athomas]

In the short term this should be fine. Since the inline is (was) a balanced regulator, I think you will be increasing the pressure on the piston seat over the high pressure piston design. Idk how much difference it will make, but the designer thought it enough of a difference to change the piston.

They changed the piston to a narrower one to reduce the cross sectional area. That means it required more psi to achieve the same force against the piston. The only way the narrow piston would work was if it was in a narrower chamber, which is why is required a different regulator body as well.

I all you did was change the placement of the oring, then it would be the same as shimming the spring. It could bottom out before adequate pressure is reached. If the high pressure is achieved, the end result will be the same force applied to the adjuster as with the stiffer spring because it is dependent on the diameter of the piston which is not changing.

The designer used a different piston diameter instead of adding a stiffer spring because the amount of force required to turn the adjuster would be quite large for a stiffer spring. It will be hard on the aluminum threads if some sort of lubricant isn't applied.

[athomas]

You could probably put a sleeve inside the existing body and use the high pressure piston and associated parts.

[river031403]

You could probably put a sleeve inside the existing body and use the high pressure piston and associated parts.

yeah your probably right about sleeve and using it with the rest of the high pressure components.
i working on finding the parts i need at this time.
i figure just the Hp spring wont work cause that is just spring pressure that doesnt change the volume of air like the hp piston would with the hp reg. housing

[athomas]

i figure just the Hp spring wont work cause that is just spring pressure that doesnt change the volume of air like the hp piston would with the hp reg. housing

A stiffer spring will work. The whole system works on force differential. Without any air at the output, there is no force on the piston so the only force is applied in the opposite direction by the spring. This holds the poppet valve open so that air can flow into the output area. As the air in the output area increases in pressure, it applies pressure to the cross sectional area of the piston and pushes the piston towards the spring. As long as the (pressure x area) of the output is less than the force applied by the tension on the spring, the poppet remains open and the pressure is allowed to increase. Eventually the pressure increases to the point where the force it exerts on the piston is greater than the force exerted by the spring and the poppet closes, shutting off the air supply.

A smaller piston would result in less force exerted on the spring, while a larger piston would result in more force exerted on the spring for any given air pressure. The smaller piston allows a higher pressure to work within the springs force range. You could increase the spring tension(ie; stiffer spring) to counter the force of the larger piston which would result in a higher air pressure at the output as well. It just means that there will be more force applied to the spring area which would also be translated to the screw section of the adjuster.

[river031403]

spring

A stiffer spring will work. The whole system works on force differential. Without any air at the output, there is no force on the piston so the only force is applied in the opposite direction by the spring. This holds the poppet valve open so that air can flow into the output area. As the air in the output area increases in pressure, it applies pressure to the cross sectional area of the piston and pushes the piston towards the spring. As long as the (pressure x area) of the output is less than the force applied by the tension on the spring, the poppet remains open and the pressure is allowed to increase. Eventually the pressure increases to the point where the force it exerts on the piston is greater than the force exerted by the spring and the poppet closes, shutting off the air supply.

A smaller piston would result in less force exerted on the spring, while a larger piston would result in more force exerted on the spring for any given air pressure. The smaller piston allows a higher pressure to work within the springs force range. You could increase the spring tension(ie; stiffer spring) to counter the force of the larger piston which would result in a higher air pressure at the output as well. It just means that there will be more force applied to the spring area which would also be translated to the screw section of the adjuster.

ok tmrw im going to a spring company gonna see what they have
other problem is i bought a shp in the mean time so thats on my bottle right now cause im out to shoot some folks on sunday my other bottle is in hydro hoping to get it back saturday

[Spider-TW]

I have heard that; 1) all it takes is a spring, or 2) it takes a spring and a piston, or 3) they are different models altogether. The zdspb diagram looks like the 2nd option. I can see just a spring working, but you might have to fiddle around with the exact spring for the range you want (the adjustment range with the LP pistion might be narrow). I thought there might be some other difference there, but I can't see where from the zdspb 'pic'.

I have the same deal with an SHP. With the maxflo, you are limited to the uses (different markers) for the bottle. I really like the maxflo, but once you get the SHP set where you want it, the SHP is easier to work with. When I only had one higher pressure mag, the maxflo was fine. With two or more, it gets a little annoying to have the dedicated bottle or having to change the regs or plumbing out.