looking for advice on A-5

[Krash845]

I just purchased a new a-5 stealth on ebay w/ the flatline barrel. The other day I went outside to try it out. I was very dissapointed with it's performance. The range wasn't very good, didn't look like I had enough velocity to propel the paint, I tried cranking up the adjustment, but I don't have a chrono so I don't know what I'm firing at. The accuracy was all over the place. Sometimes it would shoot ok, other shots would go up, down, left, right, all over the place. I ended up breaking paint in the barrell. I used evil paint, it was about 60 degrees outside at the time. Also the cyclone feeder isn't working properly, I have to manually advance the cyclone every time, seems like it's not moving on it's own.

The main reason I bought this marker is for the supposed reliability, I know many people who swear by Tippmann. I'm pretty pissed off with this thing now and I have to wait until after the weekend to call the seller about this problem. If anyone can offer any advice I'd appreciate it, maybe I'm just doing something wrong. I'm relatively new to the sport, but not a complete novice either. I also have an Ion, which I love performance wise, but is too fragile when it comes to maintance. I thought the A-5 would be a good reliable 2nd marker. Thanks in advance

[asiantay]

Your flatline might not be installed properly, it might not be tuned properly, or even worse something might have been damaged in the shipping.

As for your cyclone, check to make sure that the hose is secure in the banjo fitting and snug (DO NOT tighten it too much.. it will break very easily and you'll have to buy a spare parts kit to replace it or get a free one from Tippmann).

Also check your air... make sure its a high pressure tank and there are no leaks. For my gun, it runs with the velocity screw two turns out.

You could even take off the flatline and try using another barrel to determine whether the paint inaccuracy is coming from the gun or the barrel.

Also make sure your paint isn't greasy... I had a bad rap with that the other day with home paint (I had to dump all the paint into a box and swirrel a few paper towels in there for a few minutes.. which greatly improved accuracy).

[Corrupted355]

Cranking up the velocity could be a potential source of your problems. The Flatline only works at a certain velocity range, and shooting over that can cause inaccuracy and barrel breaks. Also, I've seen Flatlines installed upside down on eBay, so make sure the hole that the ball exits from is on the very top of barrel cylinder.

Also, your cyclone relies on the backpressure created by the front velocity adjuster (FVA) screw being in the path of air released from the valve. If you removed the screw far enough, it's conceivable that you're not getting enough backpressure to operate it.

However it is far more likely that the plastic ratchet is starting to wear out. To check this out, take the four screws out of the bottom plate and take that plate off. Slowly push the plunger a few times to get an idea of how the cyclone works. Inspect the ratchet (probably either clear or pale pink plastic) and the area where it interacts with the axle (the black plastic piece in the middle of the ratchet) especially closely. If the ratchet appears worn, replace it.

[Krash845]

I went back out today and tried firing w/ the stock barrel. Still no improvements. It seems like I have an air problem. Yes, I'm using a hp tank, although when I 1st tried it out only had about 2000psi left in the tank, today I'm down to about 1000, I know not ideal. Is 2000 psi sufficient to power this marker? I assume the pressure is regulated internally inside the marker? There are no audible air leaks anywhere. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Rob AKA GUNN3R]

my advice: dont buy things on ebay...ppl who sell stuff on ebay are usually just trying to get rid of it

anyway, ur cyclone is probly shot as corrupted said...id post a fancy link that has animation but im too lazy rgt now

and trying to operate an A5 with low air is like trying to perform adult acts when ur barrel isnt ready yet (if you dont get it i suggest u ask daddy) the A5 is a gas hog and i never run mine at anything less than 2000psi bc after a hopper i hear my bolt realease and a quiet fart-like noise that lets every1 know im out

now if u have some fancy stuff like corrupted u can probly still run at 1000 but since this is an ebay item im assuming that ur A5 is stock stealth

[CQB.Wardog]

Just a thought. Try a total gun teardown, see if there's anything physically blocking the flow of air through the system. The gun may be in desperate need of cleaning too, so you may as well do that while you're at it. If it's a used gun, the previous owner may have never bothered to clean the thing. Even tippys need to be oiled once in a while.

Beyond that, it could be a blockage in an air hose, it could be a bad part, it could be a lot of small things added together. And the animation of the cyclone feed is in one of the pinned posts at the top of the Tippmann forum. That might help if you tear the gun apart so you can see what you're looking at.

[bvdave]

did you get it BRand new form a ebay store or used from jo blow?

if its used then it could be many things, ratchet is a big problem for the cyclone, as for the shot problems you may be getting too much pressure (or not enough) to work properly, your HPA tank is high pressure and not low pressure correct? try taking it to a field with a chrono and testing it out and get the fps to about 260 and see what happens.

if you have a co2 tank, throw that on and give it a shot.