High Pressure Causing Bolt Stick

[dropzone]

Automag RT ULE custom, x-valve, lvl 10. Non ult on off.

Been shooting great for about a year and a half now and never even had to adjust the velocity after its initial chrono.

Today I got it hooked up to a maxflo and cranked up the psi. It starts to rip really good for about 5-6 shots then the bolt sticks forward and has to be manually reset. After messing around with it for a while I put my pre set tank back on it and it shoots just fine.

Its not the Maxflo because it works great on a Tac-1 and will RT as long as you can hold the sweet spot.

Does the Level 10 need to be re tuned to compensate for the higher input pressure?

[nevtangle]

Automag RT ULE custom, x-valve, lvl 10. Non ult on off.

Been shooting great for about a year and a half now and never even had to adjust the velocity after its initial chrono.

Today I got it hooked up to a maxflo and cranked up the psi. It starts to rip really good for about 5-6 shots then the bolt sticks forward and has to be manually reset. After messing around with it for a while I put my pre set tank back on it and it shoots just fine.

Its not the Maxflo because it works great on a Tac-1 and will RT as long as you can hold the sweet spot.

Does the Level 10 need to be re tuned to compensate for the higher input pressure?

I don't think so... have you ran oil through the valve lately? Do you have any shims in the lvl 10?
A little more info would help. Were you shooting paint when the bolt got stuck? What psi from the maxflo?

-N

[dropzone]

I always use generous amounts of KC oil in my mags. I currently have the .5 carrier and one shim in my level 10 and like I said it shoots great with several of the various 700-850 psi preset tanks that I have. Start pushing upwards of 900 psi ( tried various output psi pressures from 900-1200 psi with the maxflo) and the bolt will stick after a short burst, No paint used during testing but I don't see why that would cause a problem with the bolt not re-setting.

[flyingpootang]

Try to retune the L10 bolt.

[dropzone]

Try to retune the L10 bolt.

That would require me being schooled in the art of tuning a lv. 10 .

I just dont see why the higher pressure would cause this problem.

[Spider-TW]

Not that you should or you should not, but do you lube the outside of your bolt and/or the bolt spring?

[athomas]

Check the condition of your on-off top orings. The higher pressure could be causing your on-off to prematurely leak air into the chamber causing bolt stick.

[Spider-TW]

Check the condition of your on-off top orings. The higher pressure could be causing your on-off to prematurely leak air into the chamber causing bolt stick.

athomas, can it do that without constantly blowing air out of the bolt?

I'm still trying to understand bolt stick outside of mechanical misalignment and level 10 problems.

[athomas]

The level 10 works on a pressure differential system. The pressure to push the bolt is only a few lbs higher than the force of the bolt spring. The second stage of the bolt allows a greater force to hold the bolt forward long enough to dump a significant amount of air out to propel the ball. Once the air empties out of the chamber, the spring can push the bolt back. If there is air leaking into the chamber, the chamber pressure remains high enough to oppose the bolt spring. This air leak may only occur during the initial high pressure recharge when the retro valve supplies full input pressure to the top of the on-off pin.

The level 10 may also be partly to blame. It may work fine until a tiny bit of pressure change occurs in the chamber due to rapid firing. Maybe the slight drop in chamber pressure causes the differential pressure between chamber and spring to become small enough that the bolt friction causes it to stick. If this is the case, you should try a larger carrier. Do this with no shims installed. If the level 10 carrier is the correct size and the oring is in good condition and you have checked or replaced the on-off oring, then add a powertube shim or two.

[Spider-TW]

hmm....

So, dropzone, how far forward does the bolt stick?

[dropzone]

I lube the entire bolt assembly but just lightly enough to keep it in good condition.

I used it this weekend at a local field and it does the same thing with or without paint. Only now I am only getting one shot then it sticks. It also is not leaking air down the barrel like I would expect it to when the bolt sticks forward. It sticks forward just enough so that when I stick my finger down inside the centerfeed I can feel it protruding just slightly passed the backside of the neck. Push the bolt back and the rod pin pops back out as the sear catches the bolt. So this tells me that as the bolt sticks the on off pin is also staying in the open position.

This mag has seen heavy use over the last year ( at least 8 big scenarios and quite a few team practices) so I will start with just doing an O-ring rebuild.

Question: Before I rebuild it could this be caused by the trigger rod length being too short? I have noticed lately that I have a hard time getting the valve out because the on off pin isnt being pushed far enough up into the valve to remove it smoothly after a full trigger pull. Last time I disassembled it I actually had to remove the inteliframe to get the valve out.

[athomas]

... It sticks forward just enough so that when I stick my finger down inside the centerfeed I can feel it protruding just slightly passed the backside of the neck. Push the bolt back and the rod pin pops back out as the sear catches the bolt. So this tells me that as the bolt sticks the on off pin is also staying in the open position.

This mag has seen heavy use over the last year ( at least 8 big scenarios and quite a few team practices) so I will start with just doing an O-ring rebuild.

If the sear is held down because the bolt is not fully back, it will hold the on-off in the closed position. When you push the bolt back, the sear resets and the on-off opens. Its because the on-off stays closed while the bolt is stuck that you don't hear any leaking.

If your mag has seen heavy use, it is quite possible that your bolt spring is worn out. It is a consumable item that many people neglect to change on a regular basis. If it is worn, it will expose any bolt stick tendencies that normally wouldn't show up.

Now that you have added higher pressure, you have increased the return force on the on-off pin which has increased the friction of the sear on the bolt. Normally, you wouldn't have any friction due to the bolt returning before your finger releases the trigger. Using higher input pressure you have also caused the pin to force the on-off and sear back into position. Having a worn spring slows down the rate at which the bolt resets, so as you release the trigger faster due to reactivity, the sear rubs on the base of the bolt. The added friction causes the bolt spring to not have enough return force to fully reset the bolt and it sticks.

[dropzone]

Well I overhauled the entire mag tonight with all new o-rings and re tuned the LV.X and now I have a very serious problem with a big game only one week away............................I need a really serious hopper.

Eat Paint ION shooters.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys now can one of you loan me some cash to lay down on a brand new pulse?