Bought a POS minimag off of ebay. Didn't work at all. Took it down to the paintball shop, they're like "The automag guy only comes in on Saturdays".
Great.
So, instead of waiting for the "Mag Guy" I requested a set of allen wrenches and a spare parts kit, never having worked on a paintball gun before.
Lo and behold, all the little rubber jammies and washers and rings and anything else made not out of metal were brown, or yellow, or some lovely shade that is similar.
With assistance from the guy who "didnt know anything about automags", we put it all back together.
Progress.
(later that night, when I took it home to play some more, I found the 2 little rings inside the on/off pin valve were reversed, despite it being engraved on the valve which order they go in, but hey, he did tell me he knew nothing about mags.)
The trigger needed to be adjusted, because it wasn't letting "everything" (for lack of knowing precisely what) open and close properly. When I screwed the valve back together, MiniMag no longer lined up, but it seemed to fire /reasonably/ well. So, I took it apart and tightened it so that the words aligned, and it goes Hiisssssssssssssss whenever given air, and leaks everywhere.
I decided to drop it back off, and wait for "the automag guy". Turns out, despite the fact that I used the spacer (I believe this is the blue washer, but im not really a tech so double check my facts) that came in the spare parts kit, that it was the wrong sized spacer. It could be the fact that it has a venturi bolt and possibly some other aftermarket stuff in there. Somehow now, the Minimag magically aligns.
Side note: At the store they originally told me "Oh, its ok, its not SUPPOSED to line up. Sometimes they do, but most don't." (didnt sound right to me either!)
I'm assuming he did some work with the part of the valve that unscrews as well, as far as maybe an o-ring or something, because the letters line up, and no more hiss.
I picked it up today, we gassed it up, threw a REGULAR (in other words, non battery powered) hopper on it, and was able to fire at least 5 balls per second through it flawlessly and consistently. SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP right at the same spot inside the little tester oil drum they have there. I think all said and done, with 2 trips to the shop, and easily 2 or 3 hours of work on it between the two trips, it cost me about $30 in labor and the spare parts kit which was about $22 I think. (nice, it includes 2 of pretty much everything)
So thus I post this for others having the same trouble, and also to give a free plug to the shop. Its fantastic what they charged me; I'm a computer tech, and I wouldn't even walk in someone's door for $30. They were friendly, helpful, patient with my newbie questions, and the gun works right.
If youre in Western Connecticut or Eastern New York, give these guys a call. Tell them "The Guy with the crappy MiniMag" sent you.
Paintball Plus
5 Padanaram Road
Danbury, CT 06811
(203) 730-8850
Great.
So, instead of waiting for the "Mag Guy" I requested a set of allen wrenches and a spare parts kit, never having worked on a paintball gun before.
Lo and behold, all the little rubber jammies and washers and rings and anything else made not out of metal were brown, or yellow, or some lovely shade that is similar.
With assistance from the guy who "didnt know anything about automags", we put it all back together.
Progress.
(later that night, when I took it home to play some more, I found the 2 little rings inside the on/off pin valve were reversed, despite it being engraved on the valve which order they go in, but hey, he did tell me he knew nothing about mags.)
The trigger needed to be adjusted, because it wasn't letting "everything" (for lack of knowing precisely what) open and close properly. When I screwed the valve back together, MiniMag no longer lined up, but it seemed to fire /reasonably/ well. So, I took it apart and tightened it so that the words aligned, and it goes Hiisssssssssssssss whenever given air, and leaks everywhere.
I decided to drop it back off, and wait for "the automag guy". Turns out, despite the fact that I used the spacer (I believe this is the blue washer, but im not really a tech so double check my facts) that came in the spare parts kit, that it was the wrong sized spacer. It could be the fact that it has a venturi bolt and possibly some other aftermarket stuff in there. Somehow now, the Minimag magically aligns.
Side note: At the store they originally told me "Oh, its ok, its not SUPPOSED to line up. Sometimes they do, but most don't." (didnt sound right to me either!)
I'm assuming he did some work with the part of the valve that unscrews as well, as far as maybe an o-ring or something, because the letters line up, and no more hiss.
I picked it up today, we gassed it up, threw a REGULAR (in other words, non battery powered) hopper on it, and was able to fire at least 5 balls per second through it flawlessly and consistently. SNAPSNAPSNAPSNAPSNAP right at the same spot inside the little tester oil drum they have there. I think all said and done, with 2 trips to the shop, and easily 2 or 3 hours of work on it between the two trips, it cost me about $30 in labor and the spare parts kit which was about $22 I think. (nice, it includes 2 of pretty much everything)
So thus I post this for others having the same trouble, and also to give a free plug to the shop. Its fantastic what they charged me; I'm a computer tech, and I wouldn't even walk in someone's door for $30. They were friendly, helpful, patient with my newbie questions, and the gun works right.
If youre in Western Connecticut or Eastern New York, give these guys a call. Tell them "The Guy with the crappy MiniMag" sent you.
Paintball Plus
5 Padanaram Road
Danbury, CT 06811
(203) 730-8850
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