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Misc Gear Maintenance Info |
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
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I realized the other day after talking to somebody that a lot of folks aren't aware of the proper maintenance schedule for their gear, so this list will hopefully help. If there's something missing or incorrect, feel free to let me know and I'll add it in.
Tippmann A-5
- Before every game, 2 drops of oil in the asa and dry fire it through for ~20 shots. I recommend taking your barrel off for this so you don't get any oil in the barrel
- After everygame (especially if you get a chop/break), pull the powertube/bolts out of your a-5 and clean/relube. It's not necessary to split the shell everytime. In fact I only rarely do that, but be sure to run a paper towel through the a-5 shells paying special attention to getting all of the paint out of the front bolt/detent area and in between the cyclone and the a-5 shell. If you're too lazy to pull the internals out or in a pinch for time, at least take off the butt plate or trigger grip and drop some oil in the rear bolt area as none of the oil that is run through the ASA ends up back there
- Perhaps every 4-6 cases re-grease your cyclone ratchet. Some people do this more often, but 6 cases should be the minimun for long life. I like lithium grease for this (with graphite already mixed in the lithium if you can find it). It doesn't hurt to put some oil in the pluger housing either. Remember oil for orings, grease for metal on metal parts or even plastic on metal parts like the ratchet.
- I haven't figured out the wear on bolts/sears yet, but if you wear out your bolt or sear, be sure to replace them as a pair. Remember that there's a difference between the egrip sear and the standard sear when you order.
- Oil the tombstone o-ring liberally everytime you remove your tombstone
Smart Parts Ion
- Every 2 cases of paint, remove and regrease bolt. I've been using Dow 33 and it is the same stuff as Shocker Lube. Bear in mind that this stuff gets crusty so if your Ion sits around for 6mo-1yr, better give it a once over again before play
- Every 10 cases of paint, regrease the reg, more often wouldn't hurt. It's not very difficult. Don't forget some of the bolts are reverse threaded. If you start to see fluctuations over the chrono and your dwell is set right, pressure creep, or shoot down, you've waited too long and need to regrease the reg.
One important tip if you're using the stock Ion reg or other regs with a similar design (Evil Detonator for example). When you're at the chrono and decreasing pressure, fire a shot every 1/4-1/2 turn. What you're doing is compressing the spring and If you decrease the pressure too much at once the air that's already in there has no where to go and ends up digging into the reg seat. This doesn't apply to increasing operating pressure. Also pressure changes don't really normalize until after 2-3 shots so bear that in mind as you chrono.
HPA Tanks
- Do not put oil in the fill nipple. The HPA regs are designed to work without any servicing or oil. Oil under high pressure is combustable and is dangerous, so do not oil your HPA tanks!
- If your tank is going to be sitting around for more than a couple weeks, It's good to discharge it to give the seals in your reg a rest.
Optional
- Do use a fill nipple cover. They're very inexpensive and will keep dirt from getting into the bottle via the fill nipple and degrading the performance of your reg.
- I also highly recommend a thread saver or leaving your remote line attached to your bottle during transportation. This is especially important if your fly or travel via bus/train as if the tank is dropped and falls the wrong way, the o-ring land can be damaged to the point where it will no longer seal.
BDU Care
Before wash (some of this only applies to ACU cut uniforms)
- Fasten all buttons and velcro (especially important for the velcro)
- Tie the waist draw string
- Turn the uniform inside out
I like the soak/hose off my uniforms before putting them in the wash, but I tend to get dirtier than most
- wash cold
- mild detergents w/out optical brighteners
- tumble dry low heat (less than 130deg F) or drip dry
If you have NIR compliant BDU like the official MARPAT or ACU units, be sure to use the right detergent or you'll degrade the NIR coating. More info and a list of detergents can be found here: https://www.epropper.com/nir.php
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 20 March 2010 )
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