prob: cocker eats A LOT of gas

[MC Escher]

i was out playing today, and i found out my cocker is a complete gas hog. I have shocktech autococker on a 3kpsi 68ci fiber bottle, maybe its the really low opperating pressure, but i use a little under 1000psi per game. about every 500 or 600 rounds i have to refil. Theres a tiny leak in my front block, which im having opie (the cocker guy) check out, but it is nothing major at all.Any one else running an lp cocker, how many shots do u all get??
If it wasnt for the nice ppl at my local field, i could have spent over 16 bux just on air today.

[Nemessis]

THe problem is that you probably have a heavy main spring and light valve spring, to "fake" low pressure, change em up for 2 light valve springs, your pressure will go up a little bit but your efficiency will go up alot!

[PetWoody]

i run my cocker at 250 psi and i get about 800-1000 shots per 68ci/3000, and i just got stock springs.

[Keikan]

What valve does it have?

[MC Escher]

its a shocktech cocker, so it has the lp rat valve. The whole cocker runs at extremly low pressures. The only way you could really chop a ball in this thing is to short stroke it.

[Keikan]

Well you may want to change the springs, like they said its probably staying open too long if you have 2 light springs in.

[Nemessis]

2 light springs are good one heavy and one light is bad

[Keikan]

ill give you a link to a guide escher about efficiency

[Keikan]

Autococker Efficiency

aaaaaLately, there has been a lot of talk about low pressure. There seems to be two mentalities when it comes to low pressure, those who want to get as low as possible regardless of the side effects, and then there are those who just want an efficient cocker (and if that means their cocker goes low pressure, all the better). I think of myself as the latter of the two. In fact, I find it mighty ridiculous when someone complains about how inefficient low pressure is. Efficiency basically depends on your level of dedication. With just a small amount of working, you can make your cocker plenty efficient. I am not claiming to be a low pressure expert, but I do know what I am talking about, and I feel that it is time to set the record straight.

aaaaaFirst, I will illustrate the wrong way to get LP, if you know what not to do, it will be easier to avoid the common pitfalls. What many people do is put in a light valve spring, and a heavy main spring. What this does is force the hammer to hit the valve with an excessive amount of force, leaving the valve open for longer than necessary, releasing more air that necessary. Another mistake people commonly make is to screw the velocity adjuster way in, this again hits the valve harder than necessary, and we encounter the same problem of too much air flowing through the valve. Basically, what you should not do is pick a pressure and set your reg to it, and then do what ever you can to reach that pressure.

aaaaaLow pressure is best achieved when the valve spring is lighter than normal. What this does is allow the valve to remain open longer. This means that you can lower your pressure to compensate for the higher amount of air hitting the ball. However, if you stop at just the valve spring, you will encounter horrible efficiency. The way to stop this is to replace the main spring with a lighter one as well. This will again limit the amount of air getting through the valve. What this does is change the way the air hits the ball, changing it from a short, high pressure burst of air to a prolonged, softer burst of air. But the key is to make sure that the valve does not remain open when the gun is not cocked. This is a good way to ensure that a decent efficiency will be achieved. Regardless, to attain the very best efficiency, a lot of trial and error with various springs is needed.

aaaaaNow with all this tinkering your pressure will most likely change. So, what you do to set your pressure and velocity is easy. Back your velocity adjuster all the way out, and turn your reg way down. Slowly turn the reg up, checking your velocity as you go. At a point, any increased pressure will result in a lowered velocity. This is where you want to leave you reg, at the optimum pressure. If your velocity is too high, install a lighter mainspring. If your velocity is too low, then adjust your velocity adjuster as normal. Make sure to again check to see if the valve is held open when the gun is not cocked. If it is, then you will need to keep working with the springs. If it doesn't leak, you can either keep it as it, or continue trying out combos of springs. It has recently been brought to my attention by Yancey, that when at the lower pressures, a valve spring that is slightly heavier than the mainspring will further improve efficiency.

aaaaaWhen you are trying to get every ounce of air being used optimally, there are some things to bear in mind. If you get into the lower operating pressures, your stock valve may not be able to accommodate the higher flows of air needed to run the gun, so you will need a higher flow valve. Either the Rat 3:16 or the AKA Tornado valve will be plenty fine. You may also want a high flow bolt, because in no way do you want to impede airflow. The stock bolt, AKA Lightening bolt, the Shocktech delrin bolts, or the DEZign bolt would all be great choices. One of the most overlooked aspects of an efficient set up is a good barrel with a good paint/barrel match. You will want a single piece barrel with a low amount of porting that fits your paint. This leads to using the air you have as best as you can, without it escaping around the ball, or out porting. This means no Boomsticks, All Americans, OTPs, or Freaks (just to name a few). But if it comes down to it, use a barrel that fits your paint best (even if it is a 2 piece, but heavily ported is still a no no). It will be more accurate and efficient than a barrel with a bad paint fit. You may also want to purchase a low pressure chamber; it will provide a larger air chamber for the valve to draw upon.

aaaaaAnother important piece of a well tuned efficient cocker is the nitrogen system. You want a high flowing regulator with a fast recharge rate. The best tanks for this are the Max Flows by Smart Parts, or the Conquest by Mac-Dev, and to a lesser extent, the Armageddon. However, the armageddon needs to be double regulated. These secondary regs will also need a high flow and fast recharge rate. Good inline regs are the Gladiator from Mac-Dev, the new inline Max Flow, the Vigilante, and the Gen X Phase II. To connect your air system, you will want to use either braided stainless steel hose, or macro line. Micro line has a too small of an inner diameter and tends to choke flow.

aaaaaThere are many beliefs as to what low pressure will do for you. Some theories are proven; others are not (and highly contested for that matter). Some people say that low pressure will improve accuracy and range. While this has not been proven, I do know why it may be thought. When correctly operating at low pressure, a good paint/barrel match is used, which improves accuracy, and perceived range. Now, what a properly tuned LP cocker does do is decrease the amassed inertia of the hammer which produces a much more stable feel. It reduces wear on the parts because there isn't as much force slamming around. A nice side effect is that when you put in a lighter mainspring, the hammer doesn't put as much pressure on the sear, which makes the trigger pull smoother. These benefits only come from a well tuned LP cocker because they mainly come from the lighter mainspring. And as for improved accuracy and range, I don't know if there will ever be a test that everyone agrees with, so believe whatever makes you happy, and I will do the same.

aaaaaThat about ends this discussion on low pressure and efficiency. When you are setting up your cocker, make sure your primary goal is efficiency. You can then lower the pressure because you are using the air better. Your goal should not be the lowest possible pressure, but more shots per fill. The only people who complain about low pressure not being efficient, obviously didn't spend the time to tune for efficiency. Remember, a highly efficient cocker will most likely be low pressure, but unfortunately, a low pressure cocker isn't always efficient. Maybe we should start bragging about how many shot we get as opposed to what pressure our gun runs at.

- Dan Blatt

-Source http://www.paintballguru.com and Knick Knack from Paintballdojo.com